Thank you all for the suggestions. We have had her eyes checked...She is fine there. We will definitely give these ideas a try. I have Talladega about going up to the plate thinking "I'm going to hit" to get her to thinking positive. We have a game tonight...so cross your fingers.
8yr old DD won't swing the bat
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We have talked to her about thinking positive going up to the plate.
We have talked to her about thinking positive going up to the plate.
Was trying to figure out the Talledega reference!I moved my daughter up early last year and experienced the same thing at 8 yrs old. She WANTED to walk.
It was frustrating for both of us. This year, once she started pulling the trigger she has been super aggressive at the plate.
The only other suggestion I have is what all girls want and need .............. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ , try to bribe her
!
My DD had this issue back at 1st year 10U. She either walked or struck out looking. Finally I would bribe her to swing. Ice cream afterwards if you swing at every pitch. I didn't care where it it's thrown. Towards the end of the season, she finally started swinging. Foul balls at first. Then she got some hits. After that she started to enjoy hitting the ball. And yes, she got the ice cream. I believe she even got to keep a kitten, which is now a full grown cat!
Baby step it. Take the pressure off of striking out swinging for her. If she swings and misses, give her positive reinforcement. Be patient, it will happen.
Baby step it. Take the pressure off of striking out swinging for her. If she swings and misses, give her positive reinforcement. Be patient, it will happen.
On my DD's recent 8U rec ball team, there were a four girls who were either frozen or would bail out on every pitch. For each of them, it was the fear of getting HBP - especially when they faced one of the faster pitchers. For two of them, actually getting HBP - and realizing it wasn't the end of the world - got them turned around and starting to make good swings. Hopefully, the other two will figure it out next season.
On a side note, my DD set the bar for getting HBP on her team - 5 times. She turned every one into a run.
On a side note, my DD set the bar for getting HBP on her team - 5 times. She turned every one into a run.
My DD had this issue back at 1st year 10U. She either walked or struck out looking. Finally I would bribe her to swing. Ice cream afterwards if you swing at every pitch. I didn't care where it it's thrown. Towards the end of the season, she finally started swinging. Foul balls at first. Then she got some hits. After that she started to enjoy hitting the ball. And yes, she got the ice cream. I believe she even got to keep a kitten, which is now a full grown cat!
Baby step it. Take the pressure off of striking out swinging for her. If she swings and misses, give her positive reinforcement. Be patient, it will happen.
I've been using the ice cream treat for my DD to pitch her hardest. She's been taking 5mph off the ball in games. The harder she throws the more accurate she is. It's been a winning combination when she throws her hardest.
I see this a lot with younger girls going into kid pitch for the first time. Believe it or not, many have no idea that they are supposed to pick up the ball at the pitcher's hip. Reinforce this with her and make sure she is doing that consistently. Many girls will wait until a pitch is halfway to the plate before figuring out if it is good or not, and then they realize it is too late and this causes them to freeze. I tell 'em: "Pick the ball up at her hip and then let it rip!" The little rhyme seems to stick with them.
The other thing has already been mentioned here, but you need to tell her it is completely OK to strike out swinging and that striking out looking at three pitches gives her no chance to be successful but swinging at three pitches ... even if they're marginal ... at least gives her three chances to be successful and you want her to be successful because it is always more fun to play well! Once they figure out that they will never hit the ball by not swinging and that you want them to swing even if it means striking out, it is usually a rather quick fix. Just don't forget to praise her like there's no tomorrow whenever she makes a good, hard swing at a pitch and pat her on the back when she strikes out swinging and tell her she did a good job by taking her cuts for the team.
The other thing has already been mentioned here, but you need to tell her it is completely OK to strike out swinging and that striking out looking at three pitches gives her no chance to be successful but swinging at three pitches ... even if they're marginal ... at least gives her three chances to be successful and you want her to be successful because it is always more fun to play well! Once they figure out that they will never hit the ball by not swinging and that you want them to swing even if it means striking out, it is usually a rather quick fix. Just don't forget to praise her like there's no tomorrow whenever she makes a good, hard swing at a pitch and pat her on the back when she strikes out swinging and tell her she did a good job by taking her cuts for the team.
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I moved my daughter up early last year and experienced the same thing at 8 yrs old. She WANTED to walk.
It was frustrating for both of us. This year, once she started pulling the trigger she has been super aggressive at the plate.
The only other suggestion I have is what all girls want and need .............. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ , try to bribe her
We have been bribing with trips to Justice. One store that I'd rather not go into, but if it gets her to swinging. I'm all for it.
It's nice to know that there are others having the same issue. Good news is that she swung the bat tonight!! Struck out...catcher dropped ball, she ran to first and made it on base and eventually scoring. Huge win for her personal accomplishment tonight. I do think a lot of it does have to do with first year pitch and the other pitcher's are bigger than her. Check their bigger than our own pitcher's on the team. We will continue to work with her. Thanks for all your help.
