by Lindsey Carter
Every pro was once an amateur!
If your kid dreams to become the future Alex Rodriguez, you should take care of him from an early age.
Teaching your youngster about hitting a ball isn’t a sweet piece of cake. Maybe you aren’t going to play in the field, but you should have a clear concept about hitting to teach your child.
To become a successful mentor, you must know how to teach a kid to hit a baseball effectively. Proper guidance will not only make your kid pro but also boost his confidence too.
Are you ready to teach your little one to hit a ball hard? Let’s start.
Contents
Hitting the ball properly is a core competency for every baseball player. To be honest, it is one of those very first baseball hitting fundamentals that your kid must be competent.
So, let’s start teaching your kid about how to hit a baseball farther.
Offering a full-size bat to your kid won’t make him a pro baseball player overnight. Rather than that, give him a lightweight and smaller bat. You know, small players can handle the small bats only.
Well, there’s nothing to be worried about while choosing the appropriate bat for your lad. You can measure the size only by conducting a simple arm test. And it won’t take more than a minute.
To conduct the test, ask your kid to choose a bat and hold it. Simply raise the bat and told him to keep his arm extended in the outward direction.If he can stay steady for nearly 30 seconds, then it’s a good choice for him. Otherwise, you should opt for a lighter one.
By the way, don’t take a bat that doesn’t satisfy the USA Baseball Bat Guideline.
Having a tighter grip is the key to get a proper batting swing. It allows the batsman to hit the ball with power. You should teach your kid to hold the bat snugly rather than providing too much tight grip. The process of having a proper grip depends on the dominant hand.
Well, following this simple hand positioning rule will allow him to get a perfect grip on the bat. And keeping the knuckled aligned will help your lad to apply more pressure on the ball.
Remember, these are just the general guideline for holding the bat. If the kid isn’t comfortable with that, let him choose a comfortable scheme.
Baseball is mainly a game of movement. Your success will depend on how efficiently you can move your hand.
Teach your kid to never drop the hands before swinging. It will result in a severely reduced reaction time to Pitch Slow Pitch Softball. Lack of focus in this movement is enough to lose a sure-win baseball match.
A successful hitter must maintain proper balancing while hitting the ball. The gripping style or stance doesn’t matter if your child can swing the bat by keeping him balanced.
For improving the balance, you have to consider both the upper and lower part of his body. Make sure that only the upper portion of his body moves at the hitting time. The upper body muscle plays a pivotal rule while hitting the ball.
Once the kid mastered to control his body and movement, it’s time to go for the real task.
Yes, I’m talking about hitting the ball. There’s a higher possibility that you may already teach him some easy hitting drills for kids. As a beginner, you may suggest your youngster use a simple batting tee for developing his hitting skill.
Whatever you do, the ultimate target should be hitting the baseball with more than 90% efficiency. You don’t need to consider the speed in this part.
Once the kid becomes efficient in hitting, then he can increase the speed. Your kid will be a good player only if he can hit the bat properly with appropriate speed.
Once your kid mastered the hitting process, you can test him by using the softballs. A tennis ball might be a good start for that.
Even the ball throwing speed also matters while teaching baseball to your kid. Defending the faster balls might be helpful to improve the hitting skill. But, don’t forget that it also increases the possibility of getting hurt.
If he misses a shot and it might hit his body. And getting hit in the practice session will not only hurt him physically but also reduces his interest in this game. I know you don’t want to hurt your kid in the field, right?
That’s why the softballs are preferred in the practice session. By the way, he doesn’t need to practice with the softballs all the time. Once he can successfully hit about 90% throws, he can proceed to the real baseballs.
According to a report from Stanford Children’s Health Hospital, approximately 110,000 children visit the hospital for the treatment of baseball-related injuries. And almost 62% of these injuries occur in the practice session!
It clearly shows that the parents should be concerned about their safety besides being curious about how to train a kid to hit a baseball. So, let’s take a look at a few important safety tips for future baseball stars.
Try to follow all of these safety tips thoroughly. It’s for your own good!
Don’t forget to check the best turf shoes for the baseball player
It’s fun to watch the cute kids are playing basketball in the field. But, teaching the kids about playing basketball is a major responsibility. Along with the teaching, you have to ensure that your young player is enjoying hitting the ball too.
Nevertheless, if you know how to teach a kid to hit a baseball properly, your hassles will reduce significantly.
Keep hitting, superstar!
About Lindsey Carter
Lindsey and Mike C. grew up in the same neighborhood. They also went to the same Cholla Middle School together. The two famillies from time to time got together for BBQ parties...
Lindsey's family relocated to California after middle school. They occasiotnally emailed each other to update what's going on in their lives.
She received Software Engineering degree from U.C. San Francisco. While looking for work, she was guided by Mike for an engineering position at the company Mike is working for. Upon passing the job interview, Lindsey was so happy as now she could finally be back to where she'd like to grow old with.
Lindset occasionally guest posted for Mike, adding other flavors to the site while helping diverse his over-passion for baseball.
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