Posted by: BHL (Knight1285@aol.com) on Thu May 1 15:17:38 2003

My 13 yo just moved up to Jr. league and has had difficulty hitting with the longer mound distance. By watching I feel like he stops tracking the ball 5-6 feet in front of the plate. He does great with soft toss and the tee. What other drills would be good to help him track the ball to the bat?
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> That is about as far as you can track the ball. It is impossible to actually see the ball make contact with the bat.

Hi.

I will apologize as to be so abrupt, but it sounds as if you equate improvement with a drill from times past that merely a "time-honored" fallacy. "Watching the ball hit the bat," as you described it, does nothing to help your son track the ball. Actually, some authors, such as Ted Williams' heralded protoge, Steve Ferroli, have actually ventured that such a drill might offer a hitter less time to hit the ball.

Here's why. 'Hitters can only track the ball up to a given point about 10" in front of the plate, even the ones with superior eyesight.' This point is articulated through Mike Epstein, who posits that if the head counter-rotates against the body (i.e., comes in, as the body rotates away), hip rotation will be cut short, and the batter will end up with a long swing.

However, I will leave you a solution to this problem. Focus on breaking the habit of watching the ball hit the bat. In fact, I almost encourage you to go to www.mikeepsteinhitting.com, and buy his products. I am sure that the investment will really help your son, as Mike as helped me.

Best Wishes,
BHL
Knight1285@aol.com