Posted by: The Hitting Guru () on Thu May 20 16:37:55 2004

My son has started casting on his swings in live pitching situations instead of rotating the hips and dropping the back elbow to his side, especially in game situations against faster pitching. Any good advice for how to eliminate/prevent this problem other than, of course, practice, practice, practice?



Besides practice it may be necessary for your son to move back in the batters box if possible and move a bit away from the plate. This will allow him a little more time to see the pitch and get his legs involved. In addition, ask him to concentrate on keeping both hands on the bat in order to finish his swing. Frank Thomas suffers from this problem so much that it has actually become normal. This is why he has trouble with the inside pitch. Frank does not fully rotate off his back side, but rather drags his back leg into the pitch. Without tremendous physical strength, his style would be totally ineffective. Further, your son may have to start his mechanics a bit earlier while concentrating on the pitcher's release point. Good Luck!