Answer

Hi Bernardo,

Thanks for the great question. The answer is there are many ways to help a 12 year old hit line drives and become a better hitter. After all, that is the goal of hitting; to make good, consistent contact with the ball, and that is what we focus on in all of our hitting lessons.

The problem, however, is that although there are many tips that I can tell you, it all comes down to which ones Victor is able to understand and apply. Each individual hitter has a unique swing and more importantly, a unique brain. Hitters understand instruction in different ways and make adjustments to their swing based on how they understand the tips. That is why a good hitting instructor is so important. A good instructor is able to see what a hitter is doing wrong and can get their message through to the young player so he is able to fix it.

I will do my best to answer your question by addressing some common mistakes young hitters make in their swing that causes them to pop the ball up. I will also give a few tips that help hitters make the necessary adjustments. However, there is only so much that can be done without actually seeing Victor’s swing, which is why taking lessons with one of our professional instructors is so valuable. When a player can get feedback after every swing from someone qualified to help through experience and knowledge, he can truly get the most out of his ability.

The most common mistake is probably the most obvious. When most players pop the ball up, they drop their hands below the ball either before or during the swing, causing them to get under the ball and swing up. Many young players do this because they try to "lift" the ball in the air. The correct way to get lift and distance is by hitting downward on the ball and creating backspin. He can do this by focusing on keeping his hands above the ball on his approach. It's not swinging down like chopping a tree. It is more like swinging level through the ball. This is common, but also somewhat difficult to correct, and takes concentration as well as muscle memory over time to truly fix.

Drill: A great drill for this is the High Tee Drill. To do this, place a tee on top of a chair or stool, and position the ball so it is even with the player’s chest. Have him try to hit backspin line drives into a net. Once again, the key is not to be chopping the ball down into the ground, but having a level swing that creates line drives.

Another reason why he may be popping up is if he is trying to hit the ball too early. This is another common mistake made by young players. If you try to hit the ball out in front of home plate, the barrel of the bat will drop, therefore resulting in a weak pop fly. Try having Victor wait on the baseball to come to him, or as we like to say "let the ball travel."

Drill: Tee Set up. To help a player let the ball travel, try having him keep his weight back when he strides instead of lunging out for the ball. Whenever he does tee work, set the tee up in the middle of his body rather than out in front of him. This will prevent him from going forward to try to hit the ball, and instead keep his weight back on his stride.

Those are just a couple of tips, and there are literally hundreds more. Hopefully that will be a good start!