Have a 14 yr old that has developed a tomahawk type swing and want to correct this. What can I do, any drills, any type of adjustments to make, what to focus on in BP, Tee or soft toss to try and change? He doesnt realize he is even doing this and dont know what to do about it. Any help or suggestions - Thanks
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Come on. He's putting backspin on the ball and his line drives sail out of the park.
Sorry couldn't resist.
Video would be helpful. Have any?
Not that it will create the optimum swing, but the old Ken Griffy Jr. Instructo Swing will prevent him from being able to swing like that. Not necessarily a tool to stay with for long, but it could very well solve this issue for your son.
Don't know if this is the case with your guy but most young hitters I get who tomahawk are lungers. Because of that, they also land on a soft (bent knee) front. You pretty much have to reshape the swing. Some things I do...
Perform a super-slow motion swing drill, looking for key points - once stride foot lands, his head should stop traveling and he should be leading with the hips, rotating against a firm front. At foot land, I will hold a bat end against the front of the helmet to engrain the feel of staying back behind the ball. If he is against a firm front and staying back, it becomes very difficult to tomahawk.
Some other things to look for in this drill - make sure back elbow is dropping into the slot early enough that bat gets on plane through the zone (however, you are also watching to make sure that elbow doesn't get ahead of the hands, which can also be a tomahawk trait). Encourage a fairly high finish, at least for now. Tomahawkers tend to finish low and somewhat short-armed.
Tee drill - do the same "bat against helmet" while he is taking regular reps off tee.
Tee drill - "stay inside" - set ball with a seam positioned along the inside half of the ball. He should focus on hitting this seam. If he is properly staying inside, it should be more difficult to tomahawk.
Two tee wiffle drill - two tees about 6" apart on level plane but first tee aligned slightly inside of the path to second. Now he is staying inside and his plane is level.
Combined, these SHOULD help reshape his swing. It can be a tough fix and can require lots of commitment and reps.
That said, I had one HS player who couldn't shake the tomahawk but was quite successful thru varsity in spite of.
Turn the barrel to solve the problem. The swing may still be "down" somewhat, but you can fix that by fixing the lower body.
Coach:
The "high tee" drill http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjMzvN2JXn0.
Maybe the single best drill to correct a player's swing and provide "carry" to the ball.
During my previous visits to Spring Training, I talked with Edgar Martinez, Mike Diaz and they also utilized this drill.
Bob
Santa Rosa, CA.
