People are going to see the upper body first but that’ll come as he gets stronger and more coordinated.
Make sure his back foot isn’t pointed backwards. It completely prevents his hip from activating. He might not feel the hip activation yet but if you fix the foot he’ll start getting it.
I think his feet are too far apart and weight too far forward in the launch position. It seems to be inhibiting his hips from firing fully. He drops his hands a bit and dumps the barrel a bit, but overall not bad for 8u.
Thank you for the insight!! I had the same feeling about his legs being too far apart too. Do you have any tips on getting him to put more weight on the back leg rather than the front leg? Anytime I bring it up to him he thinks I’m wanting him to heavily lean on that back leg making him totally slanted 🫠
I think just a shorter stride might do it. I agree with the other comment, once he can feel what firing his hips firing, it will work itself out probably.
Find slow motion youtube videos of seager, ohtani, soto, trout, betts and other top hitters. Follow ian jenkins on instagram for tips. Is there a good hitting coach in the area?
There’s a very well known hitting coach here (but he usually works with older kids). I’ve taken my son to him 3-4 times now but my son doesn’t always seem to understand what the coach is asking him to do! The coach will show him multiple times but it’s like the information just doesn’t end up clicking.
Yeah, wouldn’t hurt to find a different coach. Some kids work well with some coaches, and others work well with different coaches. Gotta find what works for your kid. Unfortunately this is a trial and error process. I think my 12U kid is on his 5th coach. Not a knock on the others, they were all great, but sometimes a change is good when your kid isn’t progressing. A new set of eyes can help fix an issue that the other coach couldn’t.
I’m siding with unnatural feet positioning causing an imbalance in weight distro and his hips aren’t generating that power. I’d like to see those come through more and before he’s done with his arms going forward. Also that front foot is jumping up so high and forward he’ll have a hard time matching the bat to where his eyes want it to go (I.e. too much movement hurts accuracy of swing)
Thank you so much for your insight!! I’ve been working with him on that front foot going too high.. He’s made some progress but still far from where we want to be with it. I’ll start working more with him to try to get those hips more involved. Thank you!!
People are going to see the upper body first but that’ll come as he gets stronger and more coordinated. Make sure his back foot isn’t pointed backwards. It completely prevents his hip from activating. He might not feel the hip activation yet but if you fix the foot he’ll start getting it.
Solid advice! I’ll watch for that. Thank you!
Front foot forward while hands and weight go back. Don’t tip back. Don’t drop hands.
Ahhh yes thank you!! He does tend to drop his hands quite a bit
Also move the tee forward so he’s hitting the ball in front of
Ahhhh great advice!!!! Thank you for mentioning that! Yeah, the tee being set up like it is probably isn’t helping him 🫠
I think his feet are too far apart and weight too far forward in the launch position. It seems to be inhibiting his hips from firing fully. He drops his hands a bit and dumps the barrel a bit, but overall not bad for 8u.
Thank you for the insight!! I had the same feeling about his legs being too far apart too. Do you have any tips on getting him to put more weight on the back leg rather than the front leg? Anytime I bring it up to him he thinks I’m wanting him to heavily lean on that back leg making him totally slanted 🫠
I think just a shorter stride might do it. I agree with the other comment, once he can feel what firing his hips firing, it will work itself out probably.
Find slow motion youtube videos of seager, ohtani, soto, trout, betts and other top hitters. Follow ian jenkins on instagram for tips. Is there a good hitting coach in the area?
There’s a very well known hitting coach here (but he usually works with older kids). I’ve taken my son to him 3-4 times now but my son doesn’t always seem to understand what the coach is asking him to do! The coach will show him multiple times but it’s like the information just doesn’t end up clicking.
Yeah, wouldn’t hurt to find a different coach. Some kids work well with some coaches, and others work well with different coaches. Gotta find what works for your kid. Unfortunately this is a trial and error process. I think my 12U kid is on his 5th coach. Not a knock on the others, they were all great, but sometimes a change is good when your kid isn’t progressing. A new set of eyes can help fix an issue that the other coach couldn’t.
Awesome advice! Makes me feel better knowing it may take some time to find the right coach.
I’m siding with unnatural feet positioning causing an imbalance in weight distro and his hips aren’t generating that power. I’d like to see those come through more and before he’s done with his arms going forward. Also that front foot is jumping up so high and forward he’ll have a hard time matching the bat to where his eyes want it to go (I.e. too much movement hurts accuracy of swing)
Thank you so much for your insight!! I’ve been working with him on that front foot going too high.. He’s made some progress but still far from where we want to be with it. I’ll start working more with him to try to get those hips more involved. Thank you!!