Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Tue May 2 21:36:34 2006

>>> My 13 year old son is a good ball player and excellent contact hitter but has always had a problem with power. After taping his swing and comparing it to clips of major leaguers, I have noticed that his lead arm and elbow seem to be a lot lower at contact than the swings of the major leagers. This seems to also cause him to roll his wrists prematurely, thereby losing power.

Does anyone know of a good drill or training aid that will help to change this well ingrained habit?

Thanks for the help. <<<

Hi Dan

Welcome to the site. – One of the key “Absolutes” of a good swing is that the lead-elbow must stay up in the plane of the swing from launch to contact. Below are a couple articles that may help you solve the problem.

http://www.batspeed.com/tf03.html
http://www.batspeed.com/messageboard/12645.html

Jack Mankin
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(Dan)
>>> Thanks for the input, Jack. I am sure this is the major flaw in my son's swing. From looking at your video, it appears the heavy bag drill might be the best to retrain the lead elbow. Anything else that will help? <<<

Hi Dan

I would suggest that as he works on the bag drill, he concentrate on getting his lead-shoulder to be pulling back toward the catcher at contact. I refer to this as the 105 position – about 15 degrees past facing the pitcher. This should insure good shoulder rotation and get his lead-side more involved in the swing.

Jack Mankin