Posted by: Patrick Schneemann (patrick@westernpi.com) on Sat Sep 15 13:49:20 2001

>>> I have video taped my son's swing and studied it. It appears that at the point the bat impacts the ball, his shoulders have fully turned (opened) and are square to the pitcher. As a result, it seems that it is hard for him to keep his head down over the plate. The video frame usually shows his head facing the pitcher and perhaps one eye straining to watch the ball hit the bat. Are there any drills that he can do that will help him time his shoulder turn and thus more easily keep his head on the ball and both eyes in the hitting area.
> Thanks, Patrick Schneemann <<<
>
> Hi Patrick
>
> There is nothing wrong with your son's head position as you describe it. The idea that the batter should see the ball make contact with bat has been completely discredited some time ago. The more knowledgeable hitters and coaches would tell you that the batter ceases to follow the ball with their eyes when the ball is 12 to 20 feet from the plate.
>
> The brain has digested the visual information of the ball flight and made the "go - no go" decision when the ball is 15 to 20 feet out. Once the swing has been fully initiated only very minor adjustments to the bat's timing and path can be made. Even if your son saw the ball 5 to 10 feet out, he could do little to alter his swing. --- Once the swing has been fully initiated, trying to make on-the-fly adjustments produces weak results.
>
> Jack Mankin
>
> Thanks to all who responded to my question. I am definetly open to more suggestions if anyone has additional input. However, I must admit, I am just as confused as before about how to best address my son's head and shoulder position at the time of impact. Maybe the answer is to do nothing and let him keep swinging away. My only concern is that he tends to miss too many pitches even though he has decent power in his swing. I'm sure he's not the only person with this problem. He and I will keep working at it though. It's a heck of a lot of fun working with him. I'm sure you'll see him in the majors some day. And if not, we're having the time of our lives anyway.
- Patrick