How to develop power or something else

[dolphindan1]

Please bear with me on this...

My son (12) plays rec and travel ball...He played 12 majors in the fall and will again this fall but plays 12u AA right now...anyway...He bats 3rd on the travel team and clean up in rec. however he is not a power hitter and lately he is hittin nothing but grounders to the 3rd base side...he is a lefty...how can I develop more power or is it something in his swing I need to look for that he is not getting the ball in the air more? He has hit the fence several times in the past so I am not sure if its a power thing or his mecahnics are off..He sees the ball well, he has only struck out 3 times in about 25 games, pretty solid I think but the ground balls are driving us both crazy. He does hit up the middle alot for base hits so that is good I guess....he is upset cause his buddies are knocking it out. However they strike out alot too which he doesnt. Which I tried to explain to him.

Any ideas or thought would be appreciated. His hitting slump has also carried over to his pitching and has really got into his head and he becomes very frustrated very quick, very unlike him.

[MannyRamirez2006]

maybe he is trying to make contact too much and is really trying to avoid striking out cutting down his swing??

confidence goes a long way. If he hasn't hit one out yet at all give him the confidence and take him to the park with just you and him to see if he can just get one out. Just so he knows in his head that his swing can put one out. It can help him mentally. So many things about the swing can't be teached because so much is mental. It truly is.

I would also get a heavy bag and hit into that.

[AgentX]

There's no way to tell without video.

But he needs to get over the feeling that he HAS to hit one out. HR swings are not special swings, they are merely good swings on an opportunistic pitch. If he adopts the mindset that there is something wrong with his swing because he hasn't gone yard, then he will inevitably mess himself up in pursuit of it.

[skipper5]

There's no way to tell without video.

But he needs to get over the feeling that he HAS to hit one out. HR swings are not special swings, they are merely good swings on an opportunistic pitch. If he adopts the mindset that there is something wrong with his swing because he hasn't gone yard, then he will inevitably mess himself up in pursuit of it.

Nice post.

OP's son is a lefthander who hits oppo. well enough to be the 3/4 hitter, and only k'd 3 times in 25 games.

Did he used to pull the ball, but this year he's hitting oppo. grounders instead because he's swinging defensively or not getting the bat-head through the zone? If yes, then there could be a lot of different causes.

However, if he has always gone the other way with his hits: IMO, a lot of hitters are hard-wired to hit a certain way--for example, pull or oppo. Oppo-hitting lefties can be very tough outs. But unless you're a real masher, you're not hitting a lot of HR's oppo.

It sounds like you've got a young Gywnn/Boggs. I'd stay with the hard-wired oppo swing and do video work so that he can put some balls in the LC gap on the full-sized diamond, which is right around the corner.

In 13 yo baseball, the pitches have natural sinking action. But there's more reaction time, which means it's a great year to work on whatever there is in his swing that generates too many grounders and not enough line drives.

Edited: Meanwhile, move him to the one or two spot in the order.

[songtitle]

At this age, most coaches throw outside and offspeed to opponent's better hitters

[MannyRamirez2006]

Please bear with me on this...

My son (12) plays rec and travel ball...He played 12 majors in the fall and will again this fall but plays 12u AA right now...anyway...He bats 3rd on the travel team and clean up in rec. however he is not a power hitter and lately he is hittin nothing but grounders to the 3rd base side...he is a lefty...how can I develop more power or is it something in his swing I need to look for that he is not getting the ball in the air more? He has hit the fence several times in the past so I am not sure if its a power thing or his mecahnics are off..He sees the ball well, he has only struck out 3 times in about 25 games, pretty solid I think but the ground balls are driving us both crazy. He does hit up the middle alot for base hits so that is good I guess....he is upset cause his buddies are knocking it out. However they strike out alot too which he doesnt. Which I tried to explain to him.

Any ideas or thought would be appreciated. His hitting slump has also carried over to his pitching and has really got into his head and he becomes very frustrated very quick, very unlike him.

This right here tells me that it's mental at this point. You need to take him to the ball park and give him some confidence back. It's the best thing you can do for him right now. Forget about anything mechanical with his swing or pitching. He is young. It's easy for him to lose confidence and get frusterated quickly. Take him to the park and pitch him some meatballs. Let him hit some out. Put a smile on his face. His confidence will go up and it will carry onto the playing field. There are no questions in my mind this will help.

I am 26 years old and for my entire life I tryed to hit HR's. I always wanted to put one over the fence and round those bases. I never hit one because I wanted it too much. It's all I tryed for. That was until I finally hit one out last year in BP before a game (slow pitch). I was taking BP with a friend before the game and it was on a smaller field. I started hitting some out and my confidence went up big time. This field was only about 250ft and I was 25 at the time so it was no big deal. But to me it was because I actually was hitting the ball over the fence. Mentally I was satisfied. I was already happy going into the game. I could do no wrong. I kid you not, that game at the age of 25 I finally hit my first HR and rounded those bases. I felt like a kid. My lifelong dream finally came true. It was on the regular size field (300ft) and it was opposite field nonetheless. Straightaway RF.

