instructional hitting for 8 year old

[jhonny]

hey everyone, im new to this website, I stumbled upon it 4 days ago and i caint stop reading threads now, "im hooked" folks here seem so knowledgable..

i posted a thread the other day asking for advise on type of bat for my 8 year old, im beyond that now, and I would like to know peoples opinion on best method of instructional hitting for him.."If this is the wrong section to post this question please direct me to the right one"!

I been reading post on Epstein system and the whole rotational method seems very interesting, whats the best way i can get my son introduced to this type of teachings?

considering his age, he has received many complements from different coaches on his power, swing, and pure natural ability, as a father I want to support him 100 percent, so i would like to take his natural ability to the next level and explore his potential by providing him some real hitting instructions,lessons, clinics, etc with someone that really knows their stuff. Due to the number of different instructors and clinics ive seen around my area, im very weary and dont want to make a mistake of taking him to someone that wont teach him the right way.I need everyone and anyone with intellegent Advise, what would yall do?

can someone provide some advise..
thanks,
baseball dad.

[JayC]

I would save yourself alot of money and heart ache and order RightView Pro ip300-AS Instructional Player . Trust me for 65.00 you can't go wrong

[Jake Patterson]

jhonny,
At 8 years old you do not need to spend a lot of money for instructional DVD's or class. The first priority is to make it fun. At eight most children do not have the motor skills to learn much more than the basic elements of the swing. The key at this age is to make sure you set him up for future success and to keep it fun. If you are looking for basic information I would suggest PCR (Posture - Connection - Rotation).

My baby is still playing himself and coaching Jr. High. His love for the game was developed when he was only 7 or 8. No matter how good your son gets or how much he struggles remember he's just a kid. Make it fun.

[jhonny]

Jake P.

im not at expert so therefore i would not disagree much on advise someone else provides me, however i will say that his motorskills are actually pretty darn good for his age, and ofcourse I want him having fun and enjoy the game, the last thing i want to do is hamper his joy for this game,im a strong advocate of having fun which is what this game should be all about, altough i must say to him FUN is hitting line drives, hitting the ball hard and getting on base, scoring runs and hopefully hitting one out of the park once and a while, so all im trying to do is give him the tools to suceed. This fall He tried out for two different Triple A teams and made it to both, he was picked up by one of them so i suppose he displayed some pretty good potential. Setting him up for success is exactly what im trying to do and if there is anything i can do right now to help him succed more often than not, then ive acheived one of my goals...

[Jake Patterson]

Setting him up for success is exactly what im trying to do and if there is anything i can do right now to help him succed more often than not, then ive acheived one of my goals...

It sounds like your priorities are good. Just remember that success at eight is not measured in how well he hits the ball, it's measured in how much fun he's having doing it.

PCR!

[jamesh23]

dang I know your trying to make him better but holy cow there are way too many eager adult parents that come here asking how to make their 8-11 year old better, to throw harder or hit better, when I was 8-11 I didnt even worry about that I just swung the bat and maybe thats why I love baseball so much, your kids are gonna feel pressured to play the game they may be good but they arent gonna enjoy it. Let them play!

[callyjr]

Keep in mind your not making your kid a HS stud at 8, but at the same time they are sponges and will totally love everything you can teach them. My 7yr old could pick apart a swing on video and live last year when he was 6. I didn't pressure him into anything and don't make him do it, I show him clips in slow motion and he takes it in. maybe 10 minutes at a time until he loses interest. video him, read more on the web, show him his video and show him his favorite player if he has one. Video is the key, keep watching and video.

[virg]

Be available. Answer questions simply. Encourage. Don't crowd him. Consider the obvious: pushing instruction at him (unless he asks) makes negative implications no kid needs. What he needs right now is to know he's okay and having fun.

He's too young to hand over to a stranger; coaches have their own agendas. Most of the coaches need coaching themselves.

[FiveFrameSwing]

It sounds like your priorities are good. Just remember that success at eight is not measured in how well he hits the ball, it's measured in how much fun he's having doing it.

PCR!

If you are after plain "fun", then take the kiddos to Disney World.

The fun I want to see these kids having through their involvement in youth sports is the enjoyment of seeing themselves succeed through their hard work.

