My Son

Question
My son's a 10 year old pitcher/catcher/ first baseman, he's about 5'5" 125 pounds. Lat summer he played on a 9 year old travel all star team that won the New England Region Championships. He's the clean up hitter who hit .611, he lead the team in RBI's, hit, stolen bases and runs scored and slugging percentage.

He played fall baseball with the same success. Over the winter he began taking hitting lessons and has developed a under cut swing that's like a chop of a swing. He's under cutting the ball with a tremendous spin. He's now not making solid contact and has struck out 7 times so far, to put that in prespective he only struck out 4 times all last summer with 120 at bats.

I have him htiing off the tee to try and level off his swing. Any other ideas?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Answer
Wayne,

I am certain that you have seen or heard of the Ken Griffey Swing Trainer.  I found it to be very effective for helping hitters find the " power slot " and drive the ball.

I also have hitters with this type of trouble try and lead the swing with the bottom hand in control and finish with the top.  This forces them to get extension and reduces the tendency to "spin"

I will also suggest that you take a look at a site called the High School Baseball Web.  Find the message boards on that site.  They have a section for youth players, for coaches and a ton of advice in general.  

Please search the site for comments regarding the importance of maintaining statistics for young players.  The comments of very experienced baseball parents may be of help to you.

Best regards,

Pete