Hitting is one of the most difficult things for a youth baseball
player to do. It requires hand eye coordination, instincts and the
ability to make an instantaneous judgment on a pitched ball. In
general, hitting is one of the toughest things to do in
professional sports and it
’s tough to tell a youngster that he’s going to be unsuccessful
seven out of 10 times. They just can’t buy that.
Hitting is one of the most difficult things for a youth baseball player to do. It requires hand eye coordination, instincts and the ability to make an instantaneous judgment on a pitched ball. In general, hitting is one of the toughest things to do in professional sports and it’s tough to tell a youngster that he’s going to be unsuccessful seven out of 10 times. They just can’t buy that.
Making a youth player feel comfortable and relaxed about hitting a baseball, having a practice and game plan, and perfecting his swing will make it easier for him to become a decent hitter. One of the first things to tell him is, “Hit like you can, not like you want,” which means, be yourself. They might want to hit home runs and swing for the fence and be out of control, but maybe they’re not capable of doing that. In youth baseball, hits are hits, whether they’re over the fence or not.
There are a couple of absolutes in hitting that a youth player must attain. By learning them he’s setting himself up for success. These absolutes are a balanced and workable stance, rhythm and movement in the stance, striding with the front toe closed, having the bat in the launching position when the front foot touches down, making a positive and aggressive motion back toward the pitcher, putting your head down when you swing and hitting through the ball.
A couple of other absolutes come into play at higher levels but youth players must focus on simplicity and visualizing on how to put the absolutes to work. The absolute that should receive the most attention should be putting your head down when you swing. Players are told all the time to “watch the ball.” To a youth player that means nothing. He needs to know HOW to watch the ball.
At the point of contact a player’s head must go down and watch the ball hit the bat. Too many players pull their head and try to see where the ball is going before they hit it. In essence, they’re not seeing the ball the last three feet. Telling a player to keep his head down is a better visual than “watch the ball.”
Contact is the name of the game and if that doesn’t happen a player’s head is probably not down, assuming his other absolutes are working.
In practice, players need to focus on the absolutes whether it’s hitting off a tee, playing soft toss or hitting live pitching. Hitting is a science. To perfect the swing you have to repeat the good qualities over and over. If players are hitting at a batting cage they should keep their head down and swing with good absolutes. They shouldn’t try to see if their line drive broke the machine.
In regards to hitting, we’ve just touched the tip of the iceberg. Not everyone will become a great hitter. The game winning hit won’t always happen. Frustration will occur for the player, parent and coach.
But applying the absolutes will possibly help them get that hit every three times out of 10.
And for a youth player, that’s all that you can ask.
