Posted by: John D (John@Dresslar.com) on Sat Dec 31 18:54:08 2005

> > Grandson just turned 13 and is 5'3 and about 92 pounds.
> > On the big field the most he can carry the ball
> > in the air is about 270 feet and only if the pitcher has a good fast
> > ball. To me 270 would be about the most someone his size
> > should be able to carry a ball in the air but I'm considering
> > sending him to a rotational hitting camp to hopefully gain
> > additional distance. Not sure if he uses rotational hitting

I'd worry about fixating on "distance", given his modest size. That's plenty of power for his age; if he's hitting line drives, he should be plenty valuable to his team. If his coaches think that his hitting generally would benefit by further professional instruction and you and he think it's worth it, fine. But if you and he start worrying about distance, he'll just end up uppercutting and flying out (or popping up).

At his age, you shouldn't be in a hurry to catch him up for showing off a certain skill. In another year or so he'll be trying to make his high school team, right? Then I'd assess where he is physically.