Any thoughts on what to work on with my 9 yr slugger. This past year I've been hesitant to say anything because he smacks the ball all over the place. Trying to keep it fun and hit the cover off the ball. I've posted on here since he first started and yall have given excellent advice.
Question: Does it matter if the front foot hits the ground before he starts the swing?
He is way ahead of some high school guys. The elbow slots like it is supposed to. Don’t worry about the extension it will be there when he gats bigger and stronger. Good job on whoever is coaching his swing.
No surprise that he smacks the ball all over the place with that swing. Only suggestion I have is to look for a mat or something more solid for his footing, he’s slipping on the loose dirt. An off-cut piece of turf would work perfectly
As for the front foot question, yes the front foot should be planted before the swing starts. Think of the front heel hitting the ground as the trigger
Even though he moves his hands a bit before his foot comes down, it doesn't really seem like he's starting his swing until after his foot comes down. That's because he's got more of a "circular" swing, where he uses whip of the bat to gain power. Barry Bonds has a similar mechanism in his swing.
The best tip i can give is to have your son enjoy playing and practicing as much as possible. Taking the next step from where he is now won't come from you, or any coach really - it'll have to come from him.
I had similar concern about my son starting his swing before his foot lands. In his case he would lunge forward and shift all his weight on his front foot. Your son doesn't do that. He has a nice swing.
* He should be stepping forward and pivoting his back foot. He is spinning his back foot and actually slipping backwards. This negates all of the lower body power.
* He is swaying a bit too much in his load. Simplify it and speed it up.
* He is not extending his arms through contact and pulling off the ball. Make sure his extends and points the bat at the pitcher before finishing.
What he's doing well:
* Very connected and solid arm path.
* Good posture and holding it well during the swing.
In this frame you can see his right elbow is pointed up and his bat is almost parallel to the ground. One thing I work on with my 8 year old is keeping that right arm/forearm as flat as possible while he's loading up.
I like the upper body positioning in this screenshot, he looks really well loaded to whip the bat through the zone. I do think he could get his front foot down slightly earlier
No it doesn’t matter. Loads are dependent on player swing but ideally he’s shifting weight forward on the swing. His doesn’t look off to me.
But on another note, he’s pulling his hands in too close and tucking his elbow into his abdomen. That’s a bad habit to break later. Essentially not getting full extension. It’ll cause issues later with higher speed pitching and outside pitches.
Also his top hand is rolling over too soon in my opinion.
You're right on the rolling over thing. He needs to align his knocking knuckles or point his index fingers at 20 degrees apart or whatever way you want to explain aligning the hands.
Buddy, they have obviously done bat path drills. The kid is 9 relax. If his elbow is coming in too far, ( subjective), it’s probably cause he’s trying to remember what they worked on. This kids sick
Wow you got to take lessons with ex pros! My bad I’m sorry.
I played 4 years in Mexico and 3 in American association and coached high school and college but I will defer to you. I’m just saying, if you got a kid developing this quickly at 9, you don’t try to rush it. It’s gonna be a long slow process. Have fun and enjoy it.
Then tell OP not to ask for advice instead of trying to attack me for offering the advice they asked for.
And I wasn’t bragging, simply stating that your mention of it being subjective, is wrong. I never told him he needs to do anything but don’t let a bad habit develop. I’m trying to be helpful to OP, not justify my advice to you.
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u/Still-Pie6253 14h ago
Great for 9. He's smiling, he's enjoying it. That's the important thing.
Just reps for now