[Three A's baseball]

I have a 7 year old and we play all the time, he played tball and with the 1st and 2nd graders last year and loved being part of the team and gettin involved.

He too is like a sponge.

I keep hiting drills fun by using plastic golf balls, corks, colored balls, etc etc and make fun games out of it.

We also do lots of fielding we play around the diamond like you would play around the world in basketball.

ground balls start at 1st need to make a clean play on the ball and a good throw home. Make it and goto 2nd then short then third and back around. Make an error and you go back.

Stuff like that.

Enjoy the time you have with them and go for a hot dog or pizza or mcdonalds afterwards and make it an event not just drills and work.

[Jake Patterson]

Five, I know you've been around awhile, but here's where many go wrong when kids are concerned...

The fun I want to see these kids having through their involvement in youth sports is the enjoyment of seeing themselves succeed through their hard work.

It really depends on what THEY consider fun.

[Jake Patterson]

Be available. Answer questions simply. Encourage. Don't crowd him. Consider the obvious: pushing instruction at him (unless he asks) makes negative implications no kid needs. What he needs right now is to know he's okay and having fun.

He's too young to hand over to a stranger; coaches have their own agendas. Most of the coaches need coaching themselves.

I agree with Virg. Learn how to teach.

Dads of youngins,
Paul Nyman did a great 20 minute vid on this very specific topic. It may be worth your while contacting him.
Jake

[bob_r]

My son is 12 now and hits really well. I gave him no intruction. The only thing we did was play catch and I would pitch to him. He learned to hit by just swinging and learning on his on. The only type of advice I would give him was generic type advice; for example when he first starting hitting he would always pull the ball foul - when he crushed the ball out of the park foul I would be excited and congratulatory but tell him it was real fun to watch but it was still a strike: he eventully learned to wait for the ball. I think until kids get to 11-12 it should be nothing but goofing around and having fun.

[BallCoach06]

At that age my suggestion is just let them be kids. Let them experience as many things as they can (sports, music, art, etc.) and let them decide what they like to do. I never ask my son to go practice baseball or any sport. He just comes to me when he wants to play. When he does, I love it. I know it was his choice and we have fun and enjoy the time together.

I coach high school baseball and I see what some of these kids go through that are pushed from day one. They don't enjoy the game as much, period. Let me tell you this, at the high school level, we could care less what AAU, travel, or little league team you played on.

As far as my boy, I will continue to work and practice with him when HE wants. If he decides to play or keep playing it will be his choice. I made my choices to do when I was a kid (which was baseball), but my sons interest might be music or art. If so, I love him and support his decision because it is what he enjoys to do.

[Jake Patterson]

At that age my suggestion is just let them be kids. Let them experience as many things as they can (sports, music, art, etc.) and let them decide what they like to do. I never ask my son to go practice baseball or any sport. He just comes to me when he wants to play. When he does, I love it. I know it was his choice and we have fun and enjoy the time together.
More parents should take this advise. Too many parents spoil what could become a great love for the child.

I coach high school baseball and I see what some of these kids go through that are pushed from day one. They don't enjoy the game as much, period. Let me tell you this, at the high school level, we could care less what AAU, travel, or little league team you played on.
I also coached HS and you are absolutely right - I could have cared less what travel team they played on. I actually found those who played just rec ball to be generally better players in that they were easier to mold and teach. Travel players are typically full of pre-concieved notions, are being pushed by over-zealous parents and have been coached by "knowlegeable travel" coaches who sometimes do more harm than good. Travel is about winning. All the arguements about better competition and a better level of play is hogwash.

I'm Ok with better competition, just wait until MS and the big field.

As far as my boy, I will continue to work and practice with him when HE wants. If he decides to play or keep playing it will be his choice. I made my choices to do when I was a kid (which was baseball), but my sons interest might be music or art. If so, I love him and support his decision because it is what he enjoys to do.
This is the formula I used and my sons (now grown men), still love the game, play and coach.

[TG Coach]

If you are after plain "fun", then take the kiddos to Disney World.

The fun I want to see these kids having through their involvement in youth sports is the enjoyment of seeing themselves succeed through their hard work.

Baseball for an 8yo has to be hard work? It shouldn't be anything but fun. Your philosophy is what drives many kids to other sports.

