Frozen at the plate

[miller1437]

My son is in his first year of 9 year old kid pitch. At some point during the previous years of machine pitch he fell in love with wood bats & was able to connect and drive the ball well. He is a regular size boy standing 54 " and weighing 76 lbs. As a result of the weight of the wood bats he's developed a fondness for heavier bats. In my effort to transition him from wood to aluminum, I went with a larger aluminum bat of 32" 22 ounce. I now realize the error of my ways and want to go to something more suited for him. Suggestions on size, weight and affordable brands would help. Thank you.

[Speedy42]

Even though your son got used to heavy bats, it was against the machine. Machines allow you to time it and "cheat" your way to hits. He won't have that luxury against kids who can really throw hard. I would suggest a bat that he can swing fast, with good mechanics, and one that will allow him to stay back, then pull the trigger late on kids who can't throw so hard. A Virus -12 comes to mind. Even-balanced and all composite and has pop like crazy. If you need to go cheaper, try the Demarini Voodoo-12. It's 1/2 composite and 1/2 alloy. Also check out the Easton Stealths CNT SC900 which is also half-n-half. The alloy is pretty strong ( no dents on my kid's and he's been using it for practice). Check these bats at justbats.com, closeoutbats.com, and HQ4sports.com.
By the way I would suggest a 29" bat for your son. My son is 2" taller and 5lbs heavier and he uses a 29" 18oz bat for games.

[hardhitter]

length does nothing if you can put the barrel on the ball! longer bats = kids hitting on the handle, I thought my son to watch kids learn kids those with long bats pitch inside at best they get a weak little hit. Stay with a shorter bat and teach him how to hit correctly.

if he can swing a heavier bat that's fine go heavier no longer, I firmly believe no kid under 12 should ever be over 32" bat, none 10 or under should be 30" or higher. I don't care how tall,big,strong, great they are. go short and heavy first. when he can swing a minus 3 at 29" then go longer