Posted by: John D (John@Dresslar.com) on Mon Nov 14 19:45:18 2005

Hi Allen.

How old is the kid? That's pretty common in the 8-11 year old range. First, buy Jack's video. Chopping won't happen if you have a comprehensive swing program.

Second, videotape him and see what's happening with his hands at launch. I may be projecting, but our problems often have revolved around kids letting their hands drift forward before the actual launch of the swing, so the only way they could get the bathead in position was to chop down. Have him do drills where he strides .... STOPS ... checks his hand position, and then launches. Do it over and over with increasing speed until he's back up to game speed.

Third, check to see if he's leaning over his front foot, which is even more common. Once that front heel comes down, his hips should not slide forward any more, and he should rotate. Again, practice drills, like a simple rotate in place drill without using a bat, and check to see that his chest stays over his belly button the whole time.

Another good drill is to use a bottom hand drill. Have him choke up on the bat and then swing it using only his bottom hand. This will get him used to the fact that he has to use his hips and shoulders to move the bat, or it won't move at all.

Hope this helps!
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> How do you get rid of a chop in a swing. I have a kid who can contact the ball off every pitcher, however, his swing is always downward resulting in weak popups or balls drilled into the ground. What drills can I use to help correct this?