8U Batting Question: The struggling hitter

[MacLobo]

Hey everyone, I've got a real quick question. Coaching 8U machine pitch, I've got lots of new girls on my team - some getting it, some not.

I've got 3 girls that I'm really trying to work on. They have very little confidence, and just haven't found their "Inner-Athlete."

Issues:
1. Close their eyes when they swing
2. Swing like they're playing under water
3. Haven't come anywhere close to making contact

I want these girls to swing, and swing hard. It just isn't happening. We have not tried bunting at all, as that isn't my focus with these girls. However, do you think bunting practice would help them 1. track the ball, 2. time the speed, and 3. build confidence in making contact?

Being my first year, I'm not too sure what the "bunting etiquette" is in 8U, but thought I'd get your opinions.

Thanks!

 

[JJsqueeze]

I don't think bunting is really a very useful 8u skill for a rec player early in the season, I would introduce it, work in some follow up drills occasionally but i wouldn't spend a whole lotta time focusing on it. No one ever said they fell in love with the game because they laid down the perfect bunt. A hard hit on the other hand can do magic and it is just a numbers game. I have seen MANY girls this age make good contact with absolutely atrocious swings and once they do, their confidence can soar.

keep in mind that many of the girls playing 8u rec are just there trying out a sport, your goal as a coach is to catch as many in the net as possible to help build your rec league so do everything with the twin goal of fun and development and you will be successful whether you go 0-14 or 14-0.

 

[quincy]

You can try this.

 

[bmakj]

Tee or soft toss work possibly to help them swing hard (less afraid of missing ball), help build focus on ball, boost confidence (I always try to talk to the girls about how great it sounds when solid contact is made)

who works pitching machine? if you or one of your ACs, try to NOt make eye contact with batter. might hold their focus so they are looking at you not the ball. make and hold eye contact with catcher instead maybe. I am in 10u modified kid pitch (coach pitches when 4 balls with bases loaded), and I am working very hard on focusing on catcher while pitching, not the batter (coach of offense pitches).

 

[bmakj]

also, working on bunting in practice, and giving girls option in game might help confidence a little. but I would leave it up to the girls in the game, with certain easy to understand rules about when it is OK (<2 outs, only with at least one base open, <2 strikes). coahces instructing players to bunt in coach or machine pitch seems a little iffy to me. if machine is dialed in, eventually they will be able to bunt very effectively I think. but if the other coach understands girls are doing it on their own, should not be an issue.

 

[YOCOACH]

I've found that starting with bunting has helped players at all levels. Start with bunting and put numbers on the balls as posted above. Have them call out the numbers after every pitch. Then move back every 10 pitches about 5 feet. Once you get to 40 feet or so, start the girls bunting at those pitches and after 10 pitches move forward every 5 feet or so and make sure they call out the numbers after every pitch. Stop when you get about 20 feet away. Then switch to actually having them hit at that distance. If they miss 2 swings in a row, have them go back to bunting for 5 more pitches. Then go back to the swing. JMHO which has worked well for me.

IME, if a player is having problems tracking the ball (with no eyesight issues), the quickest way to get them back on track so to speak is to have them bunt. They have no choice in that situation but to track the ball and lay it down.

 

[marriard]

Hey everyone, I've got a real quick question. Coaching 8U machine pitch, I've got lots of new girls on my team - some getting it, some not.

I've got 3 girls that I'm really trying to work on. They have very little confidence, and just haven't found their "Inner-Athlete."

Issues:
1. Close their eyes when they swing
2. Swing like they're playing under water
3. Haven't come anywhere close to making contact

I want these girls to swing, and swing hard. It just isn't happening. We have not tried bunting at all, as that isn't my focus with these girls. However, do you think bunting practice would help them 1. track the ball, 2. time the speed, and 3. build confidence in making contact?

Being my first year, I'm not too sure what the "bunting etiquette" is in 8U, but thought I'd get your opinions.

Thanks!

First is this coach pitch? Because if it is coach pitch there is generally no bunting.
That doesn't mean you can't build up to a swing using bunting as others have described - you just can't use it in a game. I like to even do a drill where they just catch the ball in the zone with just their hands (no bat)

Also work off tees, then move to close front toss with tennis balls or softies (still want to be behind a screen - they still sting) and work your way back

I will stress one other comment - if it coach pitch DO NOT LOOK AT YOUR BATTER and DO NOT MAKE EYE CONTACT. You look at the batter, you will throw it towards them - and at this age they are not going to like the ball coming at them directly. And if they are looking at you, they can't hit the ball. I liked to show the batter the ball and even move it around a little until I was sure they were looking at the ball and then I focused on the catcher/target.

Another thing for coach pitching - and this is critical. You should be pitching flat and fast - no softly lobbing or looping the ball in. This may feel counter intuitive however if you can keep the ball mostly in one plane it is actually easier to hit than a loopy pitch - and if you can keep it in the zone you may even occasionally hit the bat directly Doing this will only help the players as they move through the age groups and start kid pitch divisions.

One more - SWING AWAY. Pick a pitch (not just the last pitch allowed) and take away the swing/no swing decision. Tell them they are to swing no matter what kind of pitch it is. Taking away the "am I going to swing" sometimes helps with their timing as they no longer have to think about it - they ARE going to swing.


Hopefully one of these ideas works for you...

 

[RichK]

Machine pitch is tough. I remember coaching little ones that were struggling at coach pitch and if you could get them to swing hard you could at least try to "hit their bat" with the pitch lol

I agree with what's said above you just have to get them to understand how to make contact with a moving ball. Start with whiffles at 10 feet, 20 feet, 30 feet, etc. and then switch to softball at those distances and then see what happens when you turn the machine on. They may be afraid of it. It might be arcing in due to low speeds.

Good on you for caring and working with all your girls.

 

[Angus]

One drill I have seen work is to set tee as low as possible and put a basketball/soccer ball on the tee and have them hit it. They will be forced to swing hard to hit such a heavy ball. that at least gives them the feel of swinging hard.

 

[MacLobo]

I've found that starting with bunting has helped players at all levels. Start with bunting and put numbers on the balls as posted above. Have them call out the numbers after every pitch. Then move back every 10 pitches about 5 feet. Once you get to 40 feet or so, start the girls bunting at those pitches and after 10 pitches move forward every 5 feet or so and make sure they call out the numbers after every pitch. Stop when you get about 20 feet away. Then switch to actually having them hit at that distance. If they miss 2 swings in a row, have them go back to bunting for 5 more pitches. Then go back to the swing. JMHO which has worked well for me.

IME, if a player is having problems tracking the ball (with no eyesight issues), the quickest way to get them back on track so to speak is to have them bunt. They have no choice in that situation but to track the ball and lay it down.

This is mostly what I was thinking. I'm not real interested in having them bunt in game situations, but during practice in order to have them ACTUALLY watch the ball, etc.

I'll be trying this at practice next week.

thanks