Is this normal growing pains?

We are a all 05 team that play in 8u tournaments but play a 10u select rec schedule. We are a very strong at 8u. We are stuck a little bit between 2 worlds. We want to play at the highest level we can. We have the pitching to play with anybody in 10u and have lost only 1 out of the 6 games we played. That loss was to a 10u tournament /select team. We are weak in the hitting area. We are behind the ball when a girl is throwing 40 to 45. We are a very fast and athletic team. We are very aggressive. Would it help to jump in weaker 10u c tournaments, so we get more experience. Is this just normal growing pains. Do you have any practice suggestions? Has anybody had experience doing this? We just want to develop the girls for the long haul. thanks for your advice

It is normal. Just keep throwing them more front toss. Make certain each girl is working on hitting, at home, too.

teamM said:

We are a all 05 team that play in 8u tournaments but play a 10u select rec schedule. We are a very strong at 8u. We are stuck a little bit between 2 worlds. We want to play at the highest level we can. We have the pitching to play with anybody in 10u and have lost only 1 out of the 6 games we played. That loss was to a 10u tournament /select team. We are weak in the hitting area. We are behind the ball when a girl is throwing 40 to 45. We are a very fast and athletic team. We are very aggressive. Would it help to jump in weaker 10u c tournaments, so we get more experience. Is this just normal growing pains. Do you have any practice suggestions? Has anybody had experience doing this? We just want to develop the girls for the long haul. thanks for your advice

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very fast, athletic and very aggressive = small ball. work hard on bunting if you're not already

5-1 doesn't sound like you need to drop a level, just keep working hard

as far as suggestions for practice, if they're always late maybe they're waiting to long to decide to swing? Sue Enqist's (sp) video on "yes, yes,yes" hitting is a great one

Completely normal in my opinion. I second the front toss but do it from a short distance varying the speeds.

I agree, this is nothing more than normal growing pains.

Continue pushing your team and playing the better competition. At 8U, you have to understand that they will be gaining a lot in hand & eye coordination in the years to come, so they are going to start catching up to those faster pitchers. In the the mean time continue working on both the physical and mental aspects of hitting. Sue Enquist has some great video out there, but I agree with another poster, start working that small ball game!!

Keep playing up. Take your lumps and you will get better a lot sooner than you expect. You are doing the right things to be very successful in the long run.

It's okay to want to play at the highest level, but
Don't forget to keep the fun in the game. They're 8.
You want to make sure they keep coming back the next year and don't choose dance, soccer, gymnastics or WHY... instead of ball.

Play up have fun you can do both. If you have great pitching yall might surprise a few older teams. The cream will rise to the top

Thanks for your responses!

You might consider taking your lumps and then dropping down to pick up some wins to refresh their spirit and then go take your lumps again. Since it is 8U.

If your girls are having trouble catching up to the faster ball I recommend the "Barry Bonds" drill. Go to your local GNC store and buy as much human growth hormone as you can....... Just kidding. The "Barry Bonds" drill (as we called it) is where you set up a pitching machine (with an L-screen) at the pitchers mound. Have it throw at maximum speed or around 40 MPH (ours maxed out at 40+ MPH). Have your batters start off at the plate. Every time they make contact with the ball (doesn't matter foul or fair) they take a step towards the pitcher mound. If they miss then they have to go back 1 step towards the plate. We used this with both my 8U and 14U teams. Some of the 14U girls got so good at it they were literally about 5 feet from the L-Screen. They had to judge the ball before it even left the machine. My favorite line was when one of them said when she was about 5 ft from the L-screen, " I'm scared!" and I was thinking (as the one operating the pitching machine and looking at the 6ft 180lb behemoth with the bat) "You're scared? I'm the one flinching and ducking every time I release the ball!"
Once they become successful at it (meaning they can advance on a pretty regular basis) then we change it to a 1 direction at a time drill. They go forward until they strike out once, then they put it in reverse until they get to the back of the batters box. This helps them adjust to pitches of different speeds.