let me be the first to ask a question

[dolphindan1]

need help with power or something

Please bear with me on this...

My son (12) plays rec and travel ball...He played 12 majors in the fall and will again this fall but plays 12u AA right now...anyway...He bats 3rd on the travel team and clean up in rec. however he is not a power hitter and lately he is hittin nothing but grounders to the 3rd base side...he is a lefty...how can I develop more power or is it something in his swing I need to look for that he is not getting the ball in the air more? He has hit the fence several times in the past so I am not sure if its a power thing or his mecahnics are off..He sees the ball well, he has only struck out 3 times in about 25 games, pretty solid I think but the ground balls are driving us both crazy. He does hit up the middle alot for base hits so that is good I guess....he is upset cause his buddies are knocking it out. However they strike out alot too which he doesnt. Which I tried to explain to him.

Any ideas or thought would be appreciated. His hitting slump has also carried over to his pitching and has really got into his head and he becomes very frustrated very quick, very unlike him.

[cps]

How does his batting in BP compare to his batting games? If he hits better in BP, try videoing him in both BP and games and do a comparison. Also try BP at game speed and see how he does. Perhaps in games he is a little more nervous and his bat speed drops a little.

The extra pressure he is putting on himself or lack of confidence could be part of the problem as well. After one game my son’s AB coach told him “That home run was great, but you’re dropping you’re shoulder too much.” For the next two weeks, my son was so worried about dropping his shoulder that his batting suffered, both in BP and games.

I would suggest reminding your son how good his batting average is in order to keep his confidence up. Also, don’t let him know it is bugging you. He is getting base hits after all. If you determine there is actually something “wrong” with his swing, treat them as minor issues that can be corrected over time. Save any major modifications for off season.

[jayhawk]

For those of you that don't know how it works here goes.

First and foremost the rear hip must be loaded and the weight must stay back until 'go'.

Then....to create separation leading to the whip....

The hands must be moving back or up or both AS the rear hip moves or turns or both....forward.

AS this happens a balancing act MUST occur. Because if you don't learn to do it you will lose your weight. Like my clip shows. I allow my weight to go to my front leg too soon. In so doing, I've lost one of the largest power supplies....it is no longer available at 'go'.

Anyway....this balancing act is like a tug of war. It is very linear at first....then turns rotational. The hands moving back or up or back and up is a linear move. (his daughter's is almost completely rotational because of her hemisphere type separation)The lower body moving forward is intially linear also and quickly turns rotational (this is an important teach....more later if interested) For every inch of rearward hand movement there is an equal inch of forward movement of the rear hip. Distance created. You have a tug of war. And the lower body will win. The push of the rear leg is stronger than the hands ability to 'hold' the upper body back by their rearward movement. Yet they continue to 'hold'. Something has to give. What happens is the lower body turns open. The leg is pushing, the hands are loading rearward and therefore holding the upper body back.....the give is the opening of the hips. AND.....the answer to my earlier question.....when this happens the hitters center of gravity lowers.....he sits. A hitter doesn't intentionally sit then swing. The hitter's loading technique 'sits' him. The sit is a result of the tug of war. It becomes a kind of slingshot type action. The hands pulling the rubber of the slingshot back against the arms pushing the handle of the slingshot forward.

This creates a timing window. The hitter has sufficient stretch early in the process to release it for the fastball if necessary.....or he can continue the stretch while waiting for the offspeed pitch.

The stretch and fire is created. There are many other details that are important. We can go into them if you want.

The key is HOW the barrel is released. It is clear that it is turned rearward by the hands. See Pujols and Fielder above. Or Bonds below. Therefore a sudden change of direction.

The Second Engine working against the First Engine with good sycnage (hands loading rearward as the rear hip moves/turns forward) is how the high level swing is created.

Hope it helps. Found it on a website I was reading today.

[dolphindan1]

He crushes the ball in BP...but like I said he hits alot of line drives back at pitcher up the middle...He does hit to left alot and very seldom does he turn on the ball to right....I just am not sure what to look for...

[dsore1218]

First, I can't see him so I won't diagnose him. My two cents is that he is putting pressure on himself. I think there has been good feedback on the mechanics so you may read that, see something and correct it. I hope so.

I would start a discussion with your son about situational hitting. What are you trying to do with a particular count, with runners, without runners, type of pitcher, etc. Get his mind off mechanics and back on the game.

Work mechanics in the cage but also keep up the conversation about baseball and hitting, don't let him focus purely on mechanics or that is all he will think about. If you are completely whacked out over mechanics hitting .400 won't seem great. If he understands the game then he knows that .250 but getting runners over or getting a clutch hit is huge and the confidence builds from there.

Good luck.

[dolphindan1]

Since I got alot of comments and good advice I thought I would give an update of the game last night

As you know my son has been struggling with his hitting...Well tonight he had 4 at bats...went 3 for 4...and won the game with a double in the 8th...

He hit 2 doubles one over short one over 2nd and a single up the middle...he did ground out to short but the SS covered alot of ground and had to back hand the ball to get it...his buddy hit another HR 2nd in 2 games...but I asked my son what feels better winning the game or hitting a HR and 3 strikeouts...He said winning the game....what made him mad was the coach gave the kid that hit the HR the game ball....I told my son that it was the head coaches son...dont worry about everyone saw you win the game...

so maybe this will get him back on track...He had a hitting lesson with his travel teams hitting coach yesterday and that coach told him dont worry about HRs keep getting on base its more important...

[dolphindan1]

hit his 1st homer tonight over a 220 foot fence...and I dang missed it....I was coaching a coach pitch all star team...can you believe that

[sportsshorts]

First, it sounds like he's putting too much pressure on himself when he's in the game. When he relaxes he will hit more freely. If he's a lefty hitting to the left side then he's not pulling the ball like lefty power hitters do. Have him start his stride earlier so he can pull the ball a bit more.

[mreido]

You should check out some of the videos on YouTube having to do with different aspects of the swing. There are several different techniques to fixing swing flaws demonstrated by renowned hitting instructor, former MLB manager and 1965 rookie of the year Jim Lefebvre. If your son is hitting too many ground balls watch the video on the "Flat Bat" trainer, if your son needs to develop power watch the Deep Zone trainer video and the best swing development trainer on the market today is the hinge-bat trainer. Watch these videos on YouTube via this link: http://www.youtube.com/user/WVMetalWoodBats

[tradosaurus]

Buy the book "Lau's Laws on Hitting" and teach your son yourself without having to buy gimmick equipment or pay exhorbitant fees to some fat cat who knows next to nothing about hitting properly.

Trainer bats that may work over time don't explain the "how" of hitting. Once you understand the easy to learn concepts from the book mentioned above then a regular bat, ball and tee are all you need.

Also use a camcorder to video your sons swing and play it back at slow speeds to analyze potential problems. :)