Help with Bats/also instructional techniques

[jayhawk]

I have been reading the forums for the past week and there are alot of posters with great advice. I would like to ask some questions about baseball bats and also instructionals that I have read on the internet.
First off, I would like to let you know that my baseball knowledge is practically new. I have never played baseball in my life ( I am a golfer). My son, who is 9, played 2 years of Little League T-Ball and he is on his second year of Coach Ptich. My knowledge is what I gathered from his practices. The internet is a vast place and so many different type of info that I , quite frankly, am confused. In fact, just last night, I read in here about end loaded and even balance which threw me for a curve since I didnt know that it existed.
My son is about 51-52 inches tall and probably weighs about the same. He is not a big hitter where his ball sails into the outfield but rather a line drive, ground hitter, who always gets on base and doesnt strike out (coach pitch, they have 6 pitches). He 90% of the time, makes contact when he swings.
His swing is down and level now. He had a problem with dropping the barrel of the bat down in his back swing and then coming forward to hit the ball. The coach told me that he needs a lighter bat so I bought him two.
2008 Louisville Omaha 27inch- 14 ounces baseballsavings
?year Rawlings Liquid Metal 2 Big Stick 28 inch- 16 ounces closeoutbats
He uses the Omaha the most since he said he likes the feel better when he swings.
He asked me last week about why cant he hit like the "big" hitters and crush the ball in the outfield . In a quest to help him, I went and bought a book. Don Mattingly batting is simple: the abc's of hitting 300. The info is okay as the pictures are too but it really didnt help me to explain anything to my son. So this past weekend I ordered another bat for my son.
2008 demarini Vexxum 29 inch- 15.5 onces (The bat supposed to bend like a golf shaft)baseballsavings
It comes tomorrow.
Are the bats that I got him good ? are they situated for a certain type of hitter?
I am also searching for instructional dvds so I can hlep my son (as well as myself). I came across a few. Tom Emanski (I remember seeing commercials on tv years ago) and also Elite Baseball Instructional. Anyone recommend any of these dvds?

Thanks!

[2ManyBats]

Dear jayhawk,

I wish most of the players I've coached on the last 8 teams had a dad like you. Those bats you've purchased should be just fine. Your next purchase should be 5 dozen high quality baseballs ( same as your son's league ball or better ) ... and a ball bag. Go hit, hit, and hit some more. Yes, dad keep throwing till it hurts. Watch him for blisters... batting gloves come in handy. I pitch to my 2 boys about 3 - 4 times a week and that does not include their practices. As for Bats .... we started with Easton Reflex, then tried a better alloy ... easton triple 777 & easton tri-shell 888 ... and about the same time omaha Scandium & then scandium xs. Very please ( We bought New bats for the All Star Tournament time and could helpt but notice ALOT More POP and alot more going to the fence) Now as for drop weights for certain ages, I like to look at what type of ball they are playing. ie .... coach pitch vs kid pitch or machine. It is my belief that coach pitch you can get away with a heavier bat... but just make sure his mechanics are sound.
( I started researching at our local library ... DVD's and Tapes.. great source and cheap ) then I used our camcorder and taped our sons swings. I always like to start them on a Tee. Now currently .. My youngest is getting ready to play his first season of kid pitch at 9 ... the age group is 9's and 10 together. When he gets ready to bat... He's been taught (just like big brother did) to watch the pitcher and select accordingly... fast pitchers =fast bat pick the drop -13.5 average or not so fast pitchers go with the = -11 ....
This I picked up from another coach who's son has turned out to be a excellent player. I'd like feedback on this from others.
We also play travel ( big Barrel leagues ) .... we use Easton Stealths.... -10 and my boys keep their 2-1/4" barrels with them for an option if needed.

Good Luck

[Speedy42]

I like your choice of bat (Vexxum) for your son. Great for line drive hitters. As far as books I like the Little League Guide series by Mark Gola. Lots of information, pictures, and drills that are perfect for the Little Leaguers. Haven't bought any DVD's for hitting yet. There are so many articles, websites, forums, and you can even go to Youtube.com for lessons on hitting. I use those as well as listen to other coaches and parents ( who played HS or college ball) for ideas and tips on hitting. My son's travel team goes to a professional hitting instructor and I listen to what he says and practice at home with my son. There is so much free info out there there's almost no need to spend money if you don't have to. That Mattingly book you talked about, I checked it out at the book store one day. I didn't care for it. By the way, if you buy trainers such as the Hands-Back Hitter or the QuickSwing by SKILZ they come with a DVD.
2Many, I also went with a CF3-11 for travel and a Voodoo-13 for fastballers. We'll see how that works for my son when the travel games begin. I'll let you all know how it goes.

