My 12 year can't hit. Need help

[acearrow]

First thing check eyesight. Had a kid that could kill it in a cage and not in games finally went and had eyes checked back to hitting again after glasses or contacts. Second could be a hitch in his swing like a "J" looking swing but looks good from a distance. Third could be his feet not rotating enough and causes lower half not to drive through. Could be a number of things I would have to see it first.

this maybe. I have seen it. If he is having issues seeing the ball, it will cause him to have a timid swing and worry about striking out. The 'j' in a swing will always cause opposite field hits. But then he could just be worrying about striking out and this is causing the timid swing. I know my dribble doesn't help really but there are just so many variables. Keep working with him, stay positive. If its just the mental side, he will decide that strike outs are just part of the game and his swing will come around.

[Ruark]

Just don't dwell on it and make him feel like a defective if he doesn't start hitting better. There are more important things in life than baseball. Be there for him and be encouraging and positive - I think you're doing everything right.

That being said, I think a lot of it is visual focus. Back when I was a tournament league tennis player, my coach would tell us to re-focus on the ball visually when our game started going south. He would tell me to just stand there holding my racket and stare INTENTLY at the ball as he hit it past me. I mean, I had to see every hair on that ball as it went by.

Then I'd hold my racket out and let the ball hit it, again focusing like a laser beam on the ball. This did wonders. You might try something like that with him.

[Mike Javi Cooper]

Good suggestion on his vision. I will make an eye appointment today.

While you're at it have them check for his master eye...

I'm left handed but right eyed... and while I struggled to shoot, or bat left handed when I switched to right it all came together...

[texaspacker]

Wow me and Mike Java must have been typing this same idea at the same time!?
Have you checked to see which eye dominant he is?
Get out of his face. Did you listen to your dad at age 12?
I'm 60 and not from the everyone's kid is awesome PC generation so I'm probably way off base with my logic.
Back to the eye domination deal. In MC boot camp I found out I was left eye dominant & started shooting left handed. My DI's started telling me I must be retarded but I went from maggots drawers (misses)to bull eyes at the shooting range.
DANG Mike Lavi you beat me to the punch! I type slower than Methuselah.

[texaspacker]

Do the triangle hand test. It's FREE and it works.

[Gclyde28]

I don't think dominant eye plays as much a factor as some think in hitting. You look at the baseball with both eyes. Think of how poor your depth perception is with just one eye and imagine trying to hit a baseball coming at you, you need your depth perception provided from two eyes as much as possible. If he feels comfortable hitting left handed, I wouldn't let his dominant eye lead you to making him switch.

On a smaller mental level, the goal of each at bat isn't to get a hit. There's things in baseball you cannot control. As a hitter your goal is simply to make as solid of contact as you can. You can't control that the line drive you just smoked went straight to the center fielder. All you can control is that you had the best at bat you can and hit the ball squarely. If you do that things start to fall your way more and more.



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[Mike Javi Cooper]

I don't think dominant eye plays as much a factor as some think in hitting. You look at the baseball with both eyes. Think of how poor your depth perception is with just one eye and imagine trying to hit a baseball coming at you, you need your depth perception provided from two eyes as much as possible. If he feels comfortable hitting left handed, I wouldn't let his dominant eye lead you to making him switch.

On a smaller mental level, the goal of each at bat isn't to get a hit. There's things in baseball you cannot control. As a hitter your goal is simply to make as solid of contact as you can. You can't control that the line drive you just smoked went straight to the center fielder. All you can control is that you had the best at bat you can and hit the ball squarely. If you do that things start to fall your way more and more.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If you ain't personally experienced being opposite eye dominate or don't have a degree in the subject, you ain't got a clue...

You will never hear anyone who has lived it say that it doesn't matter.... can you learn to ignore it Yes.... but never completely...

[Gclyde28]

If you ain't personally experienced being opposite eye dominate or don't have a degree in the subject, you ain't got a clue...

You will never hear anyone who has lived it say that it doesn't matter.... can you learn to ignore it Yes.... but never completely...

I actually am opposite eye dominant and never even thought about it throughout my entire baseball career. If anything you could make the argument that being opposite eye dominant could be viewed as an advantage. As a right handed batter your left eye has has a better line of sight to the pitcher than your right eye does across your nose and vice versa.

[glen]

He is 12
Tell him you will take him to Hooters if he gets an xtra base hit. Problem solved no more weak swings.

[Bumpy]

Does he even want to really play?

[BrandonA]

He is 12
Tell him you will take him to Hooters if he gets an xtra base hit. Problem solved no more weak swings.

This is sound advice

[stryker93]

My daughter has 2 swings. When she is playing with confidence and feeling good, her swing is beautiful and mechanically sound. When she goes to the plate worried about striking out, she waits and "squishes" the bug. Ugly swing that is all arms. I preach to her that an attack attitude is everything. Yes, yes, no. Or yes, yes, go. If that order is flipped, it is not a good result.

[ShockValue]

He is 12
Tell him you will take him to Hooters if he gets an xtra base hit. Problem solved no more weak swings.

3 pages of recommendations/diagnosis/jumping to conclusions and no one has seen the kid swing a bat.....but I'm going with the above.

[stryker93]

Video would definitely help.

[JustinB]

Update...
Team is 4-1. He's pitching and catching at a high level. His hitting has improved. He has pulled the ball to the right side about 4 times in the last 3 games. Unfortunately 3 of those were weakly hit. One of them was a line drive double to the fence in right center field.
I need to post some pics of his swing, but basically he is standing straight up on his front foot when swings. I think that's why he hits so many grounders. So we've been really working on getting a good angle on that stiff front leg. I think this will help him hit the lower half of the ball.
I think his timing has improved. The ringing double he hit let him know what he can do.

It's progress.