I'm just saying this because seriously I think it can truly help your son. Take him to the park and let him hit some out. Tell him that he can. He needs confidence.

Remember what Yogi said: "Baseball is 90% mental, the other half is physical"

[AgentX]

This right here tells me that it's mental at this point. You need to take him to the ball park and give him some confidence back. It's the best thing you can do for him right now. Forget about anything mechanical with his swing or pitching. He is young. It's easy for him to lose confidence and get frusterated quickly. Take him to the park and pitch him some meatballs. Let him hit some out. Put a smile on his face. His confidence will go up and it will carry onto the playing field. There are no questions in my mind this will help.

I am 26 years old and for my entire life I tryed to hit HR's. I always wanted to put one over the fence and round those bases. I never hit one because I wanted it too much. It's all I tryed for. That was until I finally hit one out last year in BP before a game (slow pitch). I was taking BP with a friend before the game and it was on a smaller field. I started hitting some out and my confidence went up big time. This field was only about 250ft and I was 25 at the time so it was no big deal. But to me it was because I actually was hitting the ball over the fence. Mentally I was satisfied. I was already happy going into the game. I could do no wrong. I kid you not, that game at the age of 25 I finally hit my first HR and rounded those bases. I felt like a kid. My lifelong dream finally came true. It was on the regular size field (300ft) and it was opposite field nonetheless. Straightaway RF.

I'm just saying this because seriously I think it can truly help your son. Take him to the park and let him hit some out. Tell him that he can. He needs confidence.

Remember what Yogi said: "Baseball is 90% mental, the other half is physical"

This is great advice.

I did some BP with my oldest on a smaller field last night. He hit a bunch out, but what it showed him was that his best swings were the most natural ones. Also, being able to go to the top of the wall the other way showed him just how much power he has that way.

Hopefully that little session will do wonders for his confidence going into the tournament season.

There is nothing like setting off car alarms in the parking lot to bring a smile to a young hitter's face.:happy:

[PhilliesPhan22]

I took my team onto the smaller field to play homerun derby on practice. We scored 8 runs the next game, even though we lost.

[songtitle]

philliesphan22, great idea.

[rkbenn]

Post Video, this smells like a mechanical issue. You better fix this or he is going to have major trouble next year when he moves up.

[dolphindan1]

Thanks for advice...I will post a video as soon as I learn how...I am sure there are issues wth his swing but I think its mainly mental...at least I hope

[dolphindan1]

Since I got alot of comments and good advice I thought I would give an update of the game last night

As you know my son has been struggling with his hitting...Well tonight he had 4 at bats...went 3 for 4...and won the game with a double in the 8th...

He hit 2 doubles one over short one over 2nd and a single up the middle...he did ground out to short but the SS covered alot of ground and had to back hand the ball to get it...his buddy hit another HR 2nd in 2 games...but I asked my son what feels better winning the game or hitting a HR and 3 strikeouts...He said winning the game....what made him mad was the coach gave the kid that hit the HR the game ball....I told my son that it was the head coaches son...dont worry about everyone saw you win the game...

so maybe this will get him back on track...He had a hitting lesson with his travel teams hitting coach yesterday and that coach told him dont worry about HRs keep getting on base its more important...

[dolphindan1]

Another update...

I took him to the field today to throw some batting practice....I was on the mound and I told him son all I want you to do is try and knock it out...I told him to swing as hard as he could but keep his head on the ball and get on the plane of the ball...I told him I didnt care if he missed it...Well we started and he swang so hard he pulled out his head and everything...I told him the harder you swing you have to stay more focused...so after about 7 strikes...He finally connected and started jumping up and down..Well it hit the top of the fence...I watched him...He made contact and stopped his swing to celebrate...I told him that so next pitch same spot top of the fence...after about 3 or 4 more like that he start hitting line drive gap shots....I think it boosted his confidence...also some parents were out there for a game and they were all saying how good he hits...We will do it again but hopefully that helped...I just hope I didnt mess up mechanics by telling him to go after it...

[AgentX]

One of my kids is a good contact hitter, but it's taken forever to get him to start swinging with power. He has plenty, but he's always been more focused on making contact and not striking out than putting himself into his swing.

It took a couple of "just hit it as hard as you can" sessions like what you described before he finally felt comfortable swinging hard. He's still hammering out some timing issues, but he's finally pounding the ball. And he hasn't really lost contact or muffed up his swing in doing so.

[dolphindan1]

hit his 1st tonight over a 220 foot fence...AND I MISSED IT...I was caoching the coach pitch all star team...can you believe it....

He also turned on one in travel tourney this weekend and went sailing over the right fielders head and headed toward a 300 foot fence probably 50' in front of the fence...I was amazed...1st one he ever turned on