Symptoms of a Too-Wide Stance

Question
My question is: What are the symptoms of a stance that is too wide?

Other than lowering the head, doesn't a too wide stance lead to the same problems as overstriding, and more?


Last year, in Minors, my grandson hit a ton of ground balls from a wide stance with his left foot never rotating or leaving the ground.   His load consisted of leaning straight back to put more weight on his right foot. My son-in-law was not receptive to me pointing out: no stride, no hands back, and no coiling.This year in Majors, he hits even weaker ground balls and is thrown out 90% of the time, with essentially no change in his swing.

My grandson struggles mightily to get even his left heel off the ground (which I think is because of so much restriction from his left foot being so far from his right#. Yesterday's paid lesson from a coach he's seen before, left him spread out but adding a left heel off the ground in a toe-touch for "timing" #his father's diagnosis of the only problem he has#.  All adults agreed that he looked "frozen" at the plate. My daughter, his soft-ball-playing mother, came by with the coach's lesson fee, looked, and said, "there's no way he can hit with his legs spread out so far!"

My thought is that if he narrows his stance, even 6 inches, it will be easier to rotate/shift his weight back during loading and hold it there a little longer for slow pitches. He could stride back the 6 inches, which would at least leave his hands back as he strides forward  to no more than where he started in his stance. That way he could still have the advantages of a still head and rotation behind the ball of a wide stance. However, if the wide-stance point where his left foot winds up is too far forward, would not there still be a problem trying to rotate through the ball, even if the coiling problem is solved?

I recall from my golf days that taller players typically had narrower stances than shorter, more stocky players, which allowed them to rotate more easily. My grandson is tall and skinny with paper-thin arms, skinny torso, and paper-thin legs. He has my build at this age when I was coached to begin my golf downswing with my legs and hips. Four years later I won the national long-driving championship with that skinny built.

I and my daughter think he's hamstrung in that spread out stance, while his father thinks its just "timing," and the paid coach tried to get him to get his hips rotated more toward the ball while keeping his hands inside, not rolling over.

My daughter called me after the lesson and told me that my grandson had cried  after the lesson, and that in the future, his father would be his coach since he had predicted that if corrections got too complicated my grandson would feel that he "totally sucked."

That should solve the too complicated problem, but he's still coaching the wide #too wide?# stance and adding a toe touch for timing #still with no attention to no coiling in either the torso or legs during loading#.

The paid coach is right about not rotating through the ball, but  1)  stiff left leg, 2) fence drill 3) hand inside 4) left foot timing #in the context of a possibly too-wide stance that leaves him frozen in concrete# was just too complicated and set him up to fail, if indeed the stance is too wide and won't let him accomplish any of that.

So, you can see how critically important the wide-stance question is; since if the above symptoms are indicative of a too-wide stance there's going to be nothing but frustration in the future if it stays that way.

Answer
Mickey,
In all sports the most important is the base.  If you don't have a good base you cannot be strong and quick with good balance.  If you have a wide stance a toe touch is good for a "load" and timing.  However if your stance is too wide you will have a bad base leading to a slow rotation and hitting from your heals.  This is not very effective which is why your grandson is now a weak hitter.  
From seeing 1000's of hitters I believe that a stance that is slightly wider than the shoulders is best.  Your stance should never be any wider than the length of your bat.  With this base you can take a small step which should be quick up and down with out moving your body forward.  The weight should be on the balls of your feet and slightly back.  The rotation should occur with a firm front side and the back knee, hip, and shoulder rotating your hands to the baseball.  
Seems like you are in a tough spot between your son in law, hitting coach, and grandson.  
Good luck,
John Priest