- May 11, 2012
- 121
- 0
I have a 9 year old dd who just finished 3rd grade. She is a good athlete and physically she has a lot of potential. She played with primarily girls 10 and 11 years old this year and she was very very good pitching and very very good in the middle infield. She is a very fast kid. Physcially she is not huge but definitely above average and she has A LOT of power battng. She quite frequently drives the ball to the outfield and potential wise she should be a 4 spot type hitter next year and when she is older.
Here is the dilemma. She struggled BIG TIME this year batting. She is a kid who talent wise should be batting about
.700-.750 in REC ball and in practice the kid is a machine. She destroys the ball and is very consistent. However, for whatever reason in games this season she has been a .250 type batter. She has definitely struggled with slow pitchers especially. She does better against faster pitchers. MUCH better.
She has asked to practice slapping and asked to learn. We have worked on the basics and she is a natural at it. So basically she has the skill set to be succesful as a slapper or a power hitter righty. I know that if I switch her to lefty she can be a solid contact hitter and add the slapping and it will make her a kid who is well ahead of most other girls her age and who will have a huuuuuge tactical advantage. However, at the same time I see the raw power she has and the great swing and it makes me sad to think all that potential would be unused.
So, if a kid has the skill set to do either succesfully, what should we do? After thinking long and hard, Im pretty sure I want to be patient and stick it out another year righty and just hope she settles in and starts batting to her potential. Maybe another year experience will do that for her and finally playing against girls her own age will help her cause as well. Then if she continues to struggle next year, we can switch her to lefty and start slapping full time with her. Thoughts on this? OR should I just consider switching since right now? so she can start getting great at it ASAP.
Also, before its asked. Yes she has seen a HC and in fact 2 of them. They have both been very impressed on where she is at her age and cant seem to figure out the struggles during games either. Like I said.........it might just be a comfort thing. She is ridiculously competitive and her own hardest critic, so she may be putting too much pressure on herself. However, that would be hard to understand too because when she is pitching( which IMO is MUCH more stressfull)........she is cool as a cucumber.
BTW sorry for the rant. Im obviously unsure and just a little frustrated for her right now. She works very hard. Your opinions will be much appreciated.
Here is the dilemma. She struggled BIG TIME this year batting. She is a kid who talent wise should be batting about
.700-.750 in REC ball and in practice the kid is a machine. She destroys the ball and is very consistent. However, for whatever reason in games this season she has been a .250 type batter. She has definitely struggled with slow pitchers especially. She does better against faster pitchers. MUCH better.
She has asked to practice slapping and asked to learn. We have worked on the basics and she is a natural at it. So basically she has the skill set to be succesful as a slapper or a power hitter righty. I know that if I switch her to lefty she can be a solid contact hitter and add the slapping and it will make her a kid who is well ahead of most other girls her age and who will have a huuuuuge tactical advantage. However, at the same time I see the raw power she has and the great swing and it makes me sad to think all that potential would be unused.
So, if a kid has the skill set to do either succesfully, what should we do? After thinking long and hard, Im pretty sure I want to be patient and stick it out another year righty and just hope she settles in and starts batting to her potential. Maybe another year experience will do that for her and finally playing against girls her own age will help her cause as well. Then if she continues to struggle next year, we can switch her to lefty and start slapping full time with her. Thoughts on this? OR should I just consider switching since right now? so she can start getting great at it ASAP.
Also, before its asked. Yes she has seen a HC and in fact 2 of them. They have both been very impressed on where she is at her age and cant seem to figure out the struggles during games either. Like I said.........it might just be a comfort thing. She is ridiculously competitive and her own hardest critic, so she may be putting too much pressure on herself. However, that would be hard to understand too because when she is pitching( which IMO is MUCH more stressfull)........she is cool as a cucumber.
BTW sorry for the rant. Im obviously unsure and just a little frustrated for her right now. She works very hard. Your opinions will be much appreciated.