Mental side of hitting

Does anyone else have a dd who is almost purely an instinct hitter. If you ask my dad what she thinks about in the bateer's box she will tell you "nothing". DD is 14 and I have been trying t talk to her about the mental side of hitting for the last year but it is never a two way conversation. I had limited skills as an athlete so I depended on the mental side of sports to give me my advantage. I always think how much better my dd could be if she would apply more of the mental aspect of hitting to her game. The other night when we were driving home from her hs game we were talking about her at bats and I started talking about the mental side of hitting. She said dad if I start thinking about all that stuff it is just going to mess me up, it got me to thinking. Are some girls just wired differently? Maybe my dd would not be a better hitter if she thought more about it. She has always been a better hitter against better pitchers and her batting average with 2 strikes is the same as without 2 strikes Does anyone else have a DD like this? I am starting to wonder if my dd would not be better off if we just concentrated on her mechanics.

There is a delicate balance. You can think more about it. But you can also think too much about it. How do you think she ranks athletically compared to other girls her age? If she is above average athletically, she may be able to get away purely on instinct alone. But at some point in time she will face better competition and may struggle. Unfortunately, if a young person (boy or girl) is finding success, it can be difficult to convince them that a change is needed (heck, I could say the same about adults, LOL). JMHO.

I wish my DD would think less in the batter's box. I believe she is overthinking it and her batting average is starting to show it.

FP26 said:

There is a delicate balance. You can think more about it. But you can also think too much about it. How do you think she ranks athletically compared to other girls her age? If she is above average athletically, she may be able to get away purely on instinct alone. But at some point in time she will face better competition and may struggle. Unfortunately, if a young person (boy or girl) is finding success, it can be difficult to convince them that a change is needed (heck, I could say the same about adults, LOL). JMHO.

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Athletically I don't know how to describe her. She is tall and fast but has been known to turn a triple into a double by tripping rounding first. If you watched her warm up you would never give her a second glance. However ask her to steal or score from third on a ground out against superior competition and she just gets it done. Get her in a rundown and she will never turn it into a six throw escape. She will be safe or out in 2 throws. It is frustrating to me because i see all the potential that could be there if she could marry up the physical gifts and the mental side. I have the same fears as you about reaching a ceiling against better competition. Up to this point she has always stepped up her game and actually come out ahead of where see was previously.
I would like to find a way to help her without "breaking" her.