As a seasoned baseball player and long-time youth coach, I’ve worked with countless young players who have struggled with hitting. It’s a complex skill that takes time, patience and persistence to master.
The most important things you can do are remain positive, focus on fundamentals, set incremental goals, and keep it fun.
Mastering the Fundamentals
The foundation for solid hitting is mastering the fundamentals. That means learning proper stance, grip, balance, and swing mechanics.
Take the time to break down the swing into its basic components. Have your child take practice swings focusing on each element, providing feedback and making minor adjustments as needed. Be positive and patient – changing a swing takes considerable time and repetition.
Stance and Grip
The hitting stance provides a solid base and balanced center of gravity from which to swing effectively. The exact stance varies by player, but generally the feet should be about shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, and weight balanced evenly. Hands should grip the bat properly with knuckles lined up, dominant hand on bottom, and palms turned in towards the body.
Balance and Weight Shift
Proper balance starts from the ground up. Players should “grip the ground” by digging cleats in while distributing weight evenly between the balls of both feet. Keeping the head still, weight should shift smoothly onto the back leg during the load then transfer forward to the front leg during the swing.
Swing Plane and Impact
The swing itself should be level, with the barrel staying on a steady plane through the hitting zone. The path of the hands mirror the bat plane, starting by bringing the hands back, then forward through the zone to contact. Emphasize making solid contact out in front of the plate.
Set Achievable Goals
Trying to overhaul a swing overnight is a recipe for frustration. Set realistic short-term goals focused on incremental improvement over time. Praise effort and celebrate small successes along the way.
Start with Proper Contact
Begin by focusing just on making solid contact, even if the ball only goes a short distance. Once your child can reliably hit the ball square with proper mechanics, then build up to harder thrown pitches. Reinforce putting the ball in play.
Work Up to Power and Distance
As contact skills improve, shift to driving through the ball, transferring weight forward, and emphasizing bat speed to hit with more power. Increase swing intensity gradually as abilities progress. Be patient – power comes after contact skills are cemented.
Maintain Short Term Perspective
Remind your child that baseball is a game of failures punctuated by successes. Rebounding from a bad at bat to focus on the next opportunity is key. Let go of past mistakes and have a short memory. Tomorrow brings a new game and a fresh start.
Make Drills Game-Like
Incorporate fun drills that develop mechanics through game-like activities. Keep drills short to maintain engagement. Integrate friendly competition and track progress over time.
Tees, Soft Toss and Live Hitting
Use tees for repetitive swing practice. Soft toss and live hitting with slightly slower pitches allows working on timing and contact. As skills improve, incrementally increase speed and introduce game-situation drills.
Hitting Contests
Do team or individual hitting challenges focused on solid contact, hitting to opposite field, driving balls into gaps, etc. Offer small rewards for winners. Contests make drills feel less repetitive.
Tracking Improvement
Have players chart progress through metrics like quality of contact, balls hit hard, or balls hit to ideal locations. Visual evidence of improvement is motivating.
Maintain Proper Perspective
As the parent, your attitude and expectations greatly influence your child’s mindset. Focus your praise on effort, learning, and attitude. Remember that failure is part of baseball, and avoid placing excessive pressure to perform.
Keep it Fun
Baseball is just a game, especially for young players. While skills development is important, the priority should be fostering a love for the sport. Keep practices and games fun using competitions, teambuilding activities and player engagement.
Model Poise and Positivity
Children emulate their parents’ example. Maintain composure if your child struggles, emphasizing patience, resilience and self-confidence. Your steadiness helps them develop mental toughness to overcome challenges.
Let Coaches Coach
Avoid coaching your child from the stands during games. Not only is it embarrassing for the child, it undermines the team’s coaches. Save technical advice for practice and praise effort during games.
Provide Quality Equipment
Having properly fit equipment won’t immediately make your child a better hitter, but it eliminates an obstacle to optimal performance. Evaluate gear regularly as children grow.
Right Sized Bats Are Key
An ill-fitted bat negatively impacts swing mechanics. Ensure your child can comfortably grip the handle and smoothly control throughout the swing path. Check weight and length every season.
Break in Bats Before Games
Brand new bats can sting hands until broken in. Have your child gradually break in new bats in the cage before using in games. This allows focusing on swing mechanics rather than discomfort.
Replace Equipment Regularly
Visibility fades on batting helmets over time and grips wear down on bats with extensive use. While still functional, worn gear can subtly hinder performance. Swap out older equipment even if not broken.
Teach and Reinforce Proper Hitting Mechanics
As a coach, I spend considerable time teaching and reinforcing proper hitting mechanics. I break down the swing step-by-step, provides cues, demonstrate proper form, and use drills to ingrain muscle memory. With younger players, focus on just one or two swing elements at a time, not overwhelming them. Consistency and repetition are key.
