How to make these girls hit the ball?? 10U

[jamiejames82]

Hey guys, looking for some advice on how to get my girls to hit the ball during a game.. I know the ability is there, as they are all able to hit really well during practice/cage work, however, when they get up against that girl, the wheels fall off. This is our first year playing tournament ball, and our first year playing live arm (9U team). I think they just get so nervous once they get up there, they completely forget what to do. Those that do swing, just arn't making contact. Im pretty sure this is just the growing pains of this age, but man is it a killer to watch! I know once they get some confidence it will be a different game, but right now, they are just all so scared. I was hoping to glean some wisdom from some of you who have been in this spot, that may have some drills or ANYTHING advice wise to help. We have one pitcher on our team that throws hard, and we are trying to get them as much time as possible hitting off her, but its just different apparently once they are in a game. We have even been trying to bunt alot to at least give us a chance, but same thing, just a mental block I believe. Thanks for the help!

 

[grcsftbll]

We had this issue also. Our fall team had a lot of girls who'd played up. I don't think a single kid who hadn't was hitting in the fall (including my DD). We played a lower level tournament with slower pitching for our last fall tournament, they all hit. My DD has been hitting ever since. I know it was a confidence thing. Our current team is all first year girls and some are definitely still struggling. It's like at some point, it just clicks. The cages did help my DD; we had her hitting at 65 mph. Told her no 10U pitcher she faced would be anywhere close to that fast, so we knew that she could do it. After that last fall tournament her entire stance was different