[TG Coach]

I coach high school baseball and I see what some of these kids go through that are pushed from day one. They don't enjoy the game as much, period. Let me tell you this, at the high school level, we could care less what AAU, travel, or little league team you played on.

I coach 16U travel. We only care enough about last year to see if the player is good enough this year to help the team. How and where the player played two years ago is irrelevant. We're also leary of some of the parents. When we invite players to play for us for a weekend in the fall or attend workouts, the parents are trying out their behavior for us. Any parent coaching from the sidelines is killing their kid's chances.

[Coach C]

Baseball for an 8yo has to be hard work? It shouldn't be anything but fun. Your philosophy is what drives many kids to other sports.

What's a fun practice run like?

[jhonny]

Guys,Guys, Guys,
I beleive my original message to this site and my intent was reasonable and with good intent. As I said before, my son does'nt (DOES NOT)have fun if he swings and misses, he doesnt have fun if he hits a ground ball to first base for an easy out. He doesnt have fun if he pops the ball up in the air to the infield etc.
he sleeps with his bats and baseballs and gloves on a constant basis, he wants to attend the batting cages twice a week, he loves to play "baseball is his life" "He lives for this" therefore he drives me into being the dad that I am. I didnt force baseball into him, I introduced him into baseball at 5 years old and his love has been growing since then, due to those reasons I strive myself into providing him the support and foundation that will enable him to work hard/play hard and therefore he would receive the results HE wants.

I dont know how many of you are currently involved with any 8 year old leagues or watched AA or AAA 8 year olds but to my surprise they are pretty darn good, way better than when I was 8. I was never lucky enough to enjoy the feeling of hitting a ball over the fence in little league and yet my son already hit 4 in 10 games this past fall. I mean if the school systems are teaching these kids mulitplication, division etc at 2nd grade these days, with the proper instructor and proper program why would anyone think that they are not ready to grasp and understand the proper way to swing the bat that will enable them to be more succesfull? and why do we think this will take the fun out of the game, you would think this will add more fun once he starts crushing the ball!! maybe im just not making sense and maybe im just way out of bounds here , am I ?

[Jake Patterson]

What's a fun practice run like?


If you're coaching kids and don't know the answer - you should not be coaching kids.

[Jake Patterson]

I dont know how many of you are currently involved with any 8 year old leagues ...
I've seen 18 seasons of 8 year olds come and go since my son played as an eight year old.

[TG Coach]

What's a fun practice run like?

In 7/8's we ran a lot of drills like competitions to make it fun instead of just reps. But an 8yo doesn't need to take 500 grounders a week like an older player might (mine has from age eleven to fourteen). A 8yo doesn't work hard to make the high school team or whatever level. He plays hard to have fun and build passion for the game. When you're dealing with 8yo's you're teaching more of them to be baseball fans than future high school players.

[jhonny]

Jake P,

I understand what most of you are trying to explain and what you were attempting to advise, but i think that compared to our age of baseball back in those days the level of athleticism, competitivenes, quality instruction and coaching was either non existent, or incomparable to todays times, many things are different today vs 20 years ago.Ofcourse im not a professional coach, so i dont have an expert opinion, my level of baseball was stopped at High School senior level. Yet,
"Dont worry guys, I will make sure my sons love for the game does not diminish or decreases due to my attempt to help him"
Bottom line, if my son gets upset during games for not performing better due to lack of proper baseball intructional training then BI-GOLLY I feel like its my duty to provide that for him. Also another PRO vs CON is; if baseball will continue to be his passion, providing him with sometype of formal instruction and training now will prepare him even more so at this current age and therefore develop proper techniqes now vs trying to break off bad habits later at 11, 12, 13 years old. I would assume there is someone out there that agrees there is some sense in that last statement? maybe...

[TG Coach]

If your son is good enough to play in college they'll still be breaking him of bad habits. Then if he plays pro ball they break him of more bad habits.

