Posted by: Chris O'Leary (chris@chrisoleary.com) on Thu Oct 13 09:30:03 2005

> I have a seven year old in a machine pitch league. He killed the ball the first half of the season and did not strike out. He now strikes out at least two times per game, although he does get a few good foul balls that are pulled. When he misses, he swings too early. When he hits it, the ball is always pulled to the left side. Please help!

The first thing I would do is watch his feet. Are they moving or still? At his age I like them to be generally still.

How is his balance? Is he striding too far forward and sliding under the ball?

My six-year-old is having a problem right now where he lunges across the plate.

Pulling the ball suggests that he may be stepping closed with his front foot (toward the plate).

Also, I am generally an advocate of light, short bats, but in some cases you can fix problems by switching the child to a heavier or longer bat.

Hope this helps,

Chris