Stance and Swing of my 6 year old boy

[Three A's baseball]

http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos2703/5/40/95/7/42/8/842079540503_0_ALB.jpg

http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos2703/5/40/95/14/19/3/319149540503_0_ALB.jpg

Don't have any video but was hoping you guys could give me something. He is playing on the 8u team and is doing better then I thought he would and most of all having alot of fun.

[jbooth]

Don't have any video but was hoping you guys could give me something. He is playing on the 8u team and is doing better then I thought he would and most of all having alot of fun.

The links aren't showing the pics

[Jake Patterson]

Got nothing...

[Three A's baseball]

how about now

[Jake Patterson]

Based on these two pics I don't see much wrong. It's difficult to know at what point he's at in the stance i.e. pre-pitch, load, pre-load, etc..

His hands are higher than I teach, but again difficult to know at what point he's at. He may be doing a Coco Crisp pre-load which doesn't get me too excited.

I teach the box while in the stance. I find it easy to teach the rest of the swing from there. Do you have a pic of him in his stance facing him??

[Jake Patterson]

Here's a good stance
26149

[Three A's baseball]

can you give me any input on the swing....

[jbooth]

can you give me any input on the swing....

We haven't seen the swing. They are still pics. The stance is OK, but stance is nearly irrelevant. How you start the swing is what is important and we can't see that.

The second picture looks pretty good. But, I don't know how he got there and what happened after. To do swing analysis properly, you need video.

[Three A's baseball]

I understand. I will give it a shot this weekend.

[Maxx]

That bat he is using looks huge! But if he can swing it, then let er rip!

[deaconspoint]

What kind of bat is that 3A's? Just curious. I too thought it looked big for him, but if he's swinging it ok and having fun then so be it. He looks good dad.

I did notice that in the stance pic he seems to have his weight out on the outside of his back foot. Could also be that he is standing in a hole making it look that way. Just something I noticed since I've been working a lot with my young one on his stance lately. May try getting him to set up a little knock kneed if that makes any sense. Something I've done with mine is have him walk sideways with toes turned in just a little and weight on balls of feet to inside. Seemed to help coordinate this movement both in swinging and throwing. JMO, worth what you pay for it.

Again, keep in mind that there is not much that can be said from pictures other than he looks good in that particular shot. Everything depends on where he is in the swing or stance progression. I would think the weight drifting to the outside of that back foot may be something to watch no matter where he is in the process.

[TG Coach]

He is playing on the 8u team and is doing better then I thought he would and most of all having alot of fun.

Don't read too much into a six year old being able to play with eight year olds. Kids pick up the game at different times and at different paces. Until they pass through puberty they can be physically plus or minus three years of their actual age. One huge variable that changes is the competition as all the kids develop. I like the part where you say "most of all he's having fun."

I couldn't tell you about my oldest's swing at age six. She didn't pick up a bat until she was seven two days before the first practice and didn't see live pitching until nine. My youngest, while he hung out at the oldest's practices starting at age three and hit off the machine, never played a game until he was seven and didn't face live pitching until he was nine.

Don't forget "most of all he's having fun." It concerns me when dads of six year olds worry about their son's swings.

[Swing Coach]

...is to not let yourself or someone else mess up his natural swing with the following comments he is sure to hear: (every one of these was told to my players by the other coach (who played AAA baseball in the nineties).

1. get your step out of the way before the pitcher releases the ball
2. hit the ball out in front
3. throw the hands
4. throw the barrell
5. roll your wrists over
5. swing down on the ball
6. get that extention at contact
7. don't dip that back shoulder


I let my 8-year-old team free-play (they pick the game as long as everyone is active) the first 30 minutes of practice...gets them moving and hopping quicker and more natural than a structured, disciplined approach. We may mix in a little home run derby at the end, which gets them swinging "anything, but careful." The middle of practice is more serious, but it is a mix. Too many times have I seen coaches mold their little guys natural swings into robotic swings that are neither powerful or pretty.

[TG Coach]

I let my 8-year-old team free-play (they pick the game as long as everyone is active) the first 30 minutes of practice...gets them moving and hopping quicker and more natural than a structured, disciplined approach. We may mix in a little home run derby at the end, which gets them swinging "anything, but careful." The middle of practice is more serious, but it is a mix. Too many times have I seen coaches mold their little guys natural swings into robotic swings that are neither powerful or pretty.

My son's swing is from hitting off his Little Tikes tee ball set starting when he was eighteen months old, swinging off the machine starting at three after his sister's softball practices, and trying to emulate hitters he's seen on TV and Playstation. I didn't do anything more than tell him where his feet go and "step into it" when he was on his tee set. The only thing I did with my daughter was set her up with no stride with her heel up so she would turn her hips properly when she was seven. At eighteen and fourteen neither kid has a stance that's anything remotely like I would have them stand if it was up to me. But it works for them. Neither kid has had a paid hitting lesson. I've only had to point out bad habits when they fall into them.

Without encouragement my son's favorite toy when he was little was his tee set. He had a Little Tikes baby carriage filled with whiffle balls. My son would push the cart out of the garage and start swinging. My daughter had no interest in softball until I convinced her to play when she was seven.

[Three A's baseball]

It's always about the fun for us. Eye black and all. My boy is the smallest on the team and is very enthusiastic.

to the Bat it is an easton Rebel with a -12.5 drop and it is 28" long.

My son is not very strong and when he rips one it is usually a sharp grounder at someone or through a hole. not much lift or drive on his ball right now but who cares.

He hit a grand slam ground ball that I think is still rolling. I'm sure you all know what I mean.

Thanks for the advice.

[TG Coach]

He hit a grand slam ground ball that I think is still rolling. I'm sure you all know what I mean.



In your son's mind it only matters he circled the bases and the fans were screaming.

I saw a ground ball inside the park homer in a Legion game this past week. From lack of rain the ground is like turf. The kid crushed the ball against the way the defense had shifted for him. The ball rolled 365 feet and took a bad hop off the fence away from the outfielder.

[Whitesoxnut]

Get a video cam not just for swing analysis but also for the memories. The other night my wife and I watch a bunch of T-ball games our son played years ago. All night I kept saying, "boy I'm glad I bought and used that 8mm camcorder".:happy:

[Maxx]

Swing Coach, can you expand on what you mean in #2 "hit the ball out in front?" I use this one a lot because my players let the inside/middle pitch get too deep and it ends up jamming the hell outta them. I tell them to hit those pitches out in front of the plate with the barrel. Now on the other hand, every year, we get a lot of freshman who lunge really bad to try and hit the ball out front, so obvoisly that is not a good thing. Just curious what you meant by it.