Voodoo Magic!

Our baseball season is officially over, but Reid told me that he wants to continue to work on his game during the summer.  I am more than happy to oblige.  The first step was an investment in a new bat.  I admit that I fought the trend and didn't think a bat could make that much of a difference, but after watching hundreds of kids swing the new age lighter composite bats, I knew that I needed to step up to the plate and give Reid the best equipment possible for his game.

After hours of research and questioning several baseball Dads, I decided on a Demarini Voodoo 29 inch 16 oz youth half composite / half aluminum baseball bat.  This bat is an even balanced bat with a drop swing weight of -13.  The bat swings really nice and we were able to pick up an inch in length and drop an ounce in weight from Reid's previous Demarini DX2.  I am trying to get more bat speed for Reid.  He has a nice little swing, but needs to drive the ball with more authority.  We un-boxed the bat and headed for the batting cage.

As we were hitting I kept telling Reid to swing through the baseball, meaning swing the bat all the way through the swing and finish hard.  I couldn't get him to understand what I was telling him.  Then the idea hit me.  I took my phone and rigged it up in the netting of the pitcher screen and hit the video button.  This is what I got on the first try.

I then showed Reid the video.  He was able to see what I was trying to tell him.  This next video shows a better swing with the correct adjustments.  (I apologize in advance that it is not as clear as the first one.  Blogger is apparently having issues with video upload.  I had to record a recording to get this to work.)

This was much better!

Does the bat make a difference?  I really think it does.  I took some swings with it and I can tell a difference.  The ball jumps off the barrel with more pop than his other bat and it makes that wonderful pinging sound that I have been longing for.  I hope that with a steady diet of practice and if my arm doesn't fall off, we will make improvements and turn this kid into a feared hitter at the plate!