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ironman2
2 Posts |
 Posted - 05/11/2010 : 14:00:43
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| My son is 10 and plays on a 10U travel team. He is in a big slump at the plate. I was wondering if I could get a few ideas from ya on things I could do to help him out. He is making contact with the ball, just not hitting it hard anywhere. Thanks in advance. |
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TAZ980002
831 Posts |
Posted - 05/11/2010 : 14:52:56
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| One of the things I do with my son before a game is to take him to the cage and focus on nothing but hitting the ball hard. Keep the whole session very positive. Don't talk about mechanics or anything else. Work on his mechanics all during the week but never right before he plays a game. I think it helps him take confidence to the plate. |
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Shut Out
512 Posts |
Posted - 05/11/2010 : 15:03:11
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| my favorite thing to do is video tape my son's at bats so he can see his own swing and critique himself just as us dads do. He learns and laughs from it. seeing examples of when you did right and wrong are the best for a young mind. They absorb everything and can correct bad habits quickly if they can really see what they are doing. |
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bturner
231 Posts |
Posted - 05/11/2010 : 15:03:33
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Ironman
I feel your pain. My son is also 10 and was 0-13 last tournament Like you said he put it in play but did'nt square anything up. He and I are spending quality time everyday doing soft toss and BP (and tee work). I hope it works but no matter what he and I have had fun trying to work it out. |
Edited by - bturner on 05/11/2010 21:02:40 |
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SSBuckeye
575 Posts |
Posted - 05/11/2010 : 15:18:51
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| Tell him to stop thinking. I have my kids hum a song when they are at the plate to stop them from thinking and get them reacting. It usually works. |
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bb2210
16 Posts |
Posted - 05/11/2010 : 15:33:01
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| Wish I had insight with that one - we have the same situation with our son on occasion. We have noticed that the most recent slump was when he went from being aggressive at the plate to trying to wait on the "right" pitch then ending up with a 3-2 count and feeling the need to swing at anything to avoid the stike out (esp. the caught looking stike out :)) But other times it's been like you describe just can't quite get it right. Most of the time he works it out and gets back in the groove but those games in the slump can seem like 3 lifetimes. Sorry not much help in solving problem, but can offer empathy :) |
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ingasven
120 Posts |
Posted - 05/11/2010 : 16:20:32
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I hope you understand why nobody has been quick to respond. It's really difficult to determine what's wrong without seeing his swing. There are so many things that could be giving him trouble.
Try going back to the basics with him. I would do a whole lot of tee work and soft toss and it is CRITICAL to make sure you do everything you can to keep him in a positive frame of mind at the plate. If you can, try to keep the instruction minimal and simple. Instruct him then let him try what you're teaching a few times before adding anything new or saying something on every single swing.
You might also want to make sure his bat is the correct length and weight.
Anyway,I hope this helps.
By the way, is there a reason you don't feel his coach can fix it? You're answer may be a huge clue to what's wrong.
If I could only heed this advice when dealing with my own son |
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patent pending
66 Posts |
Posted - 05/11/2010 : 16:25:59
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| Have him swing 2 bats when on deck. This will increase bat swing speed at the plate. Make sure he's swinging all the way thru the ball. Private hitting lessons from a good instructor can be money well spent also. |
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gasbag
281 Posts |
Posted - 05/11/2010 : 17:03:01
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| Tee work ! |
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SMASH
253 Posts |
Posted - 05/11/2010 : 19:43:37
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| If your son has mechanical flaws with his swing you may consider private hitting lessons. It may be a simple fix. Now if your son is truly just "in a slump" like all good hitters go through I would tell him to simplify things. Focus on seeing the ball really well(keep your head still) and hitting it hard somewhere, anywhere. Finally remember he is only 10 so don't make it more complicated than it already is. Confidence plays a huge role in hitting a baseball. Get him in a cage and "groove it" to him until he gets his swagger back. |
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brightlights
6 Posts |
Posted - 05/11/2010 : 21:39:25
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Have been down the same road with my child. My child was rolling over everything and hitting many weak ground balls.I took him to a hitting coach and he emphasized hitting the ball to the opposite field and we began working on a tee. He had always been a dead pull hitter. You would not believe the difference in his hitting since we started getting lessons. So, if possible, try a hitting coach if you can afford it or at the very least, work on opposite field hitting.