For example, a common mistake I see is over-rotation of the hips too early in the swing, causing the bat to drag behind. To fix this, I have players exaggerate keeping their front hip back while taking regular dry swings. This cues the feel of correct hip timing. We do 3 sets of 8-10 reps each day before batting practice, with me providing feedback on properly sequencing the hips.
Seeing the improvement in their swing path, balance and contact after 2 weeks of hip rotation drills is so gratifying. The difference repetitive practice makes in cementing new motor patterns is immense. Their hard work is paying off!
Make Physical Conditioning Part of Routine
Besides technical skills, hitting requires considerable physical strength, speed and conditioning to excel. I advise parents to incorporate athletic training into their child’s regular routine. This improves hitting power and bat speed.
I recommend young hitters do a mix of resistance training with light weights, core strengthening, and fast-twitch muscle workouts. Med ball toss routines enhance explosion. Quick ladder footwork drills develop rapid change of direction. Maintaining flexibility through stretching helps generate torque.
During our team practices, we devote the first 15 minutes to conditioning before any baseball activity. My son was skeptical at first, but has come to embrace the training once he saw tangible gains in his hitting power and reduced injury rates. His increased confidence now fuels his motivation to complete his workout checklist I created each week.
Seeing their hard work translate into quantifiable hitting improvements inspires kids at the plate. Setting new PRs on power lifts gets high-fives all around! Physical prep is integral to baseball success.
Simulate Game Speed in Batting Practice
Hitting live pitching during games is incredibly challenging. The speed of the ball coming in, movement of different pitches, and need to make quick adjustments all test players. I design batting practice to simulate game conditions so there’s no drop-off when the lights come on.
We use pitching machines and tee work early in the session to dial in mechanics and make solid contact. Then we progress to having coaches throw a mix of fastballs, changeups and curveballs. Hitter don’t know what’s coming, just like a real at-bat. We praise fouling off tough pitches.
Another drill I like is calling out a random situation before each pitch – “Bases loaded 2 outs, bottom of the order up!” Players then visualize the scenario, which helps train concentration. Keeping batters engaged and on their toes during practice pays off during intense game ABs.
They are nervous at first facing faster, moving pitches. But the more we structure drills like a game environment, the more success they have applying their work once on the field.
Address Hitting Slumps Head On
All players invariably struggle at times and go through slumps, especially young hitters. My approach is to address problems directly rather than ignore them and hope they work themselves out. I reassure players that slumps happen to everyone, but we will overcome them together through adjustments.
First, we evaluate at-bats to diagnose the problem – popping up, flailing at bad pitches, lunging? Then we use video analysis to spot mechanical flaws. Often, it’s rushing the swing, over-rotating, or drifting forward. We’ll then do targeted tee work to ingrain feel of proper form again via repetition.
I also focus on pitch selection and discipline – laying off bad pitches out of zone, working into hitter’s counts. We use BP to simulate game ABs and build back confidence. I remind them to trust their athleticism and training when struggling. Staying process focused, not outcome focused, maintains the proper mentality to break their slump.
With patience and tweaks, players always emerge from batting funks if the process is right. Having a coach’s support through the mental battle accelerates their ability to bounce back. It’s one of the most rewarding parts of coaching.
Conclusion
Helping young players progress in baseball is incredibly rewarding. While hitting presents physical and mental challenges, keep the process upbeat and celebratory. Focus on effort and improvement, provide quality equipment, set realistic goals, emphasize fundamentals through game-like drills, and always remember to keep baseball joyful above all else. With your support and positive involvement, your child will develop skills and confidence at the plate.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are signs my child is struggling with hitting?
Common indicators of hitting difficulties include poor contact, inability to catch up to faster pitches, lack of power, high swing and miss rate, getting jammed inside frequently, struggling with outside pitches, and body language expressing frustration.
How many swings should my child take when practicing?
For younger players, limit practice sessions to 30-50 focused swings to prevent both physical and mental fatigue. Older players can handle more volume, around 75-100 swings. Stress quality over quantity of reps.
How can I convince my child not to get down on themselves about hitting struggles?
Emphasize that even the best hitters fail 7 out of 10 times. Remind them great hitters have short memories and boundless optimism. Share stories of major leaguers who overcame early struggles. Stress that mistakes are part of improving.
What are common hitting problems and how do you fix them?
Lunging – Have player keep weight back and pause slightly before stepping. Pop ups – Have player hit down through the ball. Pulling off the ball – Preach firing the hips and pulling hands inside the ball. Rolling over – Keep top hand palm facing in and don’t drop back shoulder.
Should my child work with a private hitting coach?
Private instruction can certainly help, but is not mandatory. Focus first on fundamentals and make sure the coach uses methods aligned with the team’s approach. Maintain open communication with both coaches. Set goals and evaluate effectiveness after 8-10 lessons.
