Sandman

I have beaned Boomer sooooooo many times that it could almost be considered child abuse. Geez, I think back a year and a half ago and I shutter.... "Get back in the box Boom!"

After many thousands of balls I have improved somewhat, but what really changed is Boomer's ability to read the pitches much better. He is so used to poor pitching that he rarely ever gets hit anymore. He has become so adept at avoiding pitches by barely even moving. They zing by his chest or head and he simply gives me a little glare and swings his bat readying for the next pitch. He has almost completely desensitized himself to any reaction other than an almost unperceivable shift to avoid being hit.

When I do hit him now, which maybe 1 in 200 pitches he shakes it off and tries very hard to drive the ball back through me! He has succeeded a couple of times in scaring the snot out of me. Now I know what to expect when I bean him and that has also contributed to me getting better!! Oh he has a mischievous little grin when he gets beaned now and I yell, "You better not do it!" Pop! Zing! right between my legs. "Come on Boomer, I didn't hit you on purpose!" "Pitch the ball dad!"

I think the tennis ball idea is a better one.

I used to have pinpoint accuracy. I threw batting practice a lot in High School. As I get older my arm is no longer as dependable as it once was. I hit my son Brandon at least once a week. I don't throw hard enough for it to hurt. Or maybe he's just a tough kid.

Whatever it is I told him from day one that if he couldn't be fearless out on the baseball field then he would never play at the higher levels because the game is faster and the balls are hit and thrown much faster.

Last season his team practiced on a very lousy field. I wouldn't even get in front of a grounder on this field. He took a hop off the side of the cheek. The next day he took a hop off his chest. A week later he took a shot between his legs. It's a good thing he was wearing his cup.

My point is that he isn't afraid of getting hit by the baseball. It started with me hitting line drives at him with a tennis ball. Swingbuster gives good advice for the hitting side of it. All of those things help develop instincts. What I've found that helps the mind is going up to the plate with a plan. Looking for a certain pitch depending on the situation or the count. With a plan his focus will be on the ball and his instincts that were developed thanks to those tennis balls will help him stay injury free.

Good Luck!

Jason

He's just not a real "rough around the edges" kind of kid, not very daring. He's not a sissy either, but just won't go out of his way to be "tough". So I think we're in for a bit of an uphill battle.

I've done the tennis ball thing many many times w/ him and he's quite agile at avoiding them (and taking them in the back of his body). I'm trying to convince him that stepping in the bucket actually puts him in more danger. But I'm pretty sure he feels "yeah, but because I don't take my stride until after the ball's released, I have more time to get outta the way".

We'll keep pluggin'.

Thanks guys.

Ross

Boomer is already very good. His pitching mechanics are advanced for his age. Tucks his glove side elbow well and has a very aggressive delivery to go with his swing.

I quit messing with hard balls in the cage at about 12 and concentrated with tennis balls in the cage and soft toss in the back yard. Wiffle golf balls are usefull too for pre-game warming up or in place of tennis balls.

Mine's a mix. As long as a pitch isn't directly at him he won't budge. In the field, on the other hand, he has a comfort level on the hard shots. When he passes that level he'll start to pull up or off the ball. I've learned that hitting all hard shots doesn't help so we just hit him a lot of ground balls trying to just barely push the comfort level and gradually his comfort level rises and he handles a bit harder shots.

Callaway,
How hard does Boomer throw? Given his size and solid mechanics I'd guess he'd be hitting low 60s. However, around here at least you'd have to be throwing mid to high 60s to post as many Ks against 11yo as he did in that scrimmage. Our kids faced a 70mph 11yo last year (in a consolation round) and only a couple kids put the ball in play with only 1 hard hit ball in 3 innings.

Nice clip Callaway!!!! And no, you're not the guy at the party boring people with pictures of his kids. I think it's great to see it "live".

Maybe one of these days we'll run into you......we're one of those families from Ohio that comes to HHI every year in our mini van/SUV!!!

Bill

*****************************
"Hey dad.......how 'bout a catch?"

I'm guessing Mid-50's.

Here's a clip of my son working on his swing in our basement 10 days ago.



I apologize for the bad lighting. The sport mode setting on my video camera doesn't allow me to use the back light function.

If you look closely you can see my 7 year old daughter in the mirror.

Jason

CADad

Boomer's fastball is 60-61 but what makes him so hard to hit is all of the other "stuff" that he throws. I know that I'll probably take some heat here but he mixes in " junk". I won't let him throw a slider or even play around with it but he has a curveball, knuckle-curve, a change and an unbelievable true knuckle ball. He throws the knuckle curve with the exact same mechanics as his fastball and the bottom just drops out. His change is also very effective. His curveball is a knee-buckler and they all make his fastball "look" 70.

He has very large hands for his age and has little difficulty gripping the ball. He is very confident on the mound and at this age I think a lot of his success comes from simple intimidation. The kids at this age are not used to seeing any kind of arsenal and they don't do well against him.