[Jake Patterson]

I understand what most of you are trying to explain and what you were attempting to advise, but i think that compared to our age of baseball back in those days the level of athleticism, competitivenes, quality instruction and coaching was either non existent, or incomparable to todays times, many things are different today vs 20 years ago..
I am not comparing "our" age of ball. I was 8 in the early 60's. What I'm offering is 22 years of watching 8-year-olds come and go as a State Certified Coach, clinician and teacher, involved at the LL, MS, HS and Legion levels. I have seen what becomes of those who start as energetic 8 y/o's and have a basic understanding of what works and what doesn't. I have seen my own 8 y/o's sons mature into adult players and coaches.

What you are doing with your son can be (and I truly hope) the greatest experience you can have as father and son. I still enjoy playing catch with my boys and my 77 y/o dad. In 22 years of coaching I have seen hundreds of "energetic" parents who "know" their own child help their off-spring by making baseball the best experience of his lifetime. I have unfortunately seen more make the experience a miserable journey.

Talent matters not at eight. Fun does. I have seen many talented players quit the game before HS.

[Drill]

hey everyone, im new to this website, I stumbled upon it 4 days ago and i caint stop reading threads now, "im hooked" folks here seem so knowledgable..

i posted a thread the other day asking for advise on type of bat for my 8 year old, im beyond that now, and I would like to know peoples opinion on best method of instructional hitting for him.."If this is the wrong section to post this question please direct me to the right one"!

I been reading post on Epstein system and the whole rotational method seems very interesting, whats the best way i can get my son introduced to this type of teachings?

considering his age, he has received many complements from different coaches on his power, swing, and pure natural ability, as a father I want to support him 100 percent, so i would like to take his natural ability to the next level and explore his potential by providing him some real hitting instructions,lessons, clinics, etc with someone that really knows their stuff. Due to the number of different instructors and clinics ive seen around my area, im very weary and dont want to make a mistake of taking him to someone that wont teach him the right way.I need everyone and anyone with intellegent Advise, what would yall do?

can someone provide some advise..
thanks,
baseball dad.



just the basics and then after puberty its up to yours son's desire to work on it.

[TG Coach]

Re: compliments on young player's ability

I know a college coach who runs a summer camp when pressed by parents of little kids on their son's talent level would smile and respond: "There's just no telling how far he can go in the game."

The parents would take it as a huge compliment. He was just telling the truth. "There's just no telling .... " There isn't. He doesn't want to lie. He's also not going to tell a parent they're wasting money and don't bring their son back next year.

[Coach C]

In 7/8's we ran a lot of drills like competitions to make it fun instead of just reps. But an 8yo doesn't need to take 500 grounders a week like an older player might (mine has from age eleven to fourteen). A 8yo doesn't work hard to make the high school team or whatever level. He plays hard to have fun and build passion for the game. When you're dealing with 8yo's you're teaching more of them to be baseball fans than future high school players.

TG, competition drills are what I implemented last season, good to know I'm on the right path. Thanks.

[TG Coach]

Coach C,

There are kids who will never excel in these drills. It's important to make a point of their improvement. It's sometimes important in coaching rec to emphasize improvement of the quality. The quality may never arrive. I just wanted rec kids to try their hardest.

[Chris O'Leary]

"There's just no telling how far he can go in the game."

Reminds me of a family favorite...

"Now THAT's a baby!"

[Ursa Major]

Jhonny, I think part of the problem is that you came on here after seeing all this great instructional advice about hitting mechanics from some very astute minds, and you just assumed we'd want to jump up and tell you to go ahead and instruct the kid X, Y, Z to start him off right as a future hitting machine. Well, as zealous as we all are about successful hitting, it ain't going to happen. Sorry that you're disappointed.

We've all lived through having a youngster wanting to succeed and hoping that we can deliver the goods, just like we want to give a kid that bicycle he wants for Christmas. But, just because he wants to hit homers doesn't make striving for it the best course.

First, no kid can sustain that kind of interest forever. You've got to pace it a little. Do some cross-training via other sports. Get him involved in other activities. And, I think the best way to sustain his interest is to encourage him to be a fan -- go to big league games, or high school or college games (cuz you can get right down on the field and have very little competition for chasing foul balls hit into the stands).

Second, it is not good for most kids -- and certainly not for an eight year old -- to have his enjoyment of the game measured by how well he does -- which in your case seems to be his stat line -- in any particular game. He misses a big part of the experience if his friends are focusing on the game at one level (like, when is the pizza going to be delivered) and he's worried about whether he gets it over the fence. Let him enjoy being part of the team and meshing with the other kids. That's where the big benefit of baseball is for a kid at that age.

