Attacking a dominate pitcher- 10U

[chinamigarden]

50 mph from 35 feet would probably scare the crap out of me.

 

[Eric F]

You are correct. We have a couple of girls that won’t stay in the box against her. I’ve never seen her hit anyone, but they still step out on every pitch.

This is a sign of a mental approach that is common with young and inexperienced players, and exactly why your girls are struggling with speed. The first concern is getting hit by the ball. As such, when the pitch is delivered (for the ones that stay in the box), they are waiting to judge location before they make the decision to swing. With this kind of velocity, there isn't the time to do things in that order. They have to get started on all of their pre-launch movements on EVERY pitch and BEFORE they know where the ball is going to be. The big part of this is being in the box with the attitude that they are going to hit the ball on every pitch they face. Get started early enough to be able to execute a good swing (not rushed) on time for the speed of the pitch. If you're late, you're not starting soon enough.

 

[Eric F]

50 mph from 35 feet would probably scare the crap out of me.

This is a valid feeling. However, as coaches, we can tell 10yos - from the safety of the dugout - that they have to stay in the box and try to hit it.

 

[G&G]

This is a sign of a mental approach that is common with young and inexperienced players, and exactly why your girls are struggling with speed. The first concern is getting hit by the ball. As such, when the pitch is delivered (for the ones that stay in the box), they are waiting to judge location before they make the decision to swing. With this kind of velocity, there isn't the time to do things in that order. They have to get started on all of their pre-launch movements on EVERY pitch and BEFORE they know where the ball is going to be. The big part of this is being in the box with the attitude that they are going to hit the ball on every pitch they face. Get started early enough to be able to execute a good swing (not rushed) on time for the speed of the pitch. If you're late, you're not starting soon enough.

Thank you. Great advice. We don’t spend enough time working on the mental side of softball. That’s on me.

 

[Eric F]

Thank you. Great advice. We don’t spend enough time working on the mental side of softball. That’s on me.

This is not something they will get right away. Especially the ones that are jumping out. For some, it's mental hurdle that's hard to cross. My suggestion is to take the approach of them getting started with their pre-launch movement pattern earlier. I'm not a fan of shortening up the pre-launch sequence as a way to be quicker. Start early and slow to be on time.

 

[Towny9]

You are correct. We have a couple of girls that won’t stay in the box against her. I’ve never seen her hit anyone, but they still step out on every pitch.

That’s why I gave the advice I gave - hitting is a good skill, but conquering your fears should be the bigger life skill in this scenario. If you do that the hitting part will take care of itself.

 

[ANNASDAD]

You have a 10 year old throwing 50.....if she hits a girl in the first inning and it brings out the big tears for all to see, that game is over!

 

[Towny9]

We played a game against a very good team where both of us have pitchers in the 49-52 mph range at 10U. I think there was 1 hit in 5 innings combined. It’s easy to say have the girls bunt, but bunting that velocity from that distance isn’t really any easier.

 

[chinamigarden]

This is a valid feeling. However, as coaches, we can tell 10yos - from the safety of the dugout - that they have to stay in the box and try to hit it.

Especially when that 10u pitcher has typical 10u control.

 

[G&G]

You have a 10 year old throwing 50.....if she hits a girl in the first inning and it brings out the big tears for all to see, that game is over!

I do not. Opposing pitcher throws 50 consistently.