So you think he dumps his barrel, and if so, that it is good advice because he's having a great season?
This is kind of what I mentioned before. You said "dump his barrel". That could mean different things to different people. That sounds like you're making bourbon to me.
The barrel should be perpendicular to the batter or the batter's spine. It needs to get there in an efficient manner and match the plane of the ball as best as possible. I don't think this youtube guy is saying anything contrary to that,
He absolutely is teaching to dump the barrel. That's the entire message he's delivering with the knob-up approach and the "wall drill." Same for that hula-hoop video.
The term "dumping the barrel" is pretty universal in baseball. It's exactly illustrated in that "knob-up" video.
You missed the point. You just repeated the same phase.
The barrel always starts up and then goes down. The knob is always going to be higher than the barrel even on the highest pitches. Call it whatever "universal" phase you'd like.
Tell me you don't know what it means to "dump the barrel" without saying so...
Can you not read?
Quote:
One thing I've noticed over the years, people have these little sayings which make sense in their heads, but maybe not in everyone else's.
Quote:
This is kind of what I mentioned before. You said "dump his barrel". That could mean different things to different people. That sounds like you're making bourbon to me.
So you think he dumps his barrel, and if so, that it is good advice because he's having a great season?
This is kind of what I mentioned before. You said "dump his barrel". That could mean different things to different people. That sounds like you're making bourbon to me.
The barrel should be perpendicular to the batter or the batter's spine. It needs to get there in an efficient manner and match the plane of the ball as best as possible. I don't think this youtube guy is saying anything contrary to that,
He absolutely is teaching to dump the barrel. That's the entire message he's delivering with the knob-up approach and the "wall drill." Same for that hula-hoop video.
The term "dumping the barrel" is pretty universal in baseball. It's exactly illustrated in that "knob-up" video.
You missed the point. You just repeated the same phase.
The barrel always starts up and then goes down. The knob is always going to be higher than the barrel even on the highest pitches. Call it whatever "universal" phase you'd like.
Tell me you don't know what it means to "dump the barrel" without saying so...
Can you not read?
Quote:
One thing I've noticed over the years, people have these little sayings which make sense in their heads, but maybe not in everyone else's.
Quote:
This is kind of what I mentioned before. You said "dump his barrel". That could mean different things to different people. That sounds like you're making bourbon to me.
You just made my point. Dumping the barrel is a universal term in baseball.
Basically defined as when the bat prematurely drops below the level of the top hand forearm. It's caused or created by a being weak in the wrists and drags the head of the bat, breaking the kinetic chain.
Dumping the barrel is never good, and can be difficult to fix with some players. Check out this drill for some very obvious feedback for your hitter on if they are dumping the barrel. pic.twitter.com/g93sskrBRA
I'll use this side-by-side picture of my own kid to illustrate the problem he developed in his swing. He hit a few bombs when he was 10. Then he started TRYING to hit it out and constantly dumping his barrel doing what's being taught in this video and it screwed up his swing something awful. He went from roping line drives to fouling off everything down the 1B line or missing it completely. Then it got into his head and completely ruined his confidence. It took a good 6 months of intense hitting work while taking the fall off to play football to get his swing fixed. What Teacherman is pushing causes the swing in the pic off the tee vs. pic on the right.
In both instances the knob is above the hands & ball but on the left the tee is set up high to intentionally try to force his hands into a stronger position but the hands and bat head are such that he can't do anything but pop up that pitch. Probably foul to the right side. While on the right, his hands stay strong on path to drive the ball back up the middle.
My 8u daughter is dumping the barrel lately. I had not heard it called that but reading this thread and looking at some of these videos / pics, thats clearly what her problem is. The same problem you reference for your son is what my daughter is going through, hitting pop ups and to the right side. I don't hate hitting to the right side if its for a reason (outside pitch), but when its on 80% of the hits thats a problem. At the 8u level its a big problem because not many girls are throwing you out from 3B and SS but most 1B can field a grounder and step on 1B and most 2B can make that throw. Tack on that its no longer a hard line drive or hard ground balll but instead its significantly less power behind it and obviously its recipe for outs.
