DD having trouble pulling the triger

[lhowser]

You can’t "pull the trigger" if there is nothing to pull the trigger on.

If you want to be "sudden" then you will benefit from having a stretch-and-fire triggered launch.

When you say she sits like a "deer caught in the headlights", I envision a hitter that lacks ‘stretch’ and the setup for a stretch-and-fire triggered launch.

When you say she swings lazily, you add further confirmation that SnF is absent as well as the accompanied suddenness.

Check your daughter’s sequence against the sequence of the best hitters. The odds are good that it doesn't match up. Clean up the sequence. Learn what SnF is. Embed SnF into your daughter’s swing … and when SnF is embedded into her swing, then the issue with a lack of suddenness will be resolved.

This is very good advice and goes possibly to a root issue. Since the "S" in SnF is happening for many hitters near the end of the pitchers motion around the release point (when you have little idea of pitch location) if you are not achieving "S" or coil or whatever move you call it every pitch then you cannot even worry about other aspects like fear, uncertainty etc because you are simply not ready to swing.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

This is very good advice and goes possibly to a root issue. Since the "S" in SnF is happening for many hitters near the end of the pitchers motion around the release point (when you have little idea of pitch location) if you are not achieving "S" or coil or whatever move you call it every pitch then you cannot even worry about other aspects like fear, uncertainty etc because you are simply not ready to swing.

Not to take words out of your mouth Ihowser, but I translate what you are saying here to suggest that a hitter must first time the pitcher, and then time the ball. I agree.

If you skip the actions involved with timing the pitcher, then you are not "slow & early" ... you lack the holy grail to hitting ... and you'll find yourself in deep do-do as you climb the competitive ladder.

 

[Ice_Dad99]

I agree with most of the Posters on this issue and there have been several good points made but let me relay an experience I had as a coach at the 12u level. I had a young lady who was one of my most productive hitters. She hardly struck out , managed to get the bat to the ball and had exceptional power. Then one weekend she fell of the map. strike out with lazy swings, strike out looking and when she did make contact it was off the end or handle and weak at best. In practice my staff and I noticed she wasn't starting her hands as she usually did, wasn't stepping as she usally did, etc. etc. This went on for 2 weeks. At the start of the third week her father was complaining about the lack of progress she was making with us or her hitting coach. So out of curiosity I asked him how she was doing in school. He said she had recently brought home a few bad papers which was definetly out of the ordinary. After practice that day i brought her to the side and asked her about her papers. That was when she broke down and started crying that she couldnt see the board. 3 days later, with glasses on / contacts in, the old player returned. Your problem may not be as simple but not a bad place to start.

 

[HYP]

Recently my DD is having a problem pulling the trigger on balls she used to crush, now, she sits like a deer caught in headlights and then swings lazely at a 3rd strike. I have talked with her after the games and ask what is going on, and she doesn't say anything out of the ordinary. I ask about the location and she says they were right there for the taking. She has only started doing this since joining a travelball team and the coach is telling her to get her toes on the line. Yes, same coach. I just tell her to stay in her spot, relax and have fun. But, I think with the coach in the background she is getting too much in her head.

Every pitch thrown is a ball down the middle until it is not.

Is she facing better pitching now?

 

[2ddsplayingball]

We spoke to her hitting coach about this last night and she hit everything that was thrown at her. She does machine and live pitching with her coach. We did ask, why don't you do that in the game and she said, the coach talks too much. Just as I had thought all along and some of the other parents. I told her, when you go up there, look for the signs, get in the box and tune everything out. So, we turned on a radio right near here and had her hit again and then asked if she could tells us what song was on, what the person was saying and she said she could only feel the beat.

 

[wichita]

My DD is having trouble pulling the trigger as well she is just starting her high school season and not seeing the pitching that she sees on her 18 gold travel team. The pitching is slower and she has trouble waiting on it so her mentality is slow her swing down to make contact when she starts to early. So i asked her about this and she said its better than striking out so i tell her if you have 2 strikes on you i agree but not swinging on the first pitch or with one strike.now i know most kids or at least most kids i know have more trouble with slow vs. fast pitching just seems that there so interested in killing the ball that they cant wait until the ball gets deeper. Shes an animal in the cage with a machine but live what ive seen more times than not she just starts to early.

So my question is what are good drills for staying back and let the ball get deeper on her?

Sorry if i hijacked this thread didnt mean to but didnt want to start another thread this similar to this one Thanks

 

[peezee]

My daughter is having a similar problem. Throughout her seasons in 10U and 12U league ball, she learned that she could get on base easier if she didn't swing much; she'd foul off the good pitches and simply wait for the pitcher to walk her. Now she's on a select team (first season of 12U select was this past fall), and the pitchers are hitting the corners and throwing really good change-ups and screw balls. She never ever struck out in league ball; now she's striking out a lot, mostly because she works the count to 2-2 or 3-2 and then the pitcher throws a change-up or hits the corner. Any ideas on how to get it into her mind that she is to attack the ball? It's becoming an issue--a few times in recent games there were runners on 2B and 3B and she let pitches right over the heart of the plate go by. Her mechanics are great (lots of batting lessons), and she murders the ball when facing a pitching machine at 50-55 mph. Yet I can't get her to hit the ball on an 0-0 or 1-0 count.

 

[Ravenstown]

The first thing I would tell her is that she should know and understand the situation before she gets into the box. If the pitcher has just walked the previous batter on 4 pitches, then you want her to have the mentality that she currently has to take a pitch until the pitcher throws a strike. However, it sounds to me that she is playing defense instead of offense when she steps into the box (fouling off pitches just trying to stay alive). Looking for walks is not the approach to take because when she gets older the walks become less and less as the pitching improves. Tell her that SHE has a BAT in her hands. She is on offense and that she needs to attack the ball. To make the point more clear, I once told my daughter that if she wasn't going to swing to hit the ball hard, she should just wear her fielding glove in the box and leave her bat against the fence. It seemed to make the point a bit clearer that she was on offense then. At 10U especially and even at 12U sometimes, pitching can be really inconsistent. Let her know that she may only get one GOOD pitch to hit the entire at-bat and when it comes she needs to be mentally prepared to hammer it. All pitchers are trying to get ahead early in the count and at 12U when control can be a big issue, this is even more evident. I would ask her if she has a plan each time she goes up to the plate depending on the game situation. Most girls at this age just run up there with no plan and then hit the ball to the one place that we wish that hadn't hit the ball to. Tell her to have a plan when she gets in the box and to try to execute it. It sounds like she knows how to hit; she is just lacking some confidence and therefore is hesitant to swing. If you never failed, you never lived. Good Luck.