by Kevin
(Endicott, NY)

My son writes left-handed, throws left-handed, but bats right-handed. He just turned 10 and is having some trouble hitting right-handed this year. My question is… How can I tell if he should be hitting left-handed or stay hitting right-handed?

THE COACH’S ANSWER

Hi Kevin! This is a great question, but there is no simple answer.

Just because he is struggling at the plate currently, doesn’t mean he should switch over and hit left-handed. He may just be struggling or he may just be adjusting to better pitching right now. There is a ton that goes into hitting a baseball consistently, so don’t jump to conclusions and make a HUGE change like that.

However, if your son is open to it, I think it would be a good (and fun) activity to play around with switch-hitting. Make it a game and ask him to hit left-handed when you two are practicing together. See what his left-handed swing looks like when using a tee or during soft toss.

Teaching a baseball player to switch hit is much easier when they are young and, in your case, he does many other things left-handed… Throwing and hitting a baseball are very similar movements. Since he already throws left-handed, he may have a decent chance at becoming a switch-hitter. Give it a try if he is up to it…

NOTE: I just want to remind you not to jump to conclusions about his right-handed hitting though… Be sure to continue working on that also.

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