But, this is Christmas time, so you deserve some kind of present in the way of technical advice, which is what you really want. To be sure, many (if not most) of us sent at least one kid through his early years with some some flawed teaching of our own that we wish we could take back. So, I'd just try to gently steer him away from major mistakes. From this forum you can learn about most of those flaws -- weak loading, too erect of a stance, hands incorrectly placed, bathead droop, bat drag (i.e., back elbow leading the hands), early hand droop, disconnection, incomplete rotation, pulling off the ball, rolling the wrists. (I'm sure everyone here can come up with a few more basic and common flaws of kids at that age.) If he can steer clear of those, that will put him in the elite two percent of nine year old hitters (at least in terms of style).

But don't get frustrated if some flaws creep in after you thought they'd been eradicated; even motivated kids will want to try something new that they just thought of to see if it works, and you can't do much about it. So, don't be surprised if he sports a Craig Counsell stance at some game just because he thought it looked cool.

I don't think you necessarily need an instructor at this point to simply catch and cure these flaws, although a good one will prbably have some drills that might overcome them if they're too intractable. (Caution -- almost every kid when he gets to kid pitch will go through a period of stepping into the bucket -- and there's no magic drill to cure that.) I'd bet that most of the reason that you'd need one is the same reason you hire any kind of teacher to teach your kids something that you know plenty about -- your kid won't listen to you but may listen to a teacher who's younger, cooler and more credentialed than you. But, if you get an instructor who starts teaching that your kid's swing should actually adopt some of the flaws mentioned above, run back here and ask for advice on how to keep him from messing your kid up. :hp

[FiveFrameSwing]

I see no reason not to promote the teaching solid fundamentals at a young age.

[TG Coach]

Here's my present:

I learned a valuable lesson when my son was eleven. My son was new to his LL program. He was a known commodity as a past opponent. One Saturday everyone hung around to watch him play. He was heralded as the kid who was going to get all-stars over the hump (win districts). He tried too hard. He had the worst game of his life (to that point/topped it in 16U fall ball). He made four errors that year. He made three of them that game. He got one weak hit. On the way to the car he chuckled and calmly declared he sucked that game. I asked him if he wanted to practice after eating. He said it was just one game. He added there would be plenty more he would play better.

I got a reminder last season. A friend's son was a Freshman All-American then a Third Team All-American as a soph for a major high ranked team. Last year, one game I watched him have four of the worst at-bats I've ever seen at the college level. He looked awful. The fifth at-bat he stroked a hit to keep his thirty something game hitting streak alive. He didn't get to thirty-plus straight games swinging like he did that game. The next game he got three hits.

Let them play. Let them relax. They are going to look bad at times. They are going to fail. Then there's tomorrow.

[glovemedic]

He got one weak hit. On the way to the car he chuckled and calmly declared he sucked that game. .... He said it was just one game. He added there would be plenty more he would play better.

Yea, my son had a game like that last year. He said afterward, at least it was over and he didn't have to play that game again. It's all about how you react following the failure, rather than how you act while succeeding. Have a Merry Christmas and keep having fun!

[jhonny]

man you guys are awesome, I beleive that most things happen for a reason, so for me to stumble upon this type of astute knowledge as "Ursa Major" described is a blessing for my son.
You guys make so much sense, I would never be able to forgive myself if the result of my actions were too scare him off from his love of the game, last thing i want to do is burn him out.
I will be very diligent with my moves and take it easy on him for a few more years, but because of the warm reception i just received from 20 or so folks on this thread, the least I could do is keep yall updated from time to time..

like any proud daddy, here is my sons pic during one of his over the fences this past fall season..

Happy Holidays everyone!!!! and thank you very much for all the expert suggestions and advice

[Erik]

man you guys are awesome, I beleive that most things happen for a reason, so for me to stumble upon this type of astute knowledge as "Ursa Major" described is a blessing for my son.
You guys make so much sense, I would never be able to forgive myself if the result of my actions were too scare him off from his love of the game, last thing i want to do is burn him out.
I will be very diligent with my moves and take it easy on him for a few more years, but because of the warm reception i just received from 20 or so folks on this thread, the least I could do is keep yall updated from time to time..

like any proud daddy, here is my sons pic during one of his over the fences this past fall season..

