Posted by: Keith Trovillion (spacey_1990@hotmail.com) on Thu Jan 18 06:06:26 2007

> >>> Does anybody have any tips and/or drills to correct a late swing. My boy, who is almost 11, has always swung late. He has a nice quick swing but is always behind the ball, when he connects it almost always a ground ball to the right side or many times a foul ball to the right. I have spoke to him about picking up where the ball is coming from and also where he should be making contact to pull the ball. His corrected eyesight is fine.
>
> Please help anybody!!!! <<<
>
> Hi Joe
>
> What you describe is a common problem with many hitters. It is more due to inefficient swing mechanics than timing. I will place below a post from the Archives I wrote on this topic. Once you have read the post, view video clip - http://www.batspeed.com/media/WhipHigh.wmv – It may explain why the swing mechanics your son is being taught leaves the bat-head dragging behind his hands at contact.
>
> Jack Mankin
> ##
>
> Re: Bat
>
> Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Fri Jan 7 11:58:17 2005
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> >>> Jack
> I have always been a power hitter, using a heavy bat. I think your approach to hitting is right on. I'm now 65 playing slow pitch softball, using the same weight bat. My bat speed is not what it was 20 years ago. What is the physics behind using a heavy bat, I make my own wood bats, with slower bat speed and using a lighter bat with increase bat speed???
>
> A second ?. I use a 36/36 some times a 36/38. what is the physics behind a long bat 36" or a short bat say 30"-32". Also I'm told that I should use a Alum. bat like other people. What is the physics behind wood - Alum???
> wes
> ps this is the best site that I have found on the web. Thank's <<<
>
> Hi Wes
>
> The basic formula for the amount of energy impacted to the baseball at contact is f=ma or f=mvv. This means that for a constant bat velocity, doubling the mass of the bat will double the impact force. However, doubling the velocity will cause the impact force to be four times greater. Therefore it appears that increasing bat velocity is more important than increasing bat weight.
>
> This is true to a point. A batter swinging a lighter bat can generate greater bat speed, which equates to hitting the ball with more force. However, decreasing bat weights reach a point of diminishing return where lowering the bat weight does not result in a corresponding increase in bat speed. The bat feels easier to swing but the bat does not have the substance to drive the ball with any real authority.
>
> I understand that ultra light bats allow smaller players to compete at an earlier age. My problem is the swing mechanics these young hitters develop using the ultra light bats. Professor Adair has calculated that a 35 oz. wood bat with a velocity of 75 mph can hit a ball about 400ft. He has also calculated that it takes about 3 torque horsepower to swing the bat of which the arms can only contribute about 1/3 hp. Therefore, it is the larger muscles in the legs and torso that supply most of the energy – not the arms
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> The bottom line is – the lighter the bat, the less the larger muscles are required in the swing. With a –11 bat, a batter can attain decent game bat speed with mechanics that rely mainly on the arms. My concern is, once a batter has developed these mechanics, what happens when the batter must use a regulation size bat (-3 or heavier) which require the efficient use of the larger muscles in the legs and torso.
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> Note: Wes, the walls of an aluminum bat has more of a “trampoline” effect at contact than a wood bat.
>
> Jack Mankin

Hi Joe!!

Im a 16 year old playing varsity level at my high school in wisconsin and I have the same exact problems as your child. I've seen hitting coaches at the batting cages in my areas and Ive had help by our coach, and they all say the same thing, mechanics. Your kid just needs to step up to the plate ith confidence, he needs to get his feet a little more loose and spread them out farther, it might even be better to open his stance a little bit. Depending on what size bat he uses is when he should start going thru his swin, a heavier bat means hes going to need to watch the spin on the ball right away and start his swing much faster than if he were using a lighter bat. Like I swing a 33'33" but they also pitch around 70mph in my league, and I think your son is a little ounger than me so that might not be important. Whatever you have to do you need to change his stance so that he can place the ball in the field wherever he wants it to go, you need to change it quickly too before it gets to late and the habit starts to grow. I hope I helped and I wish your son all the luck!

~Keith~