I realize that as he faces better batters the intimidation factor will go away, so he is working constantly on his velocity and control. He has fun with the junk and doesn't overdue it but during warm-ups he has a lot of fun watching the kids in the opposing dugout! After that scrimmage, the umpire went to him and told him in 17 years he had never seen a kid throw a knuckle ball like that.

He keeps the off speed stuff low and can throw the fastball and curve for a strike at will. His control has really come on in the last six months.

He faced a kid in a tournament last fall that had hit 4 HR's in the previous two tournament games. The kid could flat out crush a fastball and a change. Boomer faced him three times in his game and threw him nothing but curveballs. Curveball after curveball, the catcher would call a fastball and Boomer would shake him off (pretty funny because the catcher never had that happen before). Boomer struck the kid out all three times and the kid threw his bat after the last K. Boomer is just one of those kids that loves pressure, competition and being on the mound. He may never go beyond LL but he has a presence on the mound that is undeniable and he has an insatiable love of the game "in spite" of me.

Out 5:

Just curious Callaway, how big is Boomer?

quote:

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Originally posted by Callaway:
CADad
Boomer faced him three times in his game and threw him nothing but curveballs. Curveball after curveball,

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OK... this will probably open another Can of Worms but.... You let you 10 year old son throw curveballs?

cong

"In baseball, you don't know nothing." - Yogi

Beezer

Give me a shout when you get to the island and I'll treat you to an adult beverage at The Salty Dog!

Ross.

PS Is your mini van white? That would cinch it!

Cong

I knew it would. Yes, he can throw curve balls but not sliders. His mechanics are sound and there is little stress on his elbow. His brother threw them as a pup and they didn't hurt him either. As long as his mechanics are correct, I don't believe that curveballs put any more stress on his elbow than his fastball.

BTW, throwing that many was an exception. Normally he will only throw one or two off speed pitches per batter.

R.

quote:

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Originally posted by Callaway:
Beezer

Give me a shout when you get to the island and I'll treat you to an adult beverage at The Salty Dog!

Ross.

PS Is your mini van white? That would cinch it!

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Ross -nothing better than a frosty one on the deck outside of SDC!!!! I was there back in late September on business and took a client to SDC and he loved it too. I bet between all of us in my family (5 of us), we've got about 15-20 articles of SDC clothing. And sorry, the mini van is greenish gray.

Back to baseball - I was working with my son throwing on the beach back in June when we were down there because it was during an all-star tourney he was playing in. We did some warm ups, long toss and some pitching. When the tide is out, you'd better not miss a pitch or you're running for a while after it.

Bill

*****************************
"Hey dad.......how 'bout a catch?"

Callaway,

Not that I'm against curve balls but with him throwing 60-61mph I'm suprised he needs to throw them so often. If you watch the LL World Series you'll see kids with velocity in the 70's. They basically shut down other 12 year olds. There is a big difference between a 10 year old and a 12 year old.

Boomer is 10 years old and already throwing 60mph. I don't care what part of the country you're in there aren't many 9 or 10 year olds that could hit that. At 11 and 12 years old it's a different story, but he has to be dominating kids his own age throwing that hard. Why mess around with the junk?

P.S. You have a PM.

Jason

Callaway,
I just read some information that said that curves do put additional stress on the elbow. Surprisingly the curves actually tended to cause shoulder injuries more than elbow injuries. I won't let my 12yo throw a curve but that is a personal decision. Throwing a curve adds risk but doesn't necessarily guarantee arm problems.

Pretty good guess on the speed, huh?

FlippJ,
Pretty nice swing. Any thoughts of trying to maintain separation between hips and shoulders a little longer in the swing?

CADad,

It's a work in progress believe me. We've been doing a little "no-stride" work this week. Loading in general has been a big issue for my son Brandon. He's a quick learner and wants to improve and we're doing our best to make sure he does just that (improve).

PM me... We can chat offline.

Jason

CADad

I know that there is a lot written about it on both sides. I am comfortable with Boomer throwing curves (not sliders) but I wouldn't try to sway anyone on their position. It is often hotly debated. JMO

Ross.

FlippJ

quote:

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Boomer is 10 years old and already throwing 60mph. I don't care what part of the country you're in there aren't many 9 or 10 year olds that could hit that.

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Boomer throws hard for his age, but he has another lefty on his AAU and Rec team that I have clocked with my Stalker at 65. This kid has the best arm that I have seen in any tournament play for this age group. The funny thing is that by the 2nd or 3rd time around he gets hit by the better hitters (AAU USSSA). He has a "change" but it is nothing more than a slower fastball that gets rocked, so he rarely ever throws it. In tournament play a pitcher has to have more than just a fast ball. His dad is also Boomer's Rec coach and had is eyes opened in tournament play.

BTW Boomer and Gene dominate their Rec league. Boomer started and Gene closed last spring as 9 year-olds in Minors and won the League Championship in a walk. They are both back this spring on the same rec. team. It should be a snoozer...