Happy Holidays everyone!!!! and thank you very much for all the expert suggestions and advice


jhonny,

I will add this swing to my collection. Keep us posted!






EL,

[TG Coach]

That's a nice 8yo swing.

[TG Coach]

jhonny ...

While mechanics are important, a lot of your son's future success (teen years) is going to be based on innate ability and passion for the game. If he develops the passion at a young age, he'll do the work as he gets older and succeeds in the game. If he gets to high school ball, except for the gifted studs, it becomes about who has the passion and works the hardest. Everyone still standing will be a decent player.

When my son was eight he liked going out the field away from the team and see how many balls he could drive into the rightfield bushes. I watched for overswinging, but most importantly it was fun. He loved having the pitching machine set up like a bazooka for fly balls on windy days. Sometimes he screwed himself into the ground, but he always came up laughing.

Stay away from pushing and aggravation. Give him memories of practicing together from the younger ages. Here's two my son still tells:

1) When he was eight he asked me to hit off the machine. I told my son If I swing a 27/19 I'll probably lose my grip and heave the bat. He convinced me to hit. I drove one off the roof of the house behind the field. I didn't think I could hit a RIF ball that far with a little bat. Before the guy could run out pissed off, I stuck the bat in my son's hands and placed him at the plate. The guy asked if he could be his agent in a few years. He actually thought my 8yo hit the ball that far.

2) He told this one last summer after hitting two homers in a 14U game. When he was eleven I was throwing BP to him at the LL field. He hit three straight out. The next pitch I meant to knock him down as a joke. I drilled him in the arm. He ends the story laughing with an incredulous, "My own father drilled me!" When he stopped being pissed he charged the mound with the bat. We ended up on the ground wrestling and laughing.

Make sure you come out of the journey with more than runs, hits and errors. My daughter told me her freshman year of college every time she got on a team bus she thought of our rides to travel softball tournaments. I'll forget a lot about her games over the years. I'll never forget that.

[Hard Liner]

jhonny,

You're getting a lot of good stuff. Here's "my" contribution.

Read Hiddengem's posts on the following page. It's still the best perspective adjustment I've had here - and that's saying a lot.

http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=64941

[Chris O'Leary]

like any proud daddy, here is my sons pic during one of his over the fences this past fall season.

This is a very advanced swing given his age.

While there may be some bat drag in there, I really wouldn't mess with him or push him too hard.

He's ahead of where he needs to be.

[jhonny]

some of you guys are making me laugh and some of you are making me cry., very kind words from you guys and great advise, also thanks for the complement on the swing, i really wasnt looking for analyses since ofcourse he is 8yo after all, right! which is what this whole thread is about., my main goal for uploading that was to place perspective on the topic.. more like putting a face to the conversation kinda thing..

[Jake Patterson]

man you guys are awesome, I beleive that most things happen for a reason, so for me to stumble upon this type of astute knowledge as "Ursa Major" described is a blessing for my son.
You guys make so much sense, I would never be able to forgive myself if the result of my actions were too scare him off from his love of the game, last thing i want to do is burn him out.
I will be very diligent with my moves and take it easy on him for a few more years, but because of the warm reception i just received from 20 or so folks on this thread, the least I could do is keep yall updated from time to time..

like any proud daddy, here is my sons pic during one of his over the fences this past fall season..

Happy Holidays everyone!!!! and thank you very much for all the expert suggestions and advice


Great start! Happy Holidays...

[Ursa Major]

Oh, that is a very sweet looking point of contact. Obviously, he could have done a lot of bad things to get to this point, but it's not likely. I've annotated the picture to show the myriad things that he does absolutely right.

http://s95294420.onlinehome.us/userfiles/son1a.jpg

Put that picture someplace handy. Take frequent videos of him swinging. If things turn a little sideways, go back to the picture and see what you can do to get him back to it.

He's in good shape now. So long as he continues to swing with a result something like this, you can enjoy the journey for a couple of years without worrying too much that he's going to stress because he can't hit the ball very far.