[jayhawk]

Thanks for the replies!
I jumped the gun. My son is 8 years old and will turn 9 this year. He has one more year in Coach Pitch and then he goes up to "minors".
My son enjoys playing baseball and is like a sponge when being taught. He wants to keep on learning. In fact ,a few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to see a college baseball game(our first baseball game ever). It was the Kansas Jayhawks vs. UH Vulcans. We went for 2 days and saw 3 games. There were only a handful of people in attendance and there were no children around. My son got to meet and talk to a few players from both teams. They were really friendly and showed him batting techniques as well as throwing techiniques. He soaked up the instructions and now does exactly what they told him.
Where we live, Little League starts in January and we practice for 6 times. February we start games, twice a week and have one day of practice. This coming week is the last week of the season. There is nothing until next year. So the total is 12 practices 1.5hours and 12 games- 6 of them 10 batter rule and last 6 is 3 outs or 10 batter rule.
I would like to continue his interest in baseball throughout the year and this will have to be done by myself. There is nothing else.
My knowledge in Golf is huge. I played for over 30 years and also instruct. I could watch a swing and know what is right and what is wrong in just a few swings. But golf and baseball are like apples and oranges. I cannot do the same for my son with his baseball swing. I even tried to swing the bat to analyze where the power will come from following the book that I bought. I guess I looked horrible since my wife and son both cringed and looked at me with a weird face. My wife told me, "stick to golf". Hehehe!!
Today, he got to swing his new Vexxum bat. We soft tossed with wiffle ballsand then I pitched to him with baseballs. His swing looks slower but the ball really comes off the bat hot. After a while, we grabbed his Omaha bat and his swing looked tremondously quick! The difference between the two bats are the Vexxum is 29-15.5 and Omaha 27-14. I wonder if that little difference makes a big jump in bat speed or is it just my eyes thinking he was swinging quicker with his lighter bat?
Thanks for the advice, I will buy a bucket of balls and look for the little league book. The sport stores here are K-Mart and Wal-Mart. The closest real sports store is a 240 mile round trip drive. This is why I order from the internet (his bats and other equipment).
If anyone else has advice or know about the instructional dvds in my previous post, I will be happy for any reply!
Thanks again.

[charlesmom]

Dear Jayhawk,

You sound like such a dedicated father. I too have a son who turned 8 in December. C.W. is big for his age 4 ft 7 92 lbs. He usually uses the vexxum 16.5 oz bat but on the kind and knowing recomendation of Speedy 42 we bought him a Combat B1 17 oz composite bat. The difference is like night and day--The Combat with even a soft swing brings the ball high and deep. C.W. absolutely loves this bat. As for the batting practice I whole heartedly agree-pitch to him every available chance you get-it makes a world of difference not only in skill level but in confidence too. We ( my two sons and I) practice everyday after school weather permitting. Thank you for listening to a little league mom who loves baseball.

[Speedy42]

Hard to believe baseball season is so short where you live. Is there another town nearby that has a longer season? You're smart for using the internet for your baseball needs. There's so much info and advice out there. Don't use Walmart and KMart for sporting goods. The quality just isn't there. Just keep reading articles, forums, reviews and books and your knowlege will increase 10 fold. With such a short season just think of all the bonding time you'll have with your son when you fill the time practicing. Just remember to change things up and have fun.

Charlesmom, glad to hear( or read ) that your son loves his bat. I'm already thinking of my son's bat for next year. I'm thinking of going with the ComBat Virus-10 senior. We'll see how strong he gets over the year. Let me know how the ComBat B1 lasts after the season. Just curious about the durability of the ComBats.

[jayhawk]

Speedy42,
There used to be a "pony" league years ago when he was in t-ball. I remember the signs posted around town. I havent seen any signs for the past 3 years. There are no other leagues other than Little League which we belong to. We travel 40-50 miles for each practice and games. When we practice on our own, we go to his school which is about 3 miles away from our home. There is a small playground with grass and we set up the rubber bases and practice throwing, catching and hitting. The playground is very small. Just setting up the bases at 60 feet takes 3/4 of the field.
The season, in my opinion, is too short. Just when he grasps the knowledge taught by the coach, its over. There are so many things you got to remember for each position that without practice and going over what was taught , he loses it and then you have to start all over again next year. I am positive that there are so many other things he needs to learn about baseball. I would like to help him achieve the next level without waiting until next January. Maybe with practicing throughout the year, he will improve and be ready.
What to practice and how to practice will be the challenging part for me as I too, will be learning as I help him practice.

Charlesmom,
I am tempted to purchase a CombatB1, but 3 bats in a month and a half,(one of them came in yesterday), one more, may push my wife's patience with me. I will wait until December(a month before the next season). *or if I find an excuse before then*:D

I just read about the Combat Virus after I posted this message. I wish I would have read this forum before the start of the season. It seems Combat bats are the way to go. The Virus one says it feels soft (I assume meaning no sting). Awesome information in the forum!

