I'm always the batting practice pitcher at RHLL tryouts and this year I threw about 400 pitches to 80 ballplayers (with 0 HBP!), and what I saw from the hitters I faced who struggled at the plate on Saturday is the same thing I've seen since I first started coaching Little Leaguers 25 years ago.

• Players who set up incorrectly at the plate...STRUGGLED TO MAKE CONTACT.
• Players who took a huge step while swinging...STRUGGLED TO MAKE CONTACT.
• Players who lost their balance during the swing...STRUGGLED TO MAKE CONTACT.
• Players who pulled their head during the swing...STRUGGLED TO MAKE CONTACT.

This was true for every single kid I pitched to.  Every.  Single. One. And I was pitching to 10, 11, and 12 year olds! These problems are even more pronounced with players who are younger and less experienced!

As a parent or coach, there is nothing we can do to help our ballplayer become a better hitter until these issues are addressed first.

If our young hitter does not fix the 4 hitting mistakes above first then...

• Bat speed doesn't matter.
• Timing doesn't matter.
• Pitch selection doesn't matter.
• Hand path to the ball doesn't matter.

The good news is that by improving their set-up, balance, head discipline, and stride...bat speed, timing, pitch selection and hand path will all be much easier to learn next.

And the really good news is that identifying those 4 most common hitting mistakes, even for parents who know very little about baseball, is easy to do. Here's how to help your ballplayer:

1. Look to see if their bat is pointing UP in their set-up position. If so, have them point it behind them, rather than up at the sky.
2. Look to see if they're taking a really big step with their front foot. If so, have them take some swings where their feet don't move at all.
3. Look to see if they're losing their balance during the swing. If so, have them take some swings where their only goal is to freeze after the swing is over, focusing on being balanced from start to finish.
4. Look to see if their head is pulling out with their front shoulder during the swing. If so, have them take some swings where their chin finishes on their back shoulder.

You'll see immediate improvement in their hitting by spending time working on those areas first and then once they're comfortable with all that, it will be much easier to learn how to create more bat speed, how to hit the ball with the barrel more often, how to develop a solid pitch selection strategy, etc. next.

Have fun!