Expert: John Priest - 6/8/2009

Question
My Son is 11 years old and he has always been a pretty good hitter, this year he has seen more hard throwing Pitchers and he seems to be swinging late at everything, I have tryed to throw harder batting practice to him but some of these Kids are throwing way harder then I can throw, Any idea's on drills or anything we can work on to help him speed up his swing? Thanks
Steve

Answer
Steve,
This is no problem and it is a perfect time for this to happen.  Having a late swing is always better than an early swing.  When I give lessons to players who say they need help because they are late on everything I always say you have nothing to worry about you are doing everything right.  The goal of the hitter is to wait as long as they can to be able to see the ball and make good contact.  

This is the perfect time to teach you child how to hit the ball to the opposite side.  This will help him get inside the ball and have a short swing.  Assuming he is a right handed hitter, by hitting the ball to the right side he will end up with more RBI's and extra base hits.  All you need to do is make sure his mechanics are rotational and not linear.  

Working on hitting the ball to the right side will build his confidence in controlling his at-bats.  It is always easier to adjust if you are late rather than early.  Work on initiating the swing with the rotation if the back side and letting the hands rotate around the axis of rotation and then to the ball.  Start out with the batting tee and work on hitting all pitch locations (especially inside and outside) to the opposite side.  If the hips start the swing and the hands stay back you will get inside the ball.  Most players who have trouble start the swing with the upper body and wrap around the ball pulling it everytime.  If these players are too early you will see them roll over the ball hitting weak ground balls.  

If your son has good rotational mechanics and is still late then swing is not the problem.  The problem can be his preparation and all he needs to do is step sooner.  

Let me know if I can help further.
Thank You,
John Priest