Dropping back shoulder Solution?

[vibajajo64]

Hi,

My 11 yr old son is dropping his back shoulder and not keeping his head still during the swing. I've been searching for an answer and found some ideas and was wondering which ones some of you knowledgeable guys think are the best and which ones to avoid.

1.) Shorten the stride
2.) Many reps off the tee. Be conscious of staying on top of the ball.
3.) Hold the bat up higher.
4.) Stop tilting your spine which (since it is all connected) is causing your shoulder to drop. Imagine you have a stiff rod down your back and keep that spine straight up and down. Then start with your chin on your front shoulder (head stays still through the swing) end with your chin on your back shoulder.
5.) Place a tee on a crate or box, or just make the tee just about shoulder level. Then, just practice and practice hitting balls off it from that height. What this does is because the tee is so high, u literally can’t drop your back shoulder.
6.)Stress to the hitter to drive the front shoulder to the ball.

Just one other question. I've seen some people talk about trying to get lateral tilt and am wondering when this should occur and how this relates to my son's problem.

Thanks

[THop]

vibajajo64:

In my opinion,

1. Every hitter “dips” his back shoulder when swinging at a ball in the strike zone.
2. Every hitter has slight head movement when his body rotates during his swing.
3. Do not change stride or stance (IE hold hands higher)
4. Not sure what “Drive the front shoulder to the ball” means. I would encourage him to “violently pull back front shoulder at the last possible moment and still be able to hit the ball”.
5. Increase, don’t decrease his trunk and bat speed.
6. There is a lot more to it but I teach my hitters to consciously finish with their back shoulder higher than their front shoulder after swinging.
7. Best drills: “Self-toss” and “fastball only BP”

Hope this helps.

THop

[MrSurprise]

I am no expert but I had the sammmmme problem, and my problem was that in my stance my back elbow was pointing back. This made me immediately drop my shoulder to get my elbow to the slot. Either you need to teach him to take his top hand straight to the ball (which I haven't had enough time to practice) or simply point the back elbow to the ground. It worked miracles for me.

[AgentX]

Just one other question. I've seen some people talk about trying to get lateral tilt and am wondering when this should occur and how this relates to my son's problem.


Chances are that he's not dropping his shoulder on the higher pitches. Dropping the shoulder is one of the ways that young hitters try to adjust their swing to lower pitches, essentially taking the same high-middle swing down to pitches low in the zone.

Since the hitter needs to try to match his swing to the angle of the pitch, he needs to have a way of adjusting his swing that doesn't totally change his mechanic.

There is no way to hit a low, middle-in pitch without dropping the shoulder. But if you try to swing the same way on the outer half, you will probably just pop the ball up to first or second. At this age, you might find that its best to just have him take low and inside, as he will probably not face any pitchers capable of consistently hitting that spot for years to come.

I would also suggest that instead of looking at his shoulders, try looking at his lower half. Have him push his rear knee down so that it falls below his hip and head. The more he bends that knee, the more lateral tilt he will have, and he will be able to hit low and high pitches more consistently, without having to lean over. It will also remove the "need" to drop the rear shoulder and roll over.

[Swing Coach]

these guys always drop their back shoulder and tilt their spine backward. You need to keep looking at high level swings and keep asking questions so you can understand what it looks like...so you can help teach your son :happy::

63870

[Mark H]

these guys always drop their back shoulder and tilt their spine backward. You need to keep looking at high level swings and keep asking questions so you can understand what it looks like...so you can help teach your son

I would have said shift the pelvis forward rather than tilt the spine backward but I surely agree with the second sentence. Keep looking at high level swings Vib, questioning what you think you know and what people tell you.

[jbooth]

Hi,

My 11 yr old son is dropping his back shoulder and not keeping his head still during the swing. I've been searching for an answer and found some ideas and was wondering which ones some of you knowledgeable guys think are the best and which ones to avoid.

1.) Shorten the stride
2.) Many reps off the tee. Be conscious of staying on top of the ball.
3.) Hold the bat up higher.
4.) Stop tilting your spine which (since it is all connected) is causing your shoulder to drop. Imagine you have a stiff rod down your back and keep that spine straight up and down. Then start with your chin on your front shoulder (head stays still through the swing) end with your chin on your back shoulder.
5.) Place a tee on a crate or box, or just make the tee just about shoulder level. Then, just practice and practice hitting balls off it from that height. What this does is because the tee is so high, u literally can’t drop your back shoulder.
6.)Stress to the hitter to drive the front shoulder to the ball.

Just one other question. I've seen some people talk about trying to get lateral tilt and am wondering when this should occur and how this relates to my son's problem.

Thanks

It depends on what you mean by "dropping the back shoulder."

The back shoulder DOES drop on all MLB swings. If he drops it down prior to launching the bat, in a move designed to get the bat lower so he can swing up and try to lift the ball, then that is NOT proper dropping of the back shoulder. If his hands and shoulder turn in and down toward the ball, then he is OK. The back shoulder does NOT stay up.

The shoulder arcs forward and down, but not backward down and then around.
These guys drop their back shoulder.

http://firstpickclub.com/images/manny_contact.jpg http://firstpickclub.com/images/bonds_approach1.jpg

[jacksimpk]

The way I've heard it described is the plane of the shoulders should be parrellel to the plane of the bat. Droping the bat early will take the bat out of this optimal plane. In the picture Ramirez above you see the bat is parrellel to the shoulders. That what I've been teaching.

[jacksimpk]

At this age, you might find that its best to just have him take low and inside, as he will probably not face any pitchers capable of consistently hitting that spot for years to come.

I disagree here. I'm coaching 12u Little League and I train to a 9 zone grid overlaying the strike zone. My top 2 pitchers can hit any of those 9 zones consistently and I've got 2 more that will by the end of the season. We have batters that have consistent weak zones where they can't hit and we exploit them. Have him work to his strengths but I'd not advise him to just strikes. Maybe first pitch but by 0-2 he's got to put bat on ball.