Posted by: Joe A. () on Sun May 5 05:55:04 2002

You could try some tracking drills. Put him up to the plate with a glove, have him lean in (i.e. a glove's a lot shorter than a bat), swing the glove into position, and track the ball into the glove (I first heard about this from a Barry Bonds interview; it helped my kids). Have him work on bunting, i.e. all the "standard" stuff, bat out in front of the plate, the bat at about a 45 degree angle, keep the bathead above the hands, and "catch the ball" with the dead portion of the bat (i.e. top 4 inches).
>
> How does he do off a Tee, or soft toss? If he's lambasting the ball off a Tee, and missing on a soft toss, it probably means his mechanics are sound. If he's hitting on both soft toss and a Tee, and missing on a 35-40 mph (average, 8 yo) pitch, well... I dunno, check his eyesight! Major Dan was right about one thing: some kids just don't get the concept that the "impact zone" is ahead of the plate, not over it. Have him hit off a Tee, placed ahead of the plate, on an actual diamond, so he can visualize where that impact point in the zone will be. It's a nice drill to do with all ball players, i.e. moving the tee to where they will contact an inside pitch (ahead of the plate 6-12 inches), down the middle (just ahead of the center of the plate), and outside pitch (over the outside corner of the plate).
>
> The act of tracking the ball into the glove, or into a bat for a bunt can build his confidence, as well as his hand/eye coodination.
>
> Good luck, and have lots of fun! I got "bumped" out of coaching this year by politics, and I miss it (no, I don't abuse kids, start fights, or "live vicariously through my kids", it's just that there are lots more 'ex-minor-league-expert-ball-players' every year who "should coach", so there's no room for educated "Dad" coaches who just read and study the sport; sorry, that's another story).
>
> Regards... Scott

Jeff,

This will sound simplistic but I have had it work many, many times.

If a kid has a good swing then he/she has some atheletic ability. Before you start messing with a good thing try this.

Simply tell the batter to hit the ball to the thrid baseman. Thats it. It won't work the first time they try it. Don't worry about it. Don't try to tell them how to do it or coach them. Just remind them , in a friendly way, what they are trying to do and give them a few tries. It usually works within 10 swings.

Bet it works.
Joe A.