Posted by: Chris (chris@amiassetmanagement.com) on Mon Apr 13 10:20:12 2009

> > > > I am new to this so forgive me if I am missing something. My 6 year old is just starting to hit coach pitches (mine) and he hits often and hard. He does appear to have a good swing but instead of pivoting his back foot on the swing he lifts his heel so he finishes the swing with his back foot on the toes. I would guess he is putting too much weight on the front leg but he doesn't seem to understand what I am saying to him. Do I have the diagnosis correct and should I do something about it or let it go until he is older?
> > >
> > > Most good major league hitters finish the same way as your son.
> >
> > Really? When I say he finishes on his toes, I mean all the way on his toes with entore foot off ground as opposed to just the heel off the ground with ball of foot on ground.
>
> Do a Google image search of Barry Bonds, Albert Pujols, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, Hank Aaron. Their back foot is often toe down. Now if he is doing something funny with his front foot then there may be a problem but what you described isn't unusual. Right now I'd make sure he is hitting the ball hard and seeing well. Also, make sure you understand the principles taught on this site just so you can know what you are looking for. If you see something in his swing that is different or looks like a problem and this web site confirms it then make small adjustments over time to get him where he needs to be. Kids have so many people in their ear when it comes to hitting and most have bad advice. The most important part is they are having fun, hitting hard, and slowly developing a better and more powerful swing. It sounds like he hits hard so don't get in his way too much or let anyone else get in his way too much either. They can get too mechanically minded sometimes at the expense of swing aggression and slow improvements (months and years) are better. At the end of the day, the goal is to hit hard and hit often.

Thanks for all the help. I looked at Manny and A-rod and my sons toes are similar. I am his only coach and I subscirbe to this site's theories so no one will mess with hos swing but I hav to understand it or I mess him up. Also, he hits the ball hard to the opposite side of field most of the time and sometimes straight over 2nd base. He rarely pulls the ball so it sounds like from readings here his swing is good.