Getting them to swing?

We have a bunch of girls freezing up in the batters box. Any tips to get them to swing in the game? They do great in practice, great off a machine, great off a coach pitching but absolutely freeze in the game.

Newton's law of motion. An object at rest tends to stay at rest. An object at motion tends to stay at motion.

I continually practice and remind the girls that they move on every pitch. I tell them that I don't care if it's a foot over their head, start to swing and act like you wanted it but had to stop.

Bunt!! It will either give them more confidence or bore them into wanting to swing!!

NVfishing said:

We have a bunch of girls freezing up in the batters box. Any tips to get them to swing in the game? They do great in practice, great off a machine, great off a coach pitching but absolutely freeze in the game.

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Are they afraid of striking out?
Have they lost playing time for striking out?

I would tell my batters, if you are going to strike out I want at least two swings, three is better, four is better still and so on...
This does not mean swing at pitches at their neck or ankles.

Players should look forward to hitting. It's fun.
Players should go up to the plate to swing the bat.

Girls who are penalized for striking out lose that sense of fun and go up with fear.
Coach the zone and situation to your batters.
Tell them not to worry if they strike out.
Praise them if they swing three times on a K, then coach them on technique and contact (The art of spoiling pitches makes bad hitters good and good hitters great).

And tell to go up and have some fun.

redhotcoach said:

Newton's law of motion. An object at rest tends to stay at rest. An object at motion tends to stay at motion.

I continually practice and remind the girls that they move on every pitch. I tell them that I don't care if it's a foot over their head, start to swing and act like you wanted it but had to stop.

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I keep telling my DDs this hoping one day it will eventually sink in.

I'm also a fan of a little pre-pitch motion but have trouble getting them to buy into that.

It should be "GO, GO, GO, GO...NO" not the other way around.

I was talking with my daughter about batting yesterday. I can see she's getting doubts in her head about batting. Last weekend she had a very bad at bat. Weak timid swing that looked like she didn't want to swing. I told her a couple of days after the game that I will love her no matter how she does batting and that she makes me very proud when she swings her hardest even if she strikes out. She had two at bats over the weekend. Struck out the first and swung hard. I gave her a dollar for the strike out because she swung hard and told her I will give her a dollar for every strike out if she goes down swinging(two dollars for a base hit). She loved it and got a solid hit her second at bat with two very solid swings. I am seeing this same timid swing or in some cases no swing at all from some of the girls. The coaches don't seem to be putting pressure on the girls but the girls are developing a fear of failure which is causing them to freeze. These girls are aged 7-9. I was thinking of buying candy/stickers and keeping a tally of swings. If a girl swings she gets a "candy" reward or sticker.

NVfishing - Careful there. Soon you'll have girls going up there swinging at the first three pitches they see cause they know there's a tootsie roll waiting for them in the dugout. Here's my thoughts on this:

I've noticed while making this transition into 10u that girls that are use to hitting the ball hard and into the grass are struggling with the inability to do so every single at bat. We have several girls that cry after they strikeout, groundout, or even hit a hard line drive that gets caught. We have really tried to get them to understand that it's going to be different now, but we're also talking about fragile little girls with fragile little egos that have been built up over the last 3 years while the dominated their respective Rec. Leagues. We have one girl that we JUST GOT, who has been the STUD forever. She came and played one tournament with us and struck out every time because the pitching was faster and more consistent than anything she'd seen before. She was mentally DESTROYED at the end of the day. Her parents made a commitment to our team, and now that she's been practicing, and working hard, she's started to taste some success. It comes in small doses folks. The girl that you've tried to convert into a slapper may swing and miss at everything, but then there's that one perfect AB where she bloops one over the drawn in third basemen. That may be the catalyst for her, and then she's off to the races. Bottom Line here, is be patient. If they're not swinging, they will. Some of these girls are also dealing with FEAR issues (mainly afraid of the ball). That will go away the older they get, and the more accurate and consistent the pitching becomes. Enjoy the ride right now, and celebrate their accomplishment.

Josh

I've been very proud of my DD for her changed mental approach to the game. She is swinging at pitches, getting some hits. I can see the confidence is building which is producing a better swing. Fouled off three times off the strongest pitcher she faced this weekend. Struck out but I couldn't have been more proud of the battle she put up!

NVfishing said:

I've been very proud of my DD for her changed mental approach to the game. She is swinging at pitches, getting some hits. I can see the confidence is building which is producing a better swing. Fouled off three times off the strongest pitcher she faced this weekend. Struck out but I couldn't have been more proud of the battle she put up!

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Great to hear of the improvement. I have a girl on my team (a 10yo in a 10u league) who would crush the ball in practice, quite consistantly. In games, she wouldn't swing...ever. I thought at first it might be nerves, or fear of striking out. I finally realized her goal when I saw her smile ear to ear one game after a walk. When she was on deck the next at bat, I told her I wanted her to swing at every pitch... I don't care WHERE it is. Well, she took the first pitch. It was a ball, but I called time and brought her to the side and told her once again, "I want you to swing at every pitch... remember, every pitch"

Well she did, and she struck out swinging at 3 horribly pitched balls, one a foot over her head. Her parents must have questined my sanity as they were yelling at her for swinging at bad pitches and I was congratulating her on a GREAT at bat. Unfortunately, that was her last at bat in that game. But the very next game, I sent her out to the plate with the very same instruction. Well, this pitcher was throwing more consistant strikes and she hit the ball 2 times in that game and struck out once in 3 at bats. I think she finally got it that actually hitting the ball is a lot more fun than standing there hoping the pitcher walks her. That was a turning point for her.