With all of that said, I am curious what you did to fix it? My current diagnosis on her is that it is being caused by dipping the back shoulder as she starts her swing. I saw you referenced grip, I suppose a weak grip could also be a cause.
With all of that said, I am curious what you did to fix it?
Serious answer- I paid for lessons.
Compared to potential therapy bills and blood pressure medication it's a bargain.
But one drill that helped is go out to the field and set markers of some kind in left-center and right center. Keeping it fairly narrow. Then set up a tee just behind second base. Have the kid work at controlling the barrel and learning more awareness by having them hit to a specific spot- meaning tell the her "on this swing hit it to left center," then go right-center, then center, and so forth. Mix it up but make the goal about hitting line drives off the tee to the spot you designate because it's impossible to hit a line drive to left-center if they dump the barrel.
With all of that said, I am curious what you did to fix it?
Serious answer- I paid for lessons.
Compared to potential therapy bills and blood pressure medication it's a bargain.
But one drill that helped is go out to the field and set markers of some kind in left-center and right center. Keeping it fairly narrow. Then set up a tee just behind second base. Have the kid work at controlling the barrel and learning more awareness by having them hit to a specific spot- meaning tell the her "on this swing hit it to left center," then go right-center, then center, and so forth. Mix it up but make the goal about hitting line drives off the tee to the spot you designate because it's impossible to hit a line drive to left-center if they dump the barrel.
Ha, yeah not gonna go the lessons route yet with my daughter. Appreciate the drill idea!
He's right, "dumping the barrel" is a pretty universal term. You may have your own idea of what it is, but it isn't what we are talking about. When the first movement of the bat is for the head of the bat to drop below the hands, that is dumping the barrel. It's exactly what that guy is teaching on the video Tarpon posted.
He's right, "dumping the barrel" is a pretty universal term. You may have your own idea of what it is, but it isn't what we are talking about. When the first movement of the bat is for the head of the bat to drop below the hands, that is dumping the barrel. It's exactly what that guy is teaching on the video Tarpon posted.
What direction does the head go if not down?
It's not like the instructor is saying to do the little hand switch thing and then finish the swing. It's all happening at once.
Not sure if you're being purposefully dense, but it goes down. Just not while it is still pointing at the catcher, which is what youtube guy is advocating. I'm going to bow out of this now.
Not sure if you're being purposefully dense, but it goes down. Just not while it is still pointing at the catcher, which is what youtube guy is advocating. I'm going to bow out of this now.
Not sure if you're being purposefully dense, but it goes down. Just not while it is still pointing at the catcher, which is what youtube guy is advocating. I'm going to bow out of this now.
What's not pointing at the catcher?
I would assume he's talking about the knob of the bat which should point at the catcher during the load phase of the swing.
Doesn't matter where you start, but you have to get to launch position after the step. Actual launch can't be achieved without the elbow up. If the batter doesn't stride, he should start with the elbow up.
Exactly.
They all get to this position. The rest is just timing.
And if you really want to help him, teach him to get in that position from the get go. These kids watch the pros waggle and such and emulate it but miss what's important. The faster they get in that position the more time they have to act on the pitch.
Agree. That's is what I am trying to do with my little one. Right now just making contact from a moving ball is a huge challenge. Might as well get them in a good position to start from. Learn the timing and momentum stuff after mastering putting the bat on the ball.
One thing with little kids is getting them to swing with some purpose. Meaning swing quick/hard and not just stick the bat out there.
Get a tee with a heavy ball and make it a competition to see who can hit it the farthest in the air. Then the winner on the team gets a small piece of candy or something. Like a blow-pop or whatever.
My 8u daughter is dumping the barrel lately. I had not heard it called that but reading this thread and looking at some of these videos / pics, thats clearly what her problem is. The same problem you reference for your son is what my daughter is going through, hitting pop ups and to the right side. I don't hate hitting to the right side if its for a reason (outside pitch), but when its on 80% of the hits thats a problem. At the 8u level its a big problem because not many girls are throwing you out from 3B and SS but most 1B can field a grounder and step on 1B and most 2B can make that throw. Tack on that its no longer a hard line drive or hard ground balll but instead its significantly less power behind it and obviously its recipe for outs.
