Posted by: Jim (jwelborn@lexcominc.net) on Tue Jan 17 19:41:38 2006

> My seven yr. old is in pitching machine and I'm noticing that at times he's dropping his hands as the ball approaches. Any drills or advice to help him out with this problem!



Frank,

This problem can be reduced by tee work. Put the lightest bat you can find in his hands and have him hit balls off a tee into a screen (so he's not thinking about where the balls are going). Start out with slow motion swings to help him get the idea of what his hands should be doing. Make him keep the bat head up near his head with his wrists "cocked" (radial deviation). Make him swing the bat head directly through the ball. Emphasize very strong hip rotation and not letting the hands drop. It will take many reps to create proper muscle memory. If he gets on the machine (or live arm) and regresses, put him back on the tee.

My daughter went through the same thing at age nine and it took a while to get it corrected. She did eventually become a very good hitter.

Remember, he's only seven. It must be fun and low pressure.

Jim