Hard hit bouncers

[3up3down]

So my son is getting plenty of base hits when he swings, but they all seem to be exactly in the same place, exactly the same thing each time.

They are hard hit bouncers to his pull side, which is between short and third. It takes a bounce halfway through the infield, about 8 feet high and goes between the infielders and into the outfield. How can I get him to get a little more under the ball to get more lift?

[songtitle]

Need a video. Swinging early? Wrists rolling pre-contact?

[3up3down]

What does wrist rolling too early mean?

[songtitle]

When your wrists roll over, the bat head goes up - hitting the top half of the ball.

If this is the problem, try loosening up one hand - usually the top hand. (forget lining up knuckles)

[3up3down]

It could very well be the problem, everything he hits is hit hard but always on the ground or bouncing.

[scorekeeper]

It could very well be the problem, everything he hits is hit hard but always on the ground or bouncing.

I don’t know what age the boy is, but I’m gonna assume he’s not yet in HS.

I’m certainly not a hitting guru, but I can offer a bit of advice.

If he’s hitting the ball hard, be very very careful about having him make changes, and what changes you do make, make darn sure they’re very small ones.

Also, be very very careful about how you’ve perceived the situation. FI, ALWAYS means he NEVER hits the ball anywhere other than on the ground or bouncers. It’s a little difficult for me to believe in a full season a kid never hits even one fly ball, one pop up, or one line drive.

Print the attachment and use it to mark the next 10 PA’s or so to see if what you’re perceiving is really what’s happening.

Before I’d monkey around with his swing, I think I’d take the easy path first. Have him change bats. An inch loner or shorter, or a few more or less drops, but nothing drastic. You might even be able to see a difference in him at the cages if you do that.

But everything else aside, keep this in mind. While everyone would like to hit line drives in the gaps, after that, the hit ball that will allow a batter to reach 1st safely most often, is a ground ball. If its fielded, the fielder has to make the play, then the throw, plus the receiving fielder has to field the throw and either tag the runner or the base. That’s lots of opportunities for bad thing to happen.

Even at the HS level, lots of errors are made on ground balls, so they’re not necessarily a bad thing. ;)

[3up3down]

He's in grade 10. 95% of everything he puts in play is on the ground. If he ever hits it in the air it is weakly. He has a great eye at the plate and this year through 4 games games has 7 walks in 12 AB's with 3 hits, put the ball in play 4 times and been hit with a pitch. Last year through 40+ games he had about a hundred AB's in which his OBP was 850% with a 420 batting avg. playing varsity ball as a freshman.

[jmart2663]

Have him tilt at the waist a little rather than standing straight up.

[songtitle]

I would recommend videoing a few of your son's swings in a game - or in the cage. Then post 1 or 2 here.

[hitforaverage]

Is he getting his weight too far onto his front foot? This is usually the most common precursor to "rolling over" on a pitch.

[Coach G]

Its also possible that he might be getting too much lift in his swing plane which is causing him to hit the high bouncers.
Two possible culprits
1) to much lift in his swing which= bat plane more upward then plane of the pitch . This would cause him to be hitting balls to his pull side with massive amounts of top spin which would = high bouncers

2) might be swinging down on the ball and just beating it into the ground

Are the pitches he is pulling inside half of plate? I know the big boys pull outside pitches all of the time for HR's but at that age its very hard to pull a pitch on the outside and hit it hard due to strength issues. Has he fully developed physically? So it might be that he is rolling over these pitches in an attempt to pull them.

[3up3down]

He does have a bit of an uppercut to his swing, but I was under the impression that that was desirable?

How do you fix this?

[rkbenn]

He does have a bit of an uppercut to his swing, but I was under the impression that that was desirable?

How do you fix this?

A slight uppercut is good. I would say it is wrist rolling. I've seen severe bat drag have the same effect. Kids with this severe bat drag have to hit the ball way out in front of the plate and can also cause wrist rolling and groundballs to the left side and foul balls.

[Coach G]

It is desirable as long as it is on plane with the pitch. When it is over exagerated it becomes a problem. It is like a car wreck two cars heading on the same path have a better chance of colliding with more force than do two cars perpendicular to one another.

Thats the goal is to intersect the ball with the bat. In order to greater the chances of this it is better to be on the same plane as the pitch.

