Iv'e got a new girl (never playd) who is straighting up at the waist,knees and arms coming untilted and unconnected IMO because shes trying to create space because she's a bit gun shy. Do you think bunting and catching will help her with her hitting? Im also going to do t work focusing on maintaining tilt,slot, etc., use poly balls for any live, front or side toss. Any other suggestions?
Does Bunting help with girls being afraid of the ball?
- Thread starter Dragoncoach
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First of all let her know that fear of the ball is natural. I have asked girls " Are you afraid of the ball?" When they say yes, And they usually do I let them know that OK Your normal. And yes you are right on track with bunting it will help for sure.
Here is something I do for girls afraid of the ball.Get her in the cage with the machine set abou 45-50 have her stand in the box and just WATCH the ball go by, No swinging. Make sure she watches it all the way to the back stop. After a while have her just stick the bat out and let the ball hit it.
The other thing I do is I teach all my players the proper way to get hit with the ball. Getting hit is part of the game and they need to learn to turn their BACK to the ball.
I do this with tennis balls. They need to realize that if they play any time at all they WILL get hit with a pitch.
So many girls throw up their hands and turn to face the pitcher when the ball comes their way.
They need to have it explained to them that if they do that they are exposing their Knees, arms,shins,groin,Breasts, And possibly their throat to the ball going 45-60 mph. And that getting hit in these areas not only hurts more it can cause injury. But taking one in the rear or back pretty much just hurts and leaves a bruise.
Fear of the ball is normal but it can be overcome most of the time.
It really seems to help my players to know that getting hit is going to happen at some point.
Surprisingly some of the players Ive had that were afraid of the ball lost a great deal of that fear once they got hit a few times.
Here is something I do for girls afraid of the ball.Get her in the cage with the machine set abou 45-50 have her stand in the box and just WATCH the ball go by, No swinging. Make sure she watches it all the way to the back stop. After a while have her just stick the bat out and let the ball hit it.
The other thing I do is I teach all my players the proper way to get hit with the ball. Getting hit is part of the game and they need to learn to turn their BACK to the ball.
I do this with tennis balls. They need to realize that if they play any time at all they WILL get hit with a pitch.
So many girls throw up their hands and turn to face the pitcher when the ball comes their way.
They need to have it explained to them that if they do that they are exposing their Knees, arms,shins,groin,Breasts, And possibly their throat to the ball going 45-60 mph. And that getting hit in these areas not only hurts more it can cause injury. But taking one in the rear or back pretty much just hurts and leaves a bruise.
Fear of the ball is normal but it can be overcome most of the time.
It really seems to help my players to know that getting hit is going to happen at some point.
Surprisingly some of the players Ive had that were afraid of the ball lost a great deal of that fear once they got hit a few times.
This right here. Not enough coaches teach this. A lot of injuries can be prevented if the kid would just turn her back. I was hit in the back once in front of a standing room only park. It made an awful sound because, well, there's not a lot of meat back there. THUNK! was about right. After I caught my breath and went to first base, everyone was okay. It was dead quiet there for a while though... if it would have hit the front of me, well I wouldn't have gotten to first. I would have needed some first aid.
Throwing the tennis balls at the players can be a little fun. Have a bad practice, throw this in at the end. Just imagine they are real balls you are chunking at them. ;-) (Do not freak out everyone. If you know me, then you know I'm seriously kidding right now.)
- Jul 26, 2010
- 3,554
- 0
Sounds like you're right on track. You can also have them put the bat down, throw on a glove, and practice catching the balls from a machine or as you pitch them over the plate. Tell them if they can catch the balls, then there is nothing to stop them when they have that big old bat in their hands.
Great advice on teaching them how to take a hit. Learning how to turn in to inside pitches really goes a long way later on when the opposing pitcher learns she can't scare your girls off the plate.
-W
Great advice on teaching them how to take a hit. Learning how to turn in to inside pitches really goes a long way later on when the opposing pitcher learns she can't scare your girls off the plate.
-W
- Dec 28, 2008
- 386
- 0
If she's afraid of being hit by the ball and you are going to have her work on bunts, then be sure and show her the proper way to hold the bat and keep her head down on the ball. If you think she's afraid of being hit now, just have her shove her hands out it front of the plate while turning her head like most girls do and you'll see a girl closing her eyes and shaking. Bunting can become an easy thing for those that are experienced but it's even more frightening for most girls that are taught well to begin with.
It's hard to get a girl over her fear of being hit by a ball, especially by hitting her with the ball. The easiest thing to do is practice a lot hitting off of a tee, and soft toss and let her ENJOY hitting and begin seeing herself doing it well. Make her WANT TO HIT, more than she's afraid of being hit.
It's hard to get a girl over her fear of being hit by a ball, especially by hitting her with the ball. The easiest thing to do is practice a lot hitting off of a tee, and soft toss and let her ENJOY hitting and begin seeing herself doing it well. Make her WANT TO HIT, more than she's afraid of being hit.
