How do you make pitching practice fun for a kid?

[FiveFrameSwing]

Jenna prefers country!

 

[GunnerShotgun]

Another way to pass the time was to simulate a game by calling balls, strikes, hits, runs, etc. My daughter use to enjoy this so much that we got very detailed on the opposing team (down to hair color, walk up song, hitting tendencies). This was a great way to work on pitching strategy and pitching mechanics (don't hang the change-up). If she "won" there was ice cream afterwords...it got very competitive.

 

[grcsftbll]

If she's anything like mine, try not to over instruct. Mine is 11 now and I can't catch for her anymore. It makes her sad because it was all I could do to catch the ball even when I did catch for her; I had to focus on not getting hit in the face. Her dad has to do it now and he can actually see her form while he's also catching the ball, so he gives her feedback. She's ok with a little but if he says too much it ruins the fun for her.

We used to do a lot of striking out people she knew. So we'd have a line up of girls she'd played with or against, that she knew how they swung the bat. She'd decide which pitches to throw to try to strike them out and we'd keep count and play full games that way. Sometimes to annoy her a little in a funny way I'd make a girl get a hit and ohhhh, she got a single on an error. Just goofy fun stuff to keep it interesting. She's also very competitive even just with herself, so any sort of competition makes it fun.

 

[Lightning]

DD likes to play a game her pitching coach calls CAT - it's like HORSE in basketball, but with pitching. DD calls a type of pitch and a spot and then pitches. If she makes it, PC has to do the same pitch. (When PC plays this game with kids who have less control than DD, she will pitch with her eyes closed.) If DD misses, then PC gets to call the pitch and location.

DD can beat her PC if she works hard, so it's a great motivator for her.

 

[sluggers]

There is no game that will consistently make practice "fun" over the course of years.

The only thing that consistently makes practice enjoyable is *YOU*. Use the practice time as "together" time with your DD, when you share your experiences and you *LISTEN* to what she says about her day and what she has been doing. Share your daily experiences with her. Get out of "father mode" and get into "dad mode". Tell stupid stories. Tease her.

A large bulk of the practice is warming up, cooling down and doing mindless muscle memory drills. Use that time to talk with her.

 

[BadMonkeys]

It's not a direct answer. I don't have a particular way yet to include a game or a way of making it seem like we aren't just going through the motions but a couple times I let things evolve away from pitching. One time when we were using the football, she started firing it overhand and that evolved into running routes and what not. Another time pitching practice became hitting practice because she was asking hitting questions and that was where her mind was. I went with it.

 

[YOCOACH]

Years ago when DD was pitching before she became a catcher, we'd play a game where every corner she hit within X number of pitches she'd get a point. X number of points would get her a large treat at Dairy Queen (sundae or Blizzard) and Y number would get her a small treat such as an ice cream cone or slushy. As the years progressed, the number of pitches she was allowed to get to hit her spots decreased but the treats didn't. We spent many evenings at DQ just talking and having fun. We did the same type of thing for catching and blocked balls. Now that she's off playing in college and practicing with her team instead of me....I sure miss those simple days