New guy-out of ideas

I stumbled across this forum looking for some hitting drills for my DD. It looks like a lot of good information on here so figured i would join. I am an assistant coach for my daughters 12U travel ball team. It is her 3rd year in select ball, and is struggling at the plate in a bad way. I am out of ideas on how to help her. She is 11 and the smallest girl on the team, but she has wheels and can scoot around the bases.

Her struggles started last season. She got hit about 3 times early in the season and started jumping backwards on almost every pitch no matter where the pitch was. From there the strike outs started coming and she dropped in the line up. Towards the end of last season I started switching her around to hit from the left side (she is a natural righty) and she took to it very well. We practiced all winter and decided she would bat lefty from now on. She even started slapping at practices before the season started and was hitting great. At the cages she would hit 25 of 25 at 50 mph. She was swinging aggressive and I was stoked to see her attacking the ball this year. The games and tourneys started and she has done anything but that. Her batting average is about .125 after about 15 games, and she strikes out about half of the time....maybe even a little more. She looks at way too many good pitches. Generally she looks at the first two strikes and swings at something out of the zone for the third. Of course if it's the third out she starts crying and falls apart. She is her harshest critic. I am at a loss for what to do. If I mention going back to rec ball for a year or taking a year off she gets mad at me and says she loves softball and never wants to stop playing. I constantly get comments on how good of a swing she has, but she just can't seem to put it all together in a game. Her fielding is phenomenal (she plays mostly 2nd and short). If the ball is hit to her she's going to make the play and a good throw. She takes hitting instruction every winter/spring, and outside of the 6 hours a week that we practice as a team her and I practice at least another hour or two during the week. Any advice? I am up to try anything to get her going again. Maybe I'm looking at this through rose colored glasses, but i think she is too good of an athlete to have the lowest batting average on the team.

Well first hing that comes to my mind is that hitting is 80% in the mind. Have you stopped and had a nice little sit down talk to figure what going on in her head as she is at the plate? Once you find out why she is in her own mind it could unleash the flood grates and get her on the right track.

Second, Hav you allowed other coaches to give a try in coaching her? A lot of dads over do it on their own daughter cause they know her ability but ignore the facts right in front of them that they are pushing too hard and not letting the player adjust on her own. I have sent my daughter to my other coach plenty of times to help her hitting because sometimes I get over worked about her not adjusting and he takes a different approach that gets success and we are all smiles after that.

Last, don't focus on her batting average and don't let her focus on numbers either. This game is a team sport if she is doing her part by moving runners (either by allowing them to steal or sacrificing) or getting RBIs then she is doing her part on the team. Or even by getting long at bats then she is getting the pitcher tired and allowing other batters to see more pitches to get at the pitcher.

Just to be clear the kids do not know their statistics. As coaches we keep track, but it is never passed along to the players or parents. Also we have no repercussions for strike outs. In all honesty I don't care one bit if she strikes out as long as she puts in some swings.

Is she batting left-handed entirely now? And she began hitting lefty only last fall? Has she had a history of hitting well left-handed?

You say she's too athletic to have the lowest batting average on the team, but you also say she's the smallest player on the team. No reason that an athletic small player can't be a great hitter, but size sometimes trumps skill and mechanics at age 11. So it might be that a small but fast kid who is in the early stages of batting lefty just needs time.

Also, learning to bat lefty and slap is not an easy transition. She might need help from an expert on the subject, plus more than 1-2 hours/week practicing it.

Newly-converted slapper taking too many strikes? Give her the hit & run sign even when there is nobody on base. Every pitch. Do it for a few games .... she gets yanked if she ignores it just like anyone else would.

It makes her swing, even at bad pitches. It also introduces the dynamic of protecting her teammates when she comes up with runners on base. After a few games, she'll start hitting when she gets a good pitch because she doesn't want to have to swing at another bad pitch and she doesn't want her friends getting caught stealing.

Can we assume that she is hitting lefty now full time? If so she is essentially a first year player so it will take time to become a lefty. When you say she hits in a cage are you saying off a machine?

My advice is to get as much hitting as possible with real pitchers.

Here is that might help.

1) Teach her how to be hit by a pitch. It isn't complicated. She pulls her arms into her body, rotates her body and ducks her head behind her shoulder.
2) Get a soft ball and have her practice being hit by the pitch.
3) Unless she is extremely fast, move her back to the right side of the plate.
4) Have her vision checked.
5) Learn how to throw underhanded and pitch to her.

Good luck to you and your DD on your journey. This place certainly has a wealth of knowledge that my DD has greatly benefited from.

A couple of points...

1) You mentioned her breaking down sometimes. Do WHAT EVER IT TAKES to make it fun again for her. She's putting too much pressure on herself and you could be contributing to that, inadvertently. As parents, what we see as helping her through a tough time can be seen by the kid as Dad is disappointed, so we're working extra hard.
Have a family or friend wiffle ball game, or something along those lines. Give her several days without any instructions or drills. That may mean telling her no if she ask to practice.

2) As mentioned above, have her tell you what's going through her mind during AB's. Last year, during a tough time, DD#1 admitted she was afraid to fail. Once she said that aloud, she had a mental click and showed gradual improvements. Parents can't force these, the kids have to figure them out on their own.

3) Once she seems to relax and is having fun, get someone to throw her live BP. The pitching machines can be over done. If she doesn't have major mechanical flaws, she needs to see more pitches in a live setting. Find a pitcher, close to the level she will see and get her to throw BP. Don't have the pitcher to grove it in, but try to get the batter out.

I do not have a psychology degree by no means, but what you described is more mental than anything. Good luck to y'all.

Some solid advice here. I appreciate the help!

Yes she is batting only left handed now. She is most likely never going to be big power hitter and is the second fastest girl on the team. Switching to the left side seemed like the right transition, but now I'm second guessing it. She is small...about 4'6" and 65 lbs. Some of the girls she is playing against are 5'7 or bigger and weigh twice as much, so there may be a little intimidation and strength factor.

We have worked on being hit by the pitch and got her an elbow guard to wear since she still throws right. She has not been hit this year so far. Her eyesight is terrible. Her prescription is like a -11. Maybe we should take her in and just check to make sure it hasn't changed since last fall.

I really like the hit and run idea.

I have a college player lined up to give her some slapping lessons while she is home from school this summer. She is a very effective slapper at the college level and hopefully my DD can take a lot away from her instruction.

It is her first year batting left handed...sometimes I forget that. I think maybe my hopes were a little high after seeing her kill the ball of of the machines over winter.

I say keep her left handed if small and fast... taking advantage of those few extra steps.

Practice alot of bunting which helps keeping the eyes on the ball the entire time. Play some 'pepper' with her doing the hitting which helps making more contact on not so good pitches.

If she is getting hit and is a little afraid... maybe some arm and lower leg protection might help.

When I was slumping some I would always be thankful that my fielding might could make up for those times. Sounds like her fielding does just that. She is putting alot of pressure on herself... she needs to relax a little more. Easy to say (heck... I would cry every game I lost at that age) and I am a guy. Harder to do.

Good luck to her. As long as she gives the effort I have faith that she will turn into an excellent ballplayer. Attitude and Effort she can control every minute of every game.