Why Young Hitters Swing Under the Ball and How To Fix It

A lot of parents come to me convinced something is “wrong” with their kid’s swing. Their child is getting under the baseball again and again and nobody can quite explain why. If this sounds familiar, you are not alone. I see this every week inside lessons and in videos parents send through Kapball. The good news is that swinging under the ball is usually not a mechanical problem. It almost always starts with the intention behind the swing.

Kids are trying to lift the ball instead of drive it.

Once players hit ages nine to fourteen, they start watching pros on TV, YouTube highlights, and TikTok clips. They see big swings and high launches. They start believing that a good swing means sending the baseball straight up into the sky. So they chase lift instead of chasing solid contact. When they chase lift, the barrel drops early. When the barrel drops early, they slide right under the ball.

Why Swinging Under Happens

Young hitters don’t always understand that most line drives come from staying level through the hitting zone. When a player thinks the goal is elevation, their body automatically cheats for height and their bat path breaks down. Our job is to reset their intention so their swing can work the way it was designed to work.

The Drill: Line Drive Only Round

You can use this with tee work, front toss, or regular batting practice.

Before the round starts, tell your hitter the rules.
Every ball must be hit between belt height and head height. The ball should go straight ahead or into the opposite field. Any ball that sails higher than head level does not count. Any ball that gets chopped into the ground does not count.

The point is to train the idea. Line drives build power, not moonshots. When kids chase line drives, their barrel naturally finds a cleaner, more level path through the zone. If you need more drill ideas, you can find them at kapball.com/training.

The Cue That Helps Instantly

Tell them to aim to hit the middle of the ball with the middle of the barrel. This cue gives their brain a neutral target instead of a lift target. It pulls their focus back to clean contact, which usually solves the under-swinging right away.

Final Takeaway

Most kids who swing under the baseball do not need a big mechanical overhaul. They need a new contact focus. When they focus on line drives first, the barrel path levels out, timing improves, and consistent hard contact becomes normal again.

Next week I will break down the real difference between aggressive swinging and controlled attacking. Most young hitters mix the two up and it hurts their performance at the plate.

Next Step

Try one short Line Drive Only round with your hitter this week. Keep it simple and let them feel what a true line drive intention does to their swing. If you want more drills, or you want feedback on your child’s contact pattern, send me a video through Kapball. You are never bothering me. I am here to help you support your hitter with confidence.