The ultimate problem: The head coach (I'm the assistant) says that the boys didn't swing because I filled their head with too much thought and that they need to simply react. He's requested I bring up no further discussion of colors and let him focus on simply being aggressive. I feel the boys just had early tournament jitters and the the values of strike zone awareness will soon become instinctual and to abandon it's whole priciple is a mistake. Can everyone give me their feedback on this, as it appears to be coming to a head.

• Do I have to get him a heavier bat than his 16oz x 28" and 17.5 oz x 30" bats?
• In accordance with 1), Dave you did not mention in any of your materials that the benefit of wood was derived from it being heavier. The only benefit I believe you cited regarding wood is the smaller sweet spot, and some mention of wood encouraging the short swing. As you stated, a heavier bat slows the swing speed, therefore is less effective. I can't believe you would want to encourage practice with a heavier bat-that seems counter to muscle memory and mechanics. Could you clarify the wooden bat weight issue?
• Is it even possible to buy a 17.5 oz wooden bat that is at least 28" long? (I will check the Montana company cited, but I just wanted to hear it from all of you).
• I'm sorry, but I'm having difficulties with the whole wooden bat usage concept (can't you tell?). Could you go over it again briefly? I thought you mentioned we should practice using wood. I assumed this included regular batting practice (machine, etc), but not pre-game. Did you mean it should just be used for drills and tee hitting?

I had my son start practicing with wood at about the age of 9. He too was smaller at the time, we just worked the drills.

Use the aluminum to get ready for his games and mix in the wood for tee. If you see that his mechanics are breaking down, discontinue the use of the wood. One of the reasons for the use of the wood is the correct hand path. If the wood is too heavy, the wood is being counterproductive. If this is the case, wait until your son is strong enough to handle the wood. As he gets older, the wood bat will give feedback on the correct swing path as well as overload work. Because of the weight difference you will still want to use your game bat to keep the game feel.

Here a couple of wood bat companies for you to check on: KC Bat CO. 800-417-1047 Maple Bat CO. 613-724-2421 Good luck

Three games a week with two practices, teaching the fundamentals that the kids do not understand. Teaching the game so the kids will have a chance to have fun and play the game correctly.

That type of game schedual is too much for that age level if you are looking to keep the game fun for the kids. The kind of schedual is more for the adult coaches to feed their ego.

But man, did he do well. He went the entire season (about 22 games, I think) with only four strike outs at the plate. He is at the point where when he swings, he hits. What he hits is usually sharp, hard grounders and liners. It's really neat.

Best of all is the confidence he has gained. In the first tournament game especially, he was so patient. He knew he didn't have to swing at any old strike unless he got behind. Really neat.

I'm writing this because Billy once took some instruction from a friend of mine who played AAA with the Reds. But my friend didn't have the time to really continue working with him. Your materials allowed me to pick up right where he was and help him myself. It has been far better than any lessons, because he can do a little each day at home. Thanks for all the cool stuff!

Should I do those other drills once he masters the correct swing? Thanks.

As your son gets older, the difference in the weight will decrease. For example, my son is 17, his wood bat and aluminum bat are the same weight, so he has the same feel with his bats. With your son there is a 5 ounce weight difference. Make sure he has a good feel of the bat he is using in his games during his practice also. If he takes 25 practice swings with his wood bat, than take 25 practice with his aluminum. Finish up with his aluminum in practice before his game starts. If time is short, use the aluminum bat to get ready for the game.

I would increase the wood swings in the offseason and decrease the aluminum swings.

I would recommend you see how he looks from the right side, but if it looks like it will be a long process, I would work on perfecting the left-handed swing. Good luck.

If you want your son to switch hit, you should have a reason for having him do so. Does he have some speed? If he has some speed, or potential to have speed, then there are some advantages to hitting from the left side. If he is going to be a power hitter with little speed, than I would say let him stay on one side. Most switch hitters are natural right handed hitters, there is a different advantage for left handed hitters. Most pitchers are right handed, hitting from the left side hitters will not have to deal with the offspeed pitch breaking away from them. Another big advantage to switch hitting is that players won't be platooned if they are proficient from both sides of the plate.

If Jordan would have been a natural left handed hitter, I don't believe I would have taught him to switch hit. But don't hold me to that because I have a 2 year old and he hits off the tee lefty, I think because he watches his brother hit from the left side so much.

• Be aggressive
• Keep your swing short
• Choke up on the bat
• Widen your stance
• Hit the ball back up the middle
• Have the mind set, no strike is going to get by me

Do his summer coaches have him on the short stroke trainer for a reason or does everyone use this? The concept of the STT is correct, it forces the hands close to the body and keeps the barrel of the bat up, it will not hurt him, although it tends to feel restrictive when getting your hands started back.

As they become proficient at the short pepper move two of the fielders back to about twenty yards and have one of the fielders throw to the hitter at the regular short distance, the hitter must now hit long pepper to each of the fielders. This helps them to develop bat control along with the proper bat angle. We have our hitters play pepper on a daily basis.

Take your time, hit every other pitch and get yourself in position to hit. Use the pitch you don't swing at for tracking and seeing the ball.

You need to understand how to shorten your swing and continue to work on getting the barrel on the correct plane.Q text

Our team's problem is a severe lack of strike zone judgement. After our first 150 ABs, we've walked 9 times, and K'd 59 times! How would you suggest to handle this?

In practice, I stress the importance of having plate discipline, when we're taking BP on the field or hitting in the cage. We incorporate drills to work on hitting the other way since a lot of the guys prefer to pull the ball (consequently pulling their shoulder out). I believe hitters should be able to use the whole field.

I have a team that is mainly seniors so this greatly disturbs me. We make the necessary adjustments in practice, we just don't do this in games. Do you have any advice to turn this around? Also, most of the guys jump out at the curve ball in games, trying to pull the outside curve. This is after successfully hitting the curve routinely in practice.

Our players give our managers a tough at bat. They swing at strikes and take their walks when the pitcher doesn't give them anything to hit. If you want to be successful, you have to discipline yourself to swing at your pitch early in the count. This is not something that is taught in a short period of time, and it is not an approach for the fearful.

Most kids swing at anything straight early in the count, they fear getting two strikes, so they appear to be aggressive but really they are fearful. The smart, aggressive under control hitter knows what pitches he can drive and will not give into the pitcher by swinging at a tough pitch to hit hard early in the count. With two strikes the hitter has to widen his zone and battle, but with less than two strikes, the hitter should get a pitch he can drive.

You sound like you are trying to work with your players on the correct philosophy, but they don't sound convinced that it is going to work for them. I suggest that you cover pages 70-75 in the HFE Workbook and review pages 35-39 in the Conquering the Curveball Series. We spend many hours throughout the season on this very subject and we are the best in baseball at it, but it takes time and commitment to get it done.