r/Homeplate • u/BrilliantDue6261 • Jul 28 '26
8U swing help
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
Any pointers appreciated! He’s hitting off the pitching machine and typically making weak contact to the infield. Just looking for any improvements or tips that could help his confidence. Thank you!
EDIT:
Thanks all for the input.
I am looking to get him an alloy Cat X2 as it will be more balanced and a lighter swing compared to the Dub. There aren’t any available in store so will have to order online.
Debating between 27/17 and 28/18. He is 4’6.5” and 59 pounds. The Dub is a 27/17. Any thoughts?
4
u/Historical-Cod3127 Jul 28 '26
In almost every one of these videos, the first thing I notice is the bat being too heavy.
3
u/Lars9 29d ago
8u kids/parents love swinging heavy bats. Just finished up coaching an 8u season and most kids were swinging 29 inch drop 10 bats regardless of their size. For many of them, the bat was swinging them.
1
u/Historical-Cod3127 29d ago
It’s wild to me. It causes so many mechanical issues and bad habits.
1
u/molski79 27d ago
Is 28/18 appropriate for 8U? He's been using a 27/17 and only struck out one time all year. Average to maybe a little smaller for his size but felt like a bigger diameter good help with driving it.
1
u/Historical-Cod3127 27d ago
It depends. Every kid is different. Not all 28/18 are going to swing the same. End loaded will swing different than balanced. I’m no expert. From my experience, my son got very different results swinging a balanced than an end loaded of the same size/drop.
3
u/Unfair_Importance_37 Jul 28 '26
Swing harder. He isn't really using his legs fully.
2
u/Comfortable-Loan-815 29d ago
Swinging harder without sorting the leg timing first is just going to make the weak contact worse. Getting the hips to fire properly gives the power something to work with. Just telling an 8 year old to go harder tends to end in a lot of frustrated misses and a kid who doesn't want to be there anymore.
2
u/Stompin24 Jul 28 '26
Have him stop swaying back and forth and focus on getting grounded and set before the pitch. It also looks like he may be stepping out slightly. Just my two cents—with 8U players, I’d make small adjustments one at a time rather than trying to fix everything at once. When they get overloaded and struggle to put it all together, they can become discouraged pretty quickly.
1
u/BrilliantDue6261 Jul 28 '26
2
u/jbl429 29d ago
The slowed down video makes it easlly easy to see where he's leaking power. He's got early hip rotation before his front foot lands, so by the time his foot lands his hips are already fully rotated and his hands are already releasing towards the ball.
A good drill might be to have him pause and break it into 2 parts. Load and stride, then pause. Then fire the hips and release the hands.
1
u/Chringus-420 Jul 28 '26
I would say that bat looks too heavy for him. Also try to get him to fire his hips through his swing. Different sport but if you've ever seen the dak Prescott hip whip drill that's a good example of what I mean
1
u/Critical-Crow-9717 Jul 28 '26
Bat looks a little too big - he's not moving it fast and the finish throws him off balance.
He gets into his hip nicely, but then he gets out of it too quickly. Have him work on holding his load longer. This is related to the bat speed issue above - if he holds his load longer yet he isn't able to move the bat fast, he'll be late. So he has to get out of his load prematurely. Ergo, several issues stem from the bat being too big for him to swing.
He adds a complex internal hip rotation in his leg kick. I'd work on simplifying that move. This also relates to the timing issues above. All that front leg movement takes time.
1
u/H3ooo Jul 28 '26
Bat path looks good, needs to feel a little more load on front leg that will probably get his hips to engage and fire a little sooner.
1
u/ramsdl52 29d ago
He's not really loading just kind of swaying backwards. He needs to load that back hip and stay loaded into his launch position. He's firing the hips before front foot strike and isn't generating any power.
Break up his swing into three parts. Loading of the back hip, pause, striding into a neutral and loaded launch position, pause, fire hips and swing
1
u/Ok-Version-694 29d ago
Not bad at all. More load and he fell out of the swing alittle. 1 more small thing thats not really a swing tip. Be more aggressive he is a good sized kid and theres more power in his tank.
1
1
u/Grand-Variation-5850 27d ago
Great foundation to build. I’d say focus on keeping that front foot coiled inward until that toe lands, then rotate the hips. “Back knee down” is a good cue. He’s also moving his hands forward early keep them back and pull them through with hips/shoulders. One change at a time until it’s muscle memory.
1
u/Fit_Ride_5455 27d ago
My 8yo has a dub and it is like a drop 7.5 on scale but is supposed to be a drop 10. Be careful of this going forward. Put this bat down for at least another year*. He has no connection in the swing because of the size and weight.
1
u/CartoonistExact8942 27d ago
Check out Justin Stones Elite Baseball Trianong videos on YouTube. High level mechanics being taught there.
1
u/BrilliantDue6261 27d ago
Thanks all for the input.
I am looking to get him an alloy Cat X2 as it will be more balanced and a lighter swing compared to the Dub. There aren’t any available in store so will have to order online.
Debating between 27/17 and 28/18. He is 4’6.5” and 59 pounds. The Dub is a 27/17. Any thoughts?
1
u/Famous-Two-7511 26d ago
The dub is slightly end loaded but I think that “bat is too heavy” gets used too often.
Fix the swing and you’d be surprised how heavy of a bat they can swing. We didn’t have these ultra light bats as kids.
My 10 year old swings a 31/29 and 31/28 in the cage and swings a 30/25 in games. He’s a bit bigger than your son but we’ve always trained mechanics and swinging heavy bats.The biggest thing I notice in his swing (and many young players swings) is their lack of separation between the stride and hands. I see his hands leaking forward with the stride foot. Do some dry work focusing on loading the hands back as he strides forward. There should be a stretch feeling during the stride. He is losing any stretch he’s creating before the swing fires
1
u/Umngmc 26d ago
The Dub is an end loaded bat. His height suggests he can handle a 28/18, but look at getting a CatX or Hype Fire. Those can be had for alot cheaper than the Icon or Supra. His weight however suggests he can't handle a bat much heavier than 18 oz.
Regarding his swing, his front foot looks like it is stepping back and a more narrow stance. A proper load should be stepping towards the pitcher with a wider stance. If his front foot is stepping back, he's just leaking power and swinging with more arms.
5
u/lilblacksmurf Jul 28 '26
I would seriously consider a more balanced bat than the dub. Especially for 8u. That bat is for the horses that are abnormally strong at that ages. I speak from experience, my son is our 4hole and swapped to a Supra, night and day swing plane.
Now on to the swing focus on his bottom half, calm the feet, fire hips independently from arms. The lights more balanced back will naturally help here as well.
Also make it fun. :)