b.  POSITION AT PLATE.  Young hitters need a good anchor point to make sure they don’t stand too close to or far from the plate, and that they stand at a consistent spot from pitch to pitch.  Younger kids, say up to age 10, don’t have much reach or plate coverage, so I like for them to get close to the plate.  Older kids (11-14), since they have a longer reach, should be 1 1/2 to 2 foot lengths off the plate.

c.  LOWER BODY.  The feet should be about a bit wider than shoulder-width apart and aligned in a square stance – that is, a line connecting the toes should point directly at the pitcher as shown in the figure at right.  I do not recommend using an open (turned toward pitcher) or closed (turned away from pitcher) stance [1].

Knees should be comfortably bent, loose, and slightly pinched in.  Do not use an exaggerated knee-bend or overly wide or narrow stance.  Also guard against straight legs with no knee-bend; many young hitters tend to bend from the waist rather than the knees.  A good rule is to bend the knees until you can no longer see your feet.

The hitter’s weight should be evenly distributed over both feet and slightly on the balls of the feet, not the heels.  Many kids will lean back and put all of their weight on the back leg while in the stance.  I believe the weight should be evenly distributed on each leg.  The back leg should be loaded with a small backward movement just prior to taking the step, as discussed in the section on the Step.

d.  UPPER BODY.  The upper body should be bent forward slightly from the waist – if your upper body is too upright, it will force you to reach for the ball by sweeping your bat out too early when you swing.  The catch phrase is “nose over toes” – your nose should be in front of the line connecting the toes of your front foot to the toes of your back foot.  You can test this by holding a ball under the hitter’s nose and dropping it – it should land in front of that imaginary line connecting the batter’s feet.  But don’t lean so far forward as to get off balance.

The front forearm should be close to the body, with the elbow about over the belly button.  The hands should be at shoulder height and approximately over the back foot, not out away from the body.  The front and back elbows should be roughly at the same height.  The front shoulder should be slightly closed (turned away from the pitcher). 

Also, note that the hitter in the photo above is holding his bat at a 45-degree angle over his back shoulder.  This bat position will yield a short, quick, slight down-stroke on the ball.  Do NOT hold the bat straight up or horizontally flat.  Do NOT drop the bat head low behind your back or wrap it behind your head.  All of these bat positions will yield a long, slow, loopy swing.

Some hitting instructors now teach that the hands should be directly in front of the back shoulder, rather than over the back foot.  The upper arms and hands should be close to the body and the bat held more vertically.  As you load (see the Step page), you shift your hands back so they are over the back foot.  I just as soon start with my hands where I want them, but if this works for you, then by all means use it.

e.  HEAD.  The hitter’s front shoulder should be slightly closed (turned away from the pitcher) and his head should be turned so that his chin is touching his front shoulder.  The eyes should be level and both eyes should be on the pitcher.  Try closing the front eye to make sure that you can see the pitcher clearly with the back eye.

f.  RELAXED AND BALANCED.  The key to a good stance is to be relaxed and well balanced.  Tense muscles do not react quickly.  To stay loose, many major-league players slightly rock back and forth while in their stance waiting for the pitch.  Some rocking is good to keep the muscles loose; too much is wasted motion.  Encourage the hitters to rock slightly, but do not copy the exaggerated motions of many major-leaguers.

The hitter must also be well balanced.  Have one coach stand in front of the hitter on the plate.  Have another stand behind him.  The coaches should be able to apply a moderate shove to the chest and back and have the hitter not lose his balance.  If the hitter leans too much from the waist, he will tend to lose his balance when shoved from behind.  If his knees are too straight, he will tend to become unbalanced when shoved from in front.

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Jumping Position.  A good balanced and centered stance is basically the same position you’d get into to jump straight up a few inches off both feet and land again on both feet on the same spot.  Since every child knows how to jump, this is a good way for them to get the feel of  the balanced and centered stance without having to memorize all of the complicated directions above.  Without a bat, simply have the child get into a jumping position and jump a few times.  Then stop him and tell him that he should get in that same jumping position when assuming his stance.  All he then needs to do is grip a bat, put his hands shoulder high over the back foot, get his eyes level and on the pitcher, and he is ready to hit.

An Easy Stance Routine.  Just about every major leaguer has a little ritual he goes through whenever he steps up to the plate.  Part of this is just good old fashioned baseball superstition.  But a ritual or routine also helps the player be sure he is doing everything he needs to do, and doesn’t forget something important.

A young hitter’s stance tends to vary from pitch to pitch.  Kids often don’t stand at the right depth and distance from the plate, and may wander around the batter's box from pitch to pitch.  Their grip may change, or where they hold their bat.  So here’s a little 6 step routine you can teach your hitters to get them into a consistent stance from pitch to pitch, and at bat to at bat.

Step/Short Description	Long Description/Purpose
1.      Step back, deep breath.	Before each pitch, step back from the plate, take a deep breath, and exhale.  The goal is to relax and re-focus on the next pitch.
2.      Check Grip	Young hitters may grip the bat correctly on the first pitch, but often revert to strange grips on subsequent pitches. Have the hitter check his grip before stepping back up to the plate.
3.      Depth and Distance.	Have the hitter step up to the correct depth and distance from the plate (see the graphic above).  Young hitters often lose track of where they are relative to the plate, and their position may vary from pitch to pitch.
4.      Jumping Position	Get into a balanced and centered stance by assuming a “jumping” body position, as described above.
5.      Hand and Bat Positions	Place the hands shoulder high over the back foot, and the bat at a 45 degree angle over the back shoulder.
6.      Eyes	Get the eyes level, and both eyes on the pitcher.

Now the batter’s ready to hit.  Repeat the above 6 steps before every pitch.