Also, never use 2 bats or even a doughnut to warm up. I saw an episode on Sportscience that proved that using a doughnut or any extra weight on a bat would slow your bat swing down at the plate. The experiment held true for using additional weight in the on deck circle for an upcoming at bat. |
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biged
198 Posts |
Posted - 05/11/2010 : 21:59:11
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| Sounds like this particular slump is caused by a lack of power. This is often caused by not getting the lower half involved. One way to get the lower half involved is to toss a semi deflated basketball. To hit this ball far he must drive it. Slapping it will not result in the ball going anywhere. Go back to the basics, "Squish the bug". Follow thru with extention And Tee Work. If all else fails a good batting instructor and a few lessons will really help. |
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DoubleD
33 Posts |
Posted - 05/11/2010 : 23:46:02
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Try these soft toss drills...
Bottom hand only drill - an old tee ball bat works great. Just toss 'em in there & let him whack them with the bottom hand only. It helps to establish a shorter hand path to the ball, thus increasing bat speed. It takes them a while to get used to it but it definately helps. Have him finish with his regular bat with both hands and you should see a marked improvement.
Eyes closed drill - have him get set and then close his eyes. Soft toss them in there and say GO just before the ball gets into the hitting zone. GO = Open his eyes & hit the ball. It takes a few tosses to get the timing down for the tosser but this drill is great for reaction hitting...see the ball hit the ball. No thinking. Dry fire a few in there to make sure he not cheating.
Rapid Fire Drill - toss three in a row as fast as he can keep up with them. Helps them to focus on seeing the ball and generating quick hands.
Good luck! |
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Hillio
123 Posts |
Posted - 05/12/2010 : 00:43:39
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quote:
Sounds like this particular slump is caused by a lack of power. This is often caused by not getting the lower half involved
I agree. It sounds like lots of "arms swings" are being made, possibly from just not seeing the ball well, or being fooled by pitch speed more often than usual. I always try and remind my own kid (9 yr old) to keep his hands back as long as possible, and to try to use his hips and torso to help his hands get the barrel of the bat through the hitting zone while his arms are still bent, and not tensed up. The difference in bat speed, and power is easy to see. A lot of coaches preach extension, extension, extension which is counter productive and will actually create problems (such as slumps with lack of power) where there were none to begin with. If you or your son aren't familiar with rotational hitting principals, I would recommend to watch a good rotational hitting video from Mike Epstein or Chris O'Leary or someone similar. You won't be sorry. Video taping your sons at-bats for later critiquing, as suggested by another poster, would also be a good idea. |
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ironman2
2 Posts |
Posted - 05/12/2010 : 07:54:42
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| Thanks for all the great advice. To answer one of the questions, his it's hard for his coach to help him because we live over an hour away from the team. He had a private hitting instructor where we live but recently his wife passed away and he has 2 little girls so he doesn't do them anymore. He was great with my son. Last night, we had a local rec game and he was 1/3. He hit the ball hard, but he would not wait so he was pulling everything down the right field line. I saw alot of people say work on the tee. We have one of those Muhl Tech advanced skills tee's. What are some thing we can do on that to work on hitting the ball the opposite way. Thanks! |
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00mom
5 Posts |
Posted - 05/12/2010 : 22:04:03
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| Pay him for hits! It cleared my son's slump right up and my bank account cleared out too! Money motivates our youngest generation! |
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gasbag
281 Posts |
Posted - 05/13/2010 : 08:35:44
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You are not alone as anyone who plays the game long enough will have many slumps in their baseball career ! I agree with many of the things the other posters have stated. All I could add is don't be afraid to utilize a videotape of him doing all his drills ( tee, soft toss etc. ) as well as his live hitting in the cage and in games. Then with him present, review the footage again and again and again. Pick one of his baseball heroes and get some footage of their swing and compare the two. It's fun and will also teach him that athletes need to learn how to think like athletes !
Good luck.....trust me, he'll work through it ! |
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Help with slump please