[charlesmom]

Thank you all for the nice comments. Charles has 5 bats in his bag- 2 vexxums (1 for games-1 for batting practice) 1 wooden bat for batting practice-1 Combat B1- 1 Easton reflex for batting practice and just today I purchased a used Anderson Techzilla 19 OZ. My husband would have a fit if he knew that Charles had over $900.00 worth of bats-but as competitive as LL is you practically have to buy expensive equipment just to keep up when your child is serious about the game. My oldest son ( he is 18 ) can hit with the combat and drive the ball well over 500 ft easily. Everyone loves this BAT!!!!! Also sorry to hear you have a short season. Draft day for LL is March 22 here and we have had 3 practices for our 8U team already- Our LL season usually runs through June.

Carla

[Speedy42]

JayHawk,
Check out the local High School(s) to see if they run baseball camps for little leaguers or the local colleges might run some. The schools in our area do. Also check to see if there are any training facilities, they always have camps and personal trainers. Talk to the HS baseball coach and tell hm your dilema. He might have some good advice or maybe let your son help out at the HS practice. Great way to learn. Good luck out there.
Charlesmom,
I know what you mean. My son has 4 bats in his bag and we have the Lightning Bat at home for overspeed training. I made up this rule with my wife. We each get to spend $500 of our tax refund on whatever we want. She gets what she wants and I get to purchase whatever training equipment I need for my 3 kids. Game bats are not included in the $500, because they need them anyway. Nice rule huh? In our area the P.O.N.Y. league already had their drafts for boys and girls in all divisions. We just had our first batting practice for my girls' 8U team. My son plays travel for first time (9U) and he had 4 practices in the fall 2007 and since ist week of January they practice 2 a week indoors. Thurs. 1 1/2 hrs of professional instruction for hitting and pitching. Sat. 1 hr of indoor fielding. Waiting for break in weather here in the Midwest. I hate snow. We're all dying to get outside.

[jayhawk]

Charlesmom,

5 bats? I think I will print out your response and show my wife! That will give me an excuse to buy one more! I can argue, "But its only 4 bats, Charlesmom has 5!" Little League must be different where we live. We just fill out the paperwork and pay $65.00. Then a coach calls and tells us what day we start practice. We have no draft day.

Speedy42,
A week before the season started, my son attended a baseball clinic with Benny Agbayani formerly from the Mets. It was a great clinic! I picked up on the drills for agility and stretching. I really couldnt hear the stations where he infielded, pitched, hit, and outfielded. I took pictures but I cannot re-tell my son what the instructors told him. But all for not, once he went to practice in LL, he was told not to field the ball (the way he learned at the clinic). He attacked the ball in stride and missed. It was a grounder. Now, he has to simulate a crab and move that way. ***Which to me, looks slow and not natural. If it was fast grounder, there is no way you can get that ball. But that is my opinion and I dont know baseball.***
There is only one high school in our area. Its close to where we practice (40 mile trip). Thats our best bet.
There are no colleges in our area. The only college is a 240 mile trip. I guess the college game that we saw a few weeks ago, was a pre-season vacation game. Both teams had to travel. They didnt publicize the game. It wasnt in any newspaper or radio. Even the results werent in the newspaper. I did find the results on the Kansas Jayhawks website though! We learned about it after my sons LL game. We went up the road to K-Mart and someone mentioned there was a college game at the same field we came from.(But on the Big Field side, where LL doesnt play or go near, its an isolated field all by itself, away from all the other fields where the play soccer, football, etc)
BTW, our gas prices just hit $3.91 for regular and 4.07 for super.
Again, Thanks for your replies. It nice to get feedback to all my questions that were in my head.

[charlesmom]

I like the $500.00 rule!!! I use all my extra money on Charles ( he plays pop warner football in the fall and spring LL). Brandon my oldest son will graduate HS in June and Start ITT Tech 2 days later. Can you believe $16000.00 for ONE year-a total of $42000.00 for an Associates degree. All out of our pocket as we do not qualify for any help through FAFSA. I will quit complaining about gas prices also- here in NC avg. is $3.00 a gal. Weather in the South is crazy too-last week avg. temp 75 degrees-today high winds rains and low 60's. Thank you for listening and have a blessed week end.

[hardhitter]

Lots of good advice and I'll highlight some items;

1. line drives turn into homeruns as they get older, fly balls stay that flyballs!
2. lots of great hitters make a good living being a contact hitter, if that's what he does encourage that.
3. BP is the best thing anyone can do, lots of it. we do 200 to 300 swings a week, some weeks more if he's in a slump.
4. The bats you have are fine and will work great, I have a 10u boy on my team that hit the ball well over 225ft and did it with a cheap easton typhoon. He's a big boy with lots of power.

You said your a golfer - whats more important hitting 300yards or making the perfect 150yard shot to the green for a 2 putt? same with baseball getting the ball in play is top priority. (Ok hitting 300yards and 2 putting would be nice everytime)