Fixing it is the tricky part. He should be old enough to understand when talked to about it. Maybe others can chime in with how to fix it. Would be good if you posted a clip and then maybe we can identify his problem areas and better understand what needs to be fixed.

[scorekeeper]

He's in grade 10. 95% of everything he puts in play is on the ground. If he ever hits it in the air it is weakly. He has a great eye at the plate and this year through 4 games games has 7 walks in 12 AB's with 3 hits, put the ball in play 4 times and been hit with a pitch. Last year through 40+ games he had about a hundred AB's in which his OBP was 850% with a 420 batting avg. playing varsity ball as a freshman.

3up,

You’re a relatively new guy here, so don’t take anything I say personally or the wrong way. I’m gonna pick on you a mite here, but only to help you make more concise posts in the future.

I’m glad you recognize the difference between perception and reality. In the original post you indicated that “everything” he put in play was in exactly the same place and the same way every time. Now we know that isn’t true, but we do get the idea that it happens quite frequently.

While the number of walks he gets is certainly a function of his “batting eye”, its also a function of the pitching he’s hitting against. Our V plays games against a wide variety of teams and pitchers, and there are many games where there 1 walk/HBP per inning, and quite a few where its higher than that, and up to more than 2 per inning. What I’m saying is, my guess is rather than a function of his batting eye, I’m guessing its much more a combined function of his batting eye and his refusing to swing at borderline pitches, a combination of traits that should be highly regarded. As a group, HS pitchers aren’t known for their pinpoint accuracy. ;)

Can’t help this one. 20 PA’s in 4 games is a ton of PA’s! LOL!

I’m not only a SK, I’m very into stats, so to me there’s a major difference between a PA and an AB. 3-4 with 7 BBs and 1 HBP is one thing, and 3-12 is quite another. ;)

Sounds as though he had a great year, and considering he’s a Fr on a V, it was utterly fantastic. Does his school post stats on the WWW? If so, where can I find them. I’m always interested when I hear numbers like his because I have friends who are scouts and they tell me to look out for outstanding players.

WHEW! 40+ HS games is a ton of games! We’re only allowed 30 max during a season.

[scorekeeper]

Knowing more of his story, now I’m even more loathe to see you tinkering with his swing! .420 with an OBP of .850 for a Fr on the V is not something to mess with! I’m thinking your perception might be a bit off here, because even if the SKing is horrible and he’s getting hits that should be scored errors, he has to be doing something right to keep missing gloves or reaching 1st when hitting the ball on the ground.

If you really feel he’s doing something that needs to be fixed, please talk to his HS coach to get recommendations for a competent local instructor!

[3up3down]

Well, I talked to his coach today at practice and luckily there was a hitting instructor that was coming in to work with the kids later on in the practice. (This is his summer team) He watched my kid take a few swings and right away said "narrow your stance". He did this and the next one BAM, right off the centre field fence. Was hitting the ball harder than I've ever seen him hit it.

Got called up for a game against 18-21 year olds to start at short. He got put in the 3 hole in the order and first AB hit a double that bounced just short of the warning track in right center field. Next AB, A triple off the center field fence, next AB was a walk on 5 pitches, then a single to left field, then another walk.

I don't know whats happening but I'm not going to complain.

[dolphindan1]

Its always the little things and a little advice from someone to get a kid going...thats great to hear...

[Quiz]

Hard hit ground balls to the pull side is usually the result from trying to pull medium to low outside stuff. Your son has to learn to take these to the opposite field. That is just some general advice though, a video would be nice of course.

[StraightGrain11]

Does what he is doing look anything like this?

If so, fix it fast.
Some might consider that a good swing because of the "upward path/trajectory". When, in fact, it is a poor swing because the swing path is geared so upward, that the plane of the swing has left the plane of the pitch by the point of contact. This is why most hitters talk about "swinging down" when they talk about hitting - it keeps them from coming up too soon. The result of the swing speaks for itself.

[scorekeeper]

Hard hit ground balls to the pull side is usually the result from trying to pull medium to low outside stuff. Your son has to learn to take these to the opposite field. That is just some general advice though, a video would be nice of course.

How do you know whether the GB is the result of trying to pull OS pitches as you noted, or is simply the result of a great swing that hit the ball slightly on the top half of the ball?