It's amazing to me how some topics come to me in different directions, all around the same time.

Maybe the topic of switch hitting has come up to me a lot lately because the youth baseball season is in full swing most places around the country and more people are curious.

It first started when a good friend of the academy and future major leaguer, Darwin Barney came into the academy the last couple of months to work out before he reported to spring training this year for the Cubs.

One day, he turned around to the left side and started swinging it. I asked him about it, and he thought that being a switch hitter would bring more value to his club as a ball-player. I certainly agreed. His swing looked very good for someone who just started. We even got him on video and looked at it on the computer, side-by-side with his right handed swing. It was amazing how similar the two swings were mechanically.

The more we talked about it, the tougher the decision it's going to be for Darwin. He wants to make a great impression this year on the ball club, and taking time away from developing his right handed swing is a big concern.

I know he certainly wishes he would have done it a lot earlier. He said he had thought about it years ago, but it was hard to make the switch during competition because there was always an important game on the line and he didn't want to do it then.

Here's a similar question from one of the BioForce Faithful...

Bill,

My 14 year old son is a natural lefty (he eats and writes left handed) who has always batted and thrown right handed. Do you think it's a good idea to teach him to switch hit? The only time he hit left handed in a practice he hit the ball really well.

Thanks in advance for your reply,,

John

John, I would try. Lefties are a premium in baseball. Both hitting and throwing. The first question to ask him is does he want to be a switch hitter. And how bad.

Just as I wrote about Darwin, the biggest challenge you will find is his patience in struggling at bat and wanting to go righty when he struggles. There's always a big game. An inopportune to go the "weak" side. Guys on base, opportunities to score, etc. But when is a better time to try but when you are younger? Especially before he gets into high school. His current coach and future high school coaches might no have the patience to let him struggle too. The other kids on the team will also bark a little if he is "experimenting" when the game is on the line.

If he can get past that, then his overall value as a baseball player goes way up. But those are big hurdles to get over. That's why I asked, how bad does he want to do it. In my mind, the answer had better be, "real bad!"

He will need to make the commitment to do it and practice twice as much lefty as he does righty. You'll also want to get the body more prepared for swinging the other way. Build the strength in the core for more power. Improve your balance to handle the different stresses on your body. A great way to do that is with our Pure Power Training for Hitters and Pitcher DVD. Click here to visit that page on our website, or visit the website at http://www.bioforcebaseball.com and follow the links on the website.

Hope this helps.

What's Darwin doing this spring with the switch hitting? Not sure, but we'll keep you posted.

Until next time,

Train like a champion today!

Bill Mooney

www.bioforcebaseball.com