Posted by: Sandman (msanda@cox.net) on Wed Oct 30 17:19:10 2002

Hi folks,

I've posted many times on eTeamz about my 8-yr old son's swing. Specifically, he seems to hit a brick wall at impact.

I've received lots of good feedback, albeit sometimes confusing (often due to rotational vs. linear neverending debate).

However, the latest advice I'm receiving is that my son is starting his swing w/ his shoulders instead of his hips. If this is true, what drills can I have him do to overcome this?

He makes decent contact for his age/size and has very good hand/eye coordination. But if he can't drive through the ball, he'll miss a lot of opportunity, IMO.

So... open-ended request for your critique of what he should change? (call me an information glutton) :)

I'm already planning to keep working on:
- lower his hands in his stance (they're lower than they used to be, but still working on it)
- take a more pronounced inward turn (feel like he's gathering power, i.e. like he's readying a punch)
- keep his stride short (he drifts as he tires). On this particular day (Sunday), he had hit about 50 balls.
- follow-through all the way, w/o falling back (notice his back foot fall back towards heel and the bat lose its path after impact)

Thanks in advance,
Sandman

Here's the link to a 2.5mb QuickTime video:
http://members.cox.net/ksanda/Kevin%20-%207%20swings%20(reduced%20size).mov

P.S.
We had our machine set at 42mph, as we're not working on timing, but mechanics. Besides, most kids in his Minor league division only pitch in the mid-40s. Next spring, we'll work him up to timing 50mph or so. Remember, he just turned 8 in July. ;-)