Posted by: The Hitting Guru () on Wed Mar 21 20:32:21 2007

> Here is my problem, I just can't see a 13-14 year old kid as advanced enough to be a "power hitter". This is an advanced skill and as such should be left until the late high school to college level. So what am I saying? I am saying lie to the kids tell them the bat goes in a straight line down to the ball. Tell them to keep their back shoulder up and keep their bat head above the ball. Does it happen that way? No of course not! Then why lie? Because if you teach an advanced skill to somebody who doesn't have advanced skills you create more bad habits than you do lying to them

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Abby. You may be right to a degree because many kids simply have not developed the motor skill development necessary to dominate the bat they are using.

But with athletically gifted kids as well as kids who are taught better fundamentals to start, the sky may be the limit for them. As such we should remember that if kids nowadays are expected to grasp more intellectually, why should they not be earlier able to understand physical concepts related to sports?

And some kids are able to easily clear 280 ft fences at age 13 and 14 as many of them are developing earlier physically. Power hitting to a degree can be learned, but raw power in itself is a function of the player's talent/physical limitations.