Posted by: Willie () on Wed May 3 16:48:23 2006

> My son's an 11 year old who has always been a pretty good good pen before swinging. We decided to correct that few weeks ago by minimizing his stride by starting his stance upon his left toe (like A-Rod). We also worked on shortening his swing by keeping his hands in. Now he's square when he swings but he's late and the result is he misses the ball underneath (fouls off to the backstop) or hits it towards first base.
> Upon viewing Ted Williams' swing, I immediately noticed how he strides toward the first base.
> http://firstpickclub.com/video/tedwbackabovefull.mpg
>
> In fact, that's exactly how my kid used to hit. Stride open with his arms extended at contact. Who says its wrong to stride open and reach? Ted Williams does it.

If you watch Ted Williams in slow motion you will see that he does NOT extend his arms at contact. His hands follow a circular hand path and are actually out in front at contact. Full extension does not occur till after contact. It sounds like your son is simply swinging late. There could be several reasons but is probably due to poor mechanics.