8 year old batting

Question
My son is almost 8 and does not yet make regular contact with the ball. At this point he swings flat footed. At what point do you think shifting his weight to the back foot should be taught? And besides "keeping his eye on the ball" is there any other simple guidance I can offer that will help him make contact? Thanks.

Answer
First thing you should do is work with him on a batting tee. Forget the weight shift for now -- he's only 8, so solid contact is the most important point. A batting tee may sound too elementary, but it's a great training tool. Make sure he can hit the ball solidly every time, and move the tee around to different areas of the strike zone. When he gets comfortable with that, then you can go back to live pitching and work with him on that (and I'll bet you'll see imporvement). Along the way, if you see problems with his swing you can correct it....kids that age really pick up stuff quite fast.

Mike F.