Creating Adjustability at the Dish in Youth Athletes

We’re often asked, what do young hitters struggle with most?

My answer is simple… Adjustability.

Hitting is hard, period. If it were easy, everyone would be good at it. And if we knew what pitch was coming and exactly where it was going, hitting would be much easier. You could swing harder, be more aggressive, and trust you’d meet the ball out in front where you want it.

But the reality is, we don’t know, and that’s why adjustability in your approach is so important.

Adjustability also shapes a hitter’s mindset. When you trust your ability to get to the pitch, you can be aggressive. When you don’t, you become indecisive. Many young hitters appear passive—not by choice, but because their process doesn’t support aggression. They can’t turn it on when they’re ahead in the count or slow things down with two strikes, so they end up playing timid most of the time.

So how do we develop adjustability with our athletes at RPP?

We’ve found there are two key factors that must be addressed and refined to improve adjustability at the plate:

1. 1. The ability to hip hinge
   2. Timing To Contact

Ability to Hip Hinge

One of the first things we notice, especially with athletes ages 10 to 14, is that they lack the ability to perform a proper hinge. That’s a major issue. As players get a bit older, around 15 to 16, you’ll often see improvement, usually from instruction or the introduction of strength training, which can help develop the hinge pattern.

Early on, though, it’s common to see inefficient movement. Players move into their stride with little to no adjustability, their core lacks stability, and there is no true hip hinge. This often puts them in unathletic positions, almost off balance, forcing them to swing from a compromised posture. The result is inconsistent, inefficient mechanics.

One drill we use to coach the hip hinge and see great success with is the seated load drill.

Seated Load Shovel Pass

Timing To Contact

The other major factor we see, and a key component of adjustability, is timing.

This is often caused by excessive movement during the loading phase. It’s common to see younger, less experienced players start their lower half either too early or too late because they lack confidence. In many cases, they simply aren’t strong or explosive enough yet. As a result, we often see a rushed swing, where the athlete jumps out of their back leg, causing everything to fire early and forcing them to swing at a poor pitch.

Once this happens, there is no time for adjustability. The hitter may pull off the ball, swing right through it, or be completely fooled and unable to trigger at all. That’s where many swings and misses come from.

One of our favorite drills to help get a “feel” for good timing is the continuous pinch drill.

Continuous Pinch Dril

Summary

Adjustability in hitting is one of the most complex and difficult concepts in sports, especially for younger, less experienced athletes. The sooner we can introduce a proper hip hinge, the sooner we can help them sync up their load and improve timing, leading to a more efficient swing. Below, is a great example of an efficient glute load and smooth swing path.

Hinge / Timing

By Nunzio Signore

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