DD needing some encouragement

[CoogansBluff]

She really needs to work on hitting the pitches that give her the most trouble. Good 16U teams are usually well-coached. This means some coach is going to see the holes in her swing and make sure she receives a steady diet of pitches that exploit those holes. Good pitchers will simply execute those pitches with greater consistency than she has been used to seeing so far, and that is what is causing her BA to slip.

And by "most trouble" I don't necessarily mean the pitches she strikes out on. I tend to call pitches that I know girls will get themselves out on, even if that means a pop-up, weak ground ball or fly ball to the outfield. She needs to learn to not get herself out on those pitches!

I think you're spot on. ... Goal recently and moving forward is to see as much live pitching in practice as possible vs. quality pitching. Front toss will be more about hitting difficult spots. I think her front-tosser (me) is probably guilty of enjoying her smack one, so I'm too accommodating.

 

[CoogansBluff]

Figured I'd provide an update. Started this post while DD was amid an 0-for-19 slump. Got some good advice and encouragement and was talked off the ledge.

She was 21-for-50 before the slump. Now, she's 19-for-49 since the slump. Probably twice as many extra-base hits over the last 50 AB as the first 50. She batted #4 this weekend after dropping to #8 at one point.

So, I guess 0-for-19 was a good thing. Very valuable experience. Going forward, any time she's struggling - and it's only a matter of time before she and most everybody will again - she can always think back to 0-for-19 and how she kept plugging and pulled herself out of the ditch. As my wife likes to say, ''Struggle is good for you.''

 

[obbay]

Thats a great lesson CB that I can use with DD right now. same situation only at U18 (U14 last year). Hit well the first half of HS season, had a mid season slump and came back at the end. Summer season started and hitting seemed to decline with each tournament (true for the team as well). I have ordered a mental training book to get her started understanding and buying into that.

Struggle IS good for you! better to lose a few small battles here and there if it leads to winning the war.