DD Not Seeing The Ball

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Nov 18, 2015
1,585
113
Take a sharpie and make a big dot on several balls in a few different colors. Then have her take the pitch, and call out the color. Then swing and call out the color. Then swing only at the colors you call out. It should help her work from a "soft focus" to a "hard focus", and track the ball all the way to the mitt.
 
Jan 7, 2020
41
18
Take a sharpie and make a big dot on several balls in a few different colors. Then have her take the pitch, and call out the color. Then swing and call out the color. Then swing only at the colors you call out. It should help her work from a "soft focus" to a "hard focus", and track the ball all the way to the mitt.

Thank You I will try this for sure.
 

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
OK.... most of you seem to be missing that this is 8U and coach pitch.

8U kids often watch the coach - instead of the ball. As a coach pitcher, it is often enough to say 'watch the ball' and then move the ball around and make sure they are focused on that instead of them before throwing a pitch.

Back in the day, I used to tell the batter "Watch the ball", and then wave it about a little and watch their head and eyes follow the ball and then move into the coach pitch. Made sure they were actually watching the ball as I was pitching it.

Also - a lot of coach pitchers don't throw anywhere near hard enough. Harder and straighter - no lobbing it.
 
Jul 29, 2013
1,199
63
During dry swings, have her find the barrel of the bat and see the sweet spot as she swings it into the stroke zone. It promotes muscle memory and loosens any tight muscles that might be preventing her from looking the ball all the way in.
 
Nov 9, 2019
56
8
Have seen this before and when doing T work would set a ball about two feet in front of plate and about a foot off center. Coach her to keep head down and after swinging to look at ball on ground. Helped the girls that did a lot of T work. All muscle memory.
 
Jan 8, 2019
664
93
OK.... most of you seem to be missing that this is 8U and coach pitch.

8U kids often watch the coach - instead of the ball. As a coach pitcher, it is often enough to say 'watch the ball' and then move the ball around and make sure they are focused on that instead of them before throwing a pitch.

Back in the day, I used to tell the batter "Watch the ball", and then wave it about a little and watch their head and eyes follow the ball and then move into the coach pitch. Made sure they were actually watching the ball as I was pitching it.

Also - a lot of coach pitchers don't throw anywhere near hard enough. Harder and straighter - no lobbing it.
Most coach pitchers I saw had about an 80% strikeout rate!
 
Oct 2, 2017
2,283
113
Most coach pitchers I saw had about an 80% strikeout rate!
I see that to be the case when coaches with good intentions just lob the ball with a high arc as has already been said. Its reduced a large amount when its thrown with more speed. Because it forces players to use a more natural bat path.
 
Last edited:
Dec 2, 2019
102
43
My 7 YO playing coach pitch had a issue early in the year with the coach lobbing the ball. She is really short, so to make contact she would be hitting balls above her head. We made a pitching change and now have more of a straight line with some speed pitcher. Lobbying the ball did make my daughter a hell of a bad ball hitter though.
 

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