8 year old hitting [Archive]

mcloven

07-29-2008, 05:45 AM

Anything you'd advise him to change (other than the horrible pinging of the bat!)? He's got a ton of power for his size, and makes excellent contact--rarely swings and misses. Of course, he doesn't hit against curve balls yet.

This swing against live pitching--ball hit the middle of the 180' fence on a fly:
http://s244.photobucket.com/albums/gg10/seniorocity/?action=view&current=Aug092007-VID00007.flv

This swing is against a pitching machine pitching at just under 60 MPH from 44 feet:
http://s244.photobucket.com/albums/gg10/seniorocity/?action=view&current=Aug092007-VID00004.flv

patsox

07-29-2008, 07:37 AM

Two things that jump out at me are the bat drag and stepping in the bucket. Aside from that, he's doing something that my son (just turned 9) is doing also and that is he's starting his swing by dropping his hands and flattening out the bat as he's striding. I've had a little success getting him to keep his hands back as he strides, but he still does it, especially in game situations. Any cues or drills to help this would benefit both of us!

mcloven

07-29-2008, 08:09 AM

Agree. I definitely noticed the stepping in the bucket, and we've been working on that (one of the reasons I filmed the at-bats).

toomanyteesbroken

07-29-2008, 08:32 AM

I use to step in the bucket like nuts and all i did was put some tape on the ground so it formed a straight line and just did my stride on that. It took a while but it helped.

patsox

07-30-2008, 07:14 AM

Does anyone have any specific cues or drills to help fix the lowering of the hands/bat as they stride? "Keep the hands back" just isn't cutting it.

mcloven

07-30-2008, 07:48 AM

Since the video, I've been trying to have my son rest his bat at an angle against the front of his rear shoulder (not flat, on his rear shoulder) and then swing from that position to try to eliminate the flattening of the bat/bat drag. I think it seems to work pretty well and shorten his swing.

Though, not sure what other can of worms I'm opening up.

Kevin G

07-30-2008, 07:59 AM

Though, not sure what other can of worms I'm opening up.

The benefits from this drill far exceed any downside at this point in your son's development IMO

mcloven

07-30-2008, 08:11 AM

Thanks for your input, Tweenarock. It's tough making adjustments when my kid has been successful with his current swing, but I know it's the right thing for in the long run.

BTW, I also showed him your son's swing as an example (frankly, it's the best 8 year old swing I've seen). :-) Any other tips are much appreciated.

tip184

07-30-2008, 11:55 AM

Out of curiousity, what does "bat drag" mean?