Posted by: Alan (lanai888@hotmail.com) on Mon Aug 1 19:09:13 2005

> >>> Hi Jack,
>
> my son's developed a bad habit of bat wrap. In other words, just prior to swinging, he brings the head of the bat behind his head. As a result of this he either misses the ball down the middle, due to the position of the bat head, or he'll be late on hitting the ball.
>
> do you have any drills to stop him from doing this? I know muscle memory has a lot to do with his "bad" habit......thanks for your insights.
>
> Alan <<<
>
> Hi Alan
>
> Having the hands above the shoulders and wrapping the bat in the stance may not be the problem. Many of the best hitters acquire the position you describe. Regardless of where a good hitter holds his hands or cocks the bat in his stance, just before they start shoulder rotation to launch their swing, they all will bring the hands to the back-shoulder. They will also have swept the bat-head from its wrapped (or cocked forward) position back to the normal launch before they initiate the swing.
>
> Therefore, the important thing to look for in your son’s swing is where were his hands and bat-head when he initiated shoulder rotation. It may take a frame-by-frame analysis to tell for sure. Although some of the best young hitters I have reviewed (video analysis) efficiently use pre-launch mechanics, I prefer my student first develop sound mechanics from the normal launch position.
>
> Jack Mankin

Thanks for the response. Yes, I've done a video frame by frame analysis of his swing and at the start of his shoulder rotation the bat head is positioned behind the back of his head. It's like he pushes his bottom hand back before he swings.

I've tried to have him hold his bat in an more upright position versus a flat position. This way his helment gets in the way of his wrapping. But I'm not satisfied with this solution as he probably shouldn't be moving his bat head into this position and will only hurt his batting as starts to face faster pitching. He's currently 13 years old and moving up to the regulation size fields.

I am hoping to find a solution to keep his hands "quiet" and keep the bat head "still" just before he initiates his shoulder and hip rotation.

Guess there are no magic pills out there.....only practice, practice, practice.