Keeping hips closed - Both throwing and hitting

Question
My son is 8 years old.  For the most part, he is very fundamentally sound.  The biggest problem I have noticed is that he opens his hips up too soon when he's pitching/throwing as well as hitting causing a loss in velocity on his throw and strength in his swing.  Can you help me with any cues, drills, ideas, etc.?  Thanks for your help.

Answer
Early hip rotation for pitching is usually a sign of a lack of balance.  Most 8 year olds lack the strenght in their lower body and glutes to maintain a good balance point.  This lack of balance causes them to rush forward and open their front side.

The best drill for correcting this is to get the athlete to hold the balance point for a count of 10.  Do this over and over until they build the strength to hold the proper position for an extended length of time.

With regards to hitting it is usually a result of not loading properly.  Again, this is a balance issue, but a horizontal balance instead of a vertical balance.  We have a reminder for our younger athletes, "show them your butt".  This means that when the pitcher rotates so that you can see their back pocket, the hitter should begin his load and show their back pocket to the pitcher.

This should improve the load of the swing, keep the front side more closed and create a more powerful swing.

Best of luck during the season

Coach Stauffer
Macomb Baseball