With all of that said, I am curious what you did to fix it? My current diagnosis on her is that it is being caused by dipping the back shoulder as she starts her swing. I saw you referenced grip, I suppose a weak grip could also be a cause.
So a couple things to elaborate on prior responses: 1) the left-hand pic off the tee is April of 2021 when he's 10. The right-hand pic is Sept. 2021 after he turned 11. He turned 12 a couple months ago. He took off from playing baseball in the fall of 2021 to play 11U football and just worked on his swing and did an off-season throwing program. That time off and cage work really helped rebuild his swing and confidence. 2) there's absolutely nothing wrong with going oppo most of the time. At least not in baseball. Most all of the coaches seem to be teaching guys a swing that tries to hit line drives from gap-to-gap, specifically the opposite gap (so RC for RH hitters and LC for lefties). This allows them more time to see a pitch, helps you to stay back on breaking & off-speed pitches, and puts you in a position to hit with power so if you get an inside pitch or are a little early you pull it but stay fair and if it's outside or you're a little late you're still shooting line drives the other way. Launch angle is created not by dropping the bat head but where you impact the ball, the path of the bat AFTER contact, and backspin. I've heard tons and tons of coaches say "home runs are line drives you missed" - in other words, they're when you make solid contact just slightly below the line drive point so the ball elevates. 3) and when I mention "grip" or "weak wrists" I'm not really talking about actual strength or how they grip the bat but more the tilt of the wrists relative to the forearms- weak wrists are when they're tilted down prematurely which causes a point of "weakness" in the swing and breaks the connection. It's kind of hard to articulate but I think the pictures I've posted illustrate it fairly well. In your daughter's case it could be because the bat is too heavy for her or it could just be a swing flaw that needs to be worked on.
A buddy of mine who played for Arkansas and NC State then in the Phillies organization before destroying his shoulder recommended this drill to help work on bat path.
Dear God do not listen to Teacherman. He is a complete fraud.
For a 7 year old: Let them swing the bat naturally. The back elbow needs to end up in the same position whether it starts up or not. The pictures of Trout and the other swings do a good job of showing that.
I guess it could be explained…..trying to describe the thousand micromovements that must occur to swing the bat/club is often described as a feeling.
Example. You, Aaron judge, and myself could have identical swings down to the micromovements from toes to head…..each of us would describe the swing differently, because words cannot convey every little movement that occurs.
This happens with golf swings as well.
Does that make sense? So where judge describes his swing….he may state that it feels like X, even though the video doesn't show that movement occurring…..
The two tee drill has been around for 40 years….
I guess it could be explained…..trying to describe the thousand micromovements that must occur to swing the bat/club is often described as a feeling.
Example. You, Aaron judge, and myself could have identical swings down to the micromovements from toes to head…..each of us would describe the swing differently, because words cannot convey every little movement that occurs.
This happens with golf swings as well.
Does that make sense? So where judge describes his swing….he may state that it feels like X, even though the video doesn't show that movement occurring…..
The two tee drill has been around for 40 years….
I gotcha. I just wasn't clear what you meant when you said "feel isn't real."
As for the two-tee drill, I'm sure it's been around forever but it wasn't one I did growing up so I didn't really know about it. I found it helped my kid though.
Also, what's the "LT" badge next to your handle and all the other stuff?
I'll say this, I had been trying to teach my 8 year old the Oklahoma State 1980's approach and he did ok, but got to an age where he began to tune me out. So we signed him up for lessons at The Lab in CS. Those guys have worked wonders on his swing, and made it fun which is very important. I can't say enough positive things about those guys.
I'll say this, I had been trying to teach my 8 year old the Oklahoma State 1980's approach and he did ok, but got to an age where he began to tune me out. So we signed him up for lessons at The Lab in CS. Those guys have worked wonders on his swing, and made it fun which is very important. I can't say enough positive things about those guys.
