Posted by: Pro_Hitter (andygreen29@hotmail.com) on Wed Oct 29 14:22:10 2003

Nick is right in saying that it is a good thing to learn how to hit the ball from left-center to right-center but I think I'd be correct in saying that first base does not fall within those parameters. Nick is also correct when it comes to the proper contact point being closer in to the body than we might surmise; however, if your boy is consistently grounding to first base there are some things to do to correct. Realize first that the result is a symptom of the swing. If we try to change the result without really looking at the swing, we simply put a band-aid on the swing and cause another problem in the long run (and quite often a more difficult problem). First, I'd ask myself if my son was hitting a little too much and he was tired which was causing him not to fire his lower half through the zone which in turn causes his hands to drag. Secondly, I'd get my son's swings on video tape so I could watch them. If his problem is grounding to first here are a few things you can check for.

1.) Is he getting loaded properly? By that I mean, does he have a strong scapula load...this is not to be confused with a counter-rotation. Essentially, it is just cocking the back elbow back towards the third base dugout which will tighten the back right scap (for right handed hitters).

2.) Are his hips still leading his hands through the zone. The hips must go before the hands (the overwhelming philosophy on this site-so I will not go into depth).

3.) A good check is to see if his hands ever trail his back elbow in the swing. When you video tape him, slow the tape down to frame by frame so you can see if his hands ever lag behind that back elbow. If that is happening, it is a sure sign that something is awry. If that's the case, he is casting the bat out, barring his arm and trailing the pitch. In theory (rotational that is), all this is cured by focusing on the lower half. Coming down on a soft front knee which allows the knee to turn thus allowing the hips to fire quickly and fully which will bring the shoulders followed by the hands in the appropriate path.

Hope this has been helpful. Let me know!

Andy

Baseball Mom,
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> There are any number of reasons for grounding out to first and as I think another poster indicated a video would be the best way to determine that.
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> There is a natural tendency to see one's child pull the ball. However, after been at this game for a long time I think it is better to focus on kids learning to hit the ball from right center to left center field. There are a lot of reasons for this, but the main one is it helps them learn at an early age the proper contact point. Most kids want to contact the ball too far out in front of their body. The proper contact point is around the front thigh. A little more in front for an inside pitch, a little back for an outside pitch.
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> Nick