Chris Delorit
Member
Annesdad,
It sounds like you have your daughter with a respectable coach, and one that you both seem to like. That's a great start!
Hitting is really just a reactionary event, where you're reacting to the movement of a pitched ball. The ball has a level of velocity & movement & there is rarely ever duplication in an AB, or a game. Every pitch is just a fresh AB. Timing isn't a word I use much in a training vocabulary, as I find it can confuse more than it defines. Sure, the entire process of the swing could certainly be considered a process involving some timing.
Back to your daughter.
Two common mistakes that I see with kids is that they are being taught to hyper-focus much too hard on a common release point, and then to time every pitch relative to starting their swing. Every pitcher can have a different motion, multiple release points and different pitch speeds. So, hopefully you can see that timing by counting, etc., can be the cause of inconsistancy & performance anxiety. In your daughter's scenario, that could be causing her to get out on the front foot too early.
In addition to your hitting lessons, I would suggest some drills that help relax your daughter, relax & reposition her focal points & eliminate the need to time-to-swing. If your daughter has a static stance, she can also experiment with one that incorporates a more dynamic approach.
A couple easy drills that you can experiment with are walk-throughs & tee work off the three contact points (inside/middle/outside). Live pitching emulating a variety of motion styles & speeds. Very importantly is to train out any hints of counting, focal tension & performance anxiety.
It sounds simple, but can require alot of time & patience. She's just 10U.
Remember to relax, react & have fun!
Chris
It sounds like you have your daughter with a respectable coach, and one that you both seem to like. That's a great start!
Hitting is really just a reactionary event, where you're reacting to the movement of a pitched ball. The ball has a level of velocity & movement & there is rarely ever duplication in an AB, or a game. Every pitch is just a fresh AB. Timing isn't a word I use much in a training vocabulary, as I find it can confuse more than it defines. Sure, the entire process of the swing could certainly be considered a process involving some timing.
Back to your daughter.
Two common mistakes that I see with kids is that they are being taught to hyper-focus much too hard on a common release point, and then to time every pitch relative to starting their swing. Every pitcher can have a different motion, multiple release points and different pitch speeds. So, hopefully you can see that timing by counting, etc., can be the cause of inconsistancy & performance anxiety. In your daughter's scenario, that could be causing her to get out on the front foot too early.
In addition to your hitting lessons, I would suggest some drills that help relax your daughter, relax & reposition her focal points & eliminate the need to time-to-swing. If your daughter has a static stance, she can also experiment with one that incorporates a more dynamic approach.
A couple easy drills that you can experiment with are walk-throughs & tee work off the three contact points (inside/middle/outside). Live pitching emulating a variety of motion styles & speeds. Very importantly is to train out any hints of counting, focal tension & performance anxiety.
It sounds simple, but can require alot of time & patience. She's just 10U.
Remember to relax, react & have fun!
Chris