So damn frustrated

[JAD]

Ahhh....the dreaded "cage hitting phenom".....my DD is one of them. My DD's problems are between her ears and I am working on getting her to get in the box with the same mentality she has during BP. She "tenses up" in games vs. being relaxed and confident.

You may also want to watch for her "stepping out" with her front foot against live pitching vs. staying closed and driving the ball in the cage. If she steps out and opens up her front shoulder the whole swing will denigrate from there.

 

[learnin2coach]

As requested...

On every pitch, Mig gets the swing process started before he knows the location. The thought is always "hit the ball"...until it's read as being out of the zone. He doesn't have time to think "is this one to hit?..." and then start the swing process.

One thing I talk a lot about with my DD and her teammates is "hitting zone". When they are hitting front toss without a plate on the ground, they aren't thinking about the "strike zone", only whether they can hit it - their "hitting zone". That's the attitude I want them to take in the box. Let the pitcher worry about the "strike zone". EXPECT that every pitch is one to hit, and if it is...HIT IT

Thank you. These examples make it perfectly clear.

 

[learnin2coach]

Thanks everyone. I have a new direction to try with her. My last ditch effort with her is going to be yes yes no mentality in the box. I appreciate all the suggestions!

 

[obbay]

I am late joining the party, but my DD had that very same problem. textbook swing until facing live pitching. could be easy, recreational pitching or competitive, tournament ball pitching. while she did better with the latter, she/we couldn't figure out why she was falling apart at the plate. The head coach assured me she was just trying too hard and would do better after she settled down and became more comfortable at the plate. She also had a problem with low pitches (which used to be her wheelhouse) because she broke her ankle last year and for a few months was hitting off the tee on one knee and that's not conducive to working on low pitches.

Her problem was rushing to the pitch and not letting it get to her.

the solution was an abundance of live pitching.

by seeing a lot of pitching, the timing of the swing became more natural and less hurried. front toss and regular pitching all behind the screen, mix in some machine pitch for speed but at the very least front toss or toss from the first base line. it took lots of practice off season to get her settled down and sequencing her swing correctly. in the beginning I saw her complete the negative move and start forward before toe touch. again, over anxious/trying too hard. she's doing much better waiting and adjusting for the pitch now. she has other issues now but they can be addressed with fine tuning. The head coach on this team thinks that based on what he is seeing in BP, she will be a strong contributor to our offense. (I hope he's right )

 

[learnin2coach]

I am late joining the party, but my DD had that very same problem. textbook swing until facing live pitching. could be easy, recreational pitching or competitive, tournament ball pitching. while she did better with the latter, she/we couldn't figure out why she was falling apart at the plate. The head coach assured me she was just trying too hard and would do better after she settled down and became more comfortable at the plate. She also had a problem with low pitches (which used to be her wheelhouse) because she broke her ankle last year and for a few months was hitting off the tee on one knee and that's not conducive to working on low pitches.

Her problem was rushing to the pitch and not letting it get to her.

the solution was an abundance of live pitching.

by seeing a lot of pitching, the timing of the swing became more natural and less hurried. front toss and regular pitching all behind the screen, mix in some machine pitch for speed but at the very least front toss or toss from the first base line. it took lots of practice off season to get her settled down and sequencing her swing correctly. in the beginning I saw her complete the negative move and start forward before toe touch. again, over anxious/trying too hard. she's doing much better waiting and adjusting for the pitch now. she has other issues now but they can be addressed with fine tuning. The head coach on this team thinks that based on what he is seeing in BP, she will be a strong contributor to our offense. (I hope he's right )

Thank you for your input. We play 90+ games a year, so lack of live pitching is not an issue.

 

[Il softball fan]

Also joining this one late...lots of good replies already. Agree with the one above who said watch in live games for stepping out away from the plate, and getting the front foot to open away from the plate. Swing and power both suffer.

The other thing to combat the cage superstar that I have seen work is to work with her on mentally breaking down the swing into steps. Step one is get into the box with a good athletic position, set up and feet square to the plate. Now break down the swing for her. Step two is early and slow load. Have her loading as the pitcher starts their windup and movement. Step three is called the launch. That is where you get your front foot stride, hands up and back and begin your swing. Step four is what we call explode, or the actual swing.

Now have her practice with mentally thinking about each step, and explain that she does the first three steps on EVERY pitch, whether she swings or not. It is basically the same thing as the yes,yes,yes, approach. We had some that would get up there and were still like a statue and then as the pitch was on the way, trying to get the swing movement started and of course were either way behind the pitch, or the swing was just ugly and ineffective.

 

[canyonjoe]

Have her hit of more live pitching in practice.