My son has an upper cut in his swing

Question
Do you have any suggestions on how to get my son not to upper cut his swing.  He swings level when we soft toss, but when he hits live pitching the upper cut appears.  Thanks in advance.

Brian

Answer
Brian,
         There is no such swing as a level swing.  This is a myth that everyone thinks is a fact.  The correct swing is a slight uppercut swing.  Your son may have a swing that has an bigger uppercut than normal.  
         Watch you some and see if he swing all upper body.  Usually players who swing with only their arm will have a bad upper cut swing.  Make sure the swing comes from his lower body and hips, and letting his hands follow his rotation.  This will correct his swing.  When hitting the rotation the hitter creates with his back foot, knee, hip, and shoulder should control the swing.  As long as the front leg remain firm and the hands follow the hips the swing will be better.
         Also teach him to hit the baseball to the opposite field when hitting.  This will help in multiple ways.  It helps the swing, helps rotation, helps with seeing the baseball, and will make him a better hitter.
          One thing that most coaches make a mistake with is to instruct their hitters to hit the baseball to their pull side which make for a more arm dependent swing creating an excessive upper cut.  If a hitter is trained to hit pull side then the hitter will use left field when on time (I will assume he is a righty), center field when he is late, and will hit the ball foul when he is early.  If the same hitter is trained to let the ball get "deep" he will hit the ball center is on time, right side if late, and left side if early.  Now the hitter will be using the entire field to hit the baseball and has more room for error.  Also being out in front usually makes the hitter roll the wrists and pull away from the baseball.  Letting the ball get deep into the contact zone will cause the hitter to stay strong throughout the contact.  
        Another benefit to hitting the baseball to the right side (assuming he is a right handed hitter) is more extra base hits.  It is easier to make singles to doubles when hitting the baseball to the right rather than the left.  Also, more RBI's and advancing the runners will happen when hitting behind then that in front of them.  Also you will see the baseball longer and be able to make better swing decisions.  
        What makes this skill hard is the hitter needs great balance, confidence, and trust.  This will come with practice and repetition.  If he can understand the art of hitting to the opposite side and see the benefits he will be when ahead of any hitter his age.  
      Please let me know if I can help you any further or explain anything in more detail.

Thank You,
John Priest
Nokona Batman
www.nokonawreckingcrew.com