Youth baseball coaches/dads - advice please - Update and Thanks to DPD901

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No more tee or soft toss until working on minor technical adjustments

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What should I be looking for?

If his hands move up, make him start with them exaggeratedly high and he will stop. In the future, dropping the hands may become a problem. Baseball swing is like the golf swing in that you are always having to tweak something. There is no perfect swing. Also, get him as many reps of live, game-speed pitching as you can. Don't waste time with soft toss. Either do tee work or game speed from now on. Hope that helps

Also, check the weight of his bat. At that age, a lot of issues arise from simply having too heavy of a bat.

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Try Soccer that may be his sport!

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Nah. That's too much running for a baseball kid.

(Full disclosure, I like both sports. Just not jackasses who wanna dog on another sport.)

On a totally serious note, definitely check the bat weight. Kids never want to use a bat that is lighter than their friends because they think it makes them seem weak.

Watch his eyes first. Are they following ball or just some spot? Quick pitches (drop ball drill) will address the hand movement up in pre-swing. If his hands are that fast he may never change. Oldest son dropped hands at back hip before starting swing. Not a factor for him.

The repitiious overhand drills help him to hit any pitch to any field. All hitters are different between rock back and contact point, observation will help you more than anything.

Right now, focus only on a thrown pitch. His comfort and confidence will thrive.

Idiots show up, predictable.

I would definitely still stick with tee work. I pitch to my kid (10 yrs old) with the weighted balls to help him with timing a pitch coming at him. They are great because you can do it in the back yard with a lot of reps easily.

Hitting pitches is an open motor skill meaning unlike a free throw, driving a golf ball, a tennis serve, etc. meaning it relies on an outside stimulus.

The only way to get better at an open motor skill, is to perform the exact skill repetitively. If you want to get good at hitting a pitch, hit a bunch of pitches, if you want to get good at hitting dropped/tossed balls then hit tossed/dropped balls, if you want to be good at hitting off a tee then hit off a tee. They are three entirely different motor programs no matter how much they might look similar.

If he has good form off a tee, then the issue isn't mechanics, it's hitting live pitching. Show him videos of people performing the skill correctly, build keys within the swing that you find important but make them succinct and short some can self correct, and most importantly, give him video feedback (an iPad with a video delay app is great for this) so he can see himself hitting.

You'll see rapid improvement quickly.

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The Stranger

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Your reading comprehension sucks as much as your post. I'm not talking to my son about mechanics or telling him what to do or what not to do. I'm trying to diagnose it with help, here, and come up with a drill/techniques to help him correct it.

I don't care if my son is a great athlete, I'm just trying to help him enjoy this great game a little more because I can see that it's bothering him.

Thanks to all who are giving sincere advice.