02Crush
Way past gone
Okay everyone...I have another coaching/parent situation and want your opinions to see how to work this out.
- As many of you know I have a team of new 10U players in TB. We are seeing umpires who are expecting poor pitching b/c this is a developmental age therefore the strike zone is a little loose on a pretty regular basis.
- The strike zone is defined as armpit to knee the width of the plate (from what I remember in ASA and USSSA).
The strike zones we are seeing are not tall enough to match the rule/definition. It is more like slightly above the belly button down to mid shins.
- My players know a pitch below the knees should be a ball so they hold off on it. But after 6 tournaments where it is called often they are frustrated. I am proud of them for beginning to develop the vision to see the ball and expect a low pitch. However it is hard to make this a positive thing with the players when it is being called a strike and they perceive it as a negative. Over time they have decided they want to make a play and attempt to hit it. Watching them try to hit these and seeing the bad form develop is killing me. I am trying to get them to swing properly during 10U not swing a pitching wedge.
So....
Should I move them up in the box to try and catch the ball earlier at a possible higher point as it typically drops off a little at this age?
Should I teach them to let it go even if it strikes them out as we know it was not a strike and maybe hope that at an older age the umpires will be tightening the zone back up based on better pitching? (I wanna do this b/c it will re-enforce bad hitting technique and just chalk it up to the age but feel avoiding the issue won't work either.)
Should I teach them to back up in hopes that umpire will view the pitch in perspective of the players size more and at that point the pitch will be lower over the plate in the flight of the pitch?
I am not saying my line of thinking is correct but rather thinking out loud. I would like to do something to instill some confidence in them to at least try and make a play this Spring but am at a loss on how to proceed.
- As many of you know I have a team of new 10U players in TB. We are seeing umpires who are expecting poor pitching b/c this is a developmental age therefore the strike zone is a little loose on a pretty regular basis.
- The strike zone is defined as armpit to knee the width of the plate (from what I remember in ASA and USSSA).
The strike zones we are seeing are not tall enough to match the rule/definition. It is more like slightly above the belly button down to mid shins.
- My players know a pitch below the knees should be a ball so they hold off on it. But after 6 tournaments where it is called often they are frustrated. I am proud of them for beginning to develop the vision to see the ball and expect a low pitch. However it is hard to make this a positive thing with the players when it is being called a strike and they perceive it as a negative. Over time they have decided they want to make a play and attempt to hit it. Watching them try to hit these and seeing the bad form develop is killing me. I am trying to get them to swing properly during 10U not swing a pitching wedge.
So....
Should I move them up in the box to try and catch the ball earlier at a possible higher point as it typically drops off a little at this age?
Should I teach them to let it go even if it strikes them out as we know it was not a strike and maybe hope that at an older age the umpires will be tightening the zone back up based on better pitching? (I wanna do this b/c it will re-enforce bad hitting technique and just chalk it up to the age but feel avoiding the issue won't work either.)
Should I teach them to back up in hopes that umpire will view the pitch in perspective of the players size more and at that point the pitch will be lower over the plate in the flight of the pitch?
I am not saying my line of thinking is correct but rather thinking out loud. I would like to do something to instill some confidence in them to at least try and make a play this Spring but am at a loss on how to proceed.
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