Coach Ward had a system of touch points that worked for college players and few big leaguers. A unique method that worked at the time before we had more information.
Thank you for asking. The title of the thread is youth baseball question. Not, multimillionaire with ungodly talent that has access to train seven days a week.
Keep it simple until the time is right or necessary.
Watching Judge right now on the tele. Another way of describing feel isnt real. It's a way that the ungodly talented try to explain to us simpletons what they are feeling but may not actually be doing. Haha. Dumping the barrel or knob to hall or feel like your right nutt stays pressed to inner thigh as long as possible are all examples. Haha.
He also had a mantra that he would print on t-shirts. Hitting is the sequential unlocking of body parts to maximize bat velocity at the point of impact. Also known as, hit it where they ain't and run like hell!
I'll say this, I had been trying to teach my 8 year old the Oklahoma State 1980's approach and he did ok, but got to an age where he began to tune me out. So we signed him up for lessons at The Lab in CS. Those guys have worked wonders on his swing, and made it fun which is very important. I can't say enough positive things about those guys.
Coach Ward had a system of touch points that worked for college players and few big leaguers. A unique method that worked at the time before we had more information.
I recall middle of shirt or Shoulder ear.
Like inky and dascenzo were shirt. A lot were shirt now that I recall.
My 8u daughter is dumping the barrel lately. I had not heard it called that but reading this thread and looking at some of these videos / pics, thats clearly what her problem is. The same problem you reference for your son is what my daughter is going through, hitting pop ups and to the right side. I don't hate hitting to the right side if its for a reason (outside pitch), but when its on 80% of the hits thats a problem. At the 8u level its a big problem because not many girls are throwing you out from 3B and SS but most 1B can field a grounder and step on 1B and most 2B can make that throw. Tack on that its no longer a hard line drive or hard ground balll but instead its significantly less power behind it and obviously its recipe for outs.
With all of that said, I am curious what you did to fix it? My current diagnosis on her is that it is being caused by dipping the back shoulder as she starts her swing. I saw you referenced grip, I suppose a weak grip could also be a cause.
Top hand and bottom hand drills off the tee.
You can't do enough of these so that they get the feel of what each hand should be doing. Also swing in slow motion
I don't have that shirt. But I still have an OSU with PONY on the back
Best hitting coach ever in my opinion. He simplified the swing to the shortest most compact version you could imagine. I went to a camp of his in Tulsa over Christmas break one year and figured it would be super crowed. Ended being about 20 kids and I was one of 3 high school aged kids. Best week of hitting instruction in my life.
I'm loving this thread on hitting for younger kids.
I have a question about the mental part of the game which seems to have come up in the batter's box for my 7 almost 8 y/o son over the past 6 mos.
Last fall, once he figured out how to make contact regularly, he had no issue hitting the ball every at bat (pitching machine level of little league). During the Spring, he steadily did worse over the season, with strikeouts and no hits in several games toward the end of Spring. It seems to be performance anxiety, as now he's more aware of the game situation. Fall ball just started and despite him killing it in the batting cages, has started 2 fall ball games with strikeouts.
Wondering if there are any pointers beyond waiting it out and encouraging him.
I'm loving this thread on hitting for younger kids.
I have a question about the mental part of the game which seems to have come up in the batter's box for my 7 almost 8 y/o son over the past 6 mos.
Last fall, once he figured out how to make contact regularly, he had no issue hitting the ball every at bat (pitching machine level of little league). During the Spring, he steadily did worse over the season, with strikeouts and no hits in several games toward the end of Spring. It seems to be performance anxiety, as now he's more aware of the game situation. Fall ball just started and despite him killing it in the batting cages, has started 2 fall ball games with strikeouts.
Wondering if there are any pointers beyond waiting it out and encouraging him.
Get more aggressive early in the at bat. He will run into one and then be back on track. Hitting is a cruel "b-word" sometimes.
