Posted by: chip () on Wed Feb 27 20:42:13 2002

I have a 7th grader, to whom I am teaching rotational mechanics (Epstein right now,with Mankin to come later this year). Today I learned that I am totally wasting my time- that is to say, if my son wants to play high school ball in our town, he will have to swing down, or at best, level. Our coach has been very successful, having won a couple of state titles and finished 2nd another time. And apparently he's a "my way or the highway" guy when it comes to hitting (and everything else). He doesn't want "outs", ie. fly balls, so ya gotta swing down on the tee, etc. I might point out that his teams more often than not have anemic offenses that try to scratch out runs via bunts and sacs. Once and a while, someone will hit one out. Not sure if they get benched after so doing (they are fly balls, after all). I might add that, despite the success at our school, it is a rare kid that goes on to play at the college level-certainly not above Division 3 or NAIA, and no one has ever made it to the minors. (He's been here about 20 years) I have no idea if my squirt could ever get to a "next level", but it sure ain't gonna happen with him beating the dang ball into the ground. I'm fit to be tied. Any ideas?