When to start hitting lessons after the season ends?

It depends in large part what the kids want to do.  If they want to hit or if they want an extended break.   Our kid takes about a 2-4 week break off from hitting. And then starts back up hitting 3-4 times a week after that.  In season he hits 6 days a week.  

We do make him take 8-10 consecutive weeks off from throwing.

Dadof3, like 3and2 suggests, I always left it up to my son (he's a 2015). He rarely hit baseballs during the football/soccer and basketball seasons. I think he liked the break from baseball at that age... and all through high school. I sometimes worried about him making the transition to full-time baseball in college. He's a senior in college now and the only breaks he gets from baseball are when he's recuperating from injuries. As with most things baseball related, I was worrying for no reason.

Why do you wait for the season to end?  You think the 13U season wins/losses was that important?

Are you hitting just to be hitting? Or do you have some purpose?

Are you fixing his fatal flaws that may prevent him from advancing?

/'get off my lawn' rant over

My 2018 was usually done after fall baseball--sometime around October--and then started hitting again in late January.

Your son is a little younger than mine, but I will tell you our personal experience.  This past season he took off until January.  Then he got sick and it cost him a few weeks.  

When his high school season began he had some issues with his swing, started very slowly and a new coach started to bench him.  Took him a while to fix the swing and show the coach what he could do.  Ended fine, but he was very frustrated with how his season went and you only get 4 of them in high school.  

I know he plans this year to take a short break only...

Dadof3 posted:

As the 13u season begins to wind down I was talking with another parent about the break/football season/basketball season etc and then we talked about when to start the hitting lessons for next year (14u - 8th grade -april birthday).  He thought it would be good to hit year around, I am in favor of dropping baseball until at least December more likely January.  For those of you that went through this, what is your take?  Do they need to hit consistently in the off season?  Will it hurt to take aug-dec off?  What do you do?

Several thoughts...

As with everything, it depends on the kid.  Sounds like he is involved in other sports, which is great.  A break from baseball is usually a good and welcome thing.  But, depends on the kid.  If a kid loves to hit and wants to continue, it's not like throwing, where arm health/wear and tear are factors.  

Lessons are a different story, though.  First off, if he is making significant changes, off-season is a good time to work on those.  But lessons need reinforcement.  You either need some regular follow up or need to take really good notes and make sure those learning points are getting the proper practice reps for desired improvement.    So, will there be sufficient time to do so with the other sports activities and school work?  Taking two or three lessons and then putting the bat away for a few months is probably money down the drain.

One constant, though, is to ramp back up far enough in advance of the school year so that he comes out in a good place when that season begins.

thanks cabbagedad. nothing really working on, he is ending the season great.  He is actively involved in the other sports and baseball is kind of an afterthought..

My 13yo is deliberating this as well. He starts HS in the fall. It is high academic HS with a strong emphasis on volunteering. The kid informed me he wanted to forego fall sports so he could acclimate to the new school environment (yay, maturity). He does want to do S&C 3x a week in the fall. I suggested to start ol/ul swings in October, then lessons in Nov. He will do Driveline in December to ramp up his arm.