Posted by: Willy Boy () on Thu Mar 27 05:46:14 2008

> I am 13 year old, 5 foot 7 and 150 pounds and on a travel and rec team. Recently I have not been able to hit the ball hard. It seems that my swing has slowed down for some reason and I am dragging the bat threw the zone.
> I believe that I am not using much hip power and not generating enough lower power, and I want to know if there are any tips or drills that could help me with getting better hip rotation and a faster swing because I've tried a lot of things lately but nothing seems to work.
> Thank you,
> Alex

Alex,
This is not an easy subject for anyone to respond to because we can't see your swing.
I think the "dragging teh bat" is most likely caused by an early extension of your back arm (I don't know if you are a right or left handed batter). This would also slow your bat is getting to the ball and leave you with no power at impact.
The hip rotation is critical to bat speed and power but I might work on trying to bring the back elboe in to your ribs at contact and then extend through the ball after contact.
You can get your hips into a good hitting position prior to working on the arms so you enforce good mechanics and not bad ones.
One hand drills may also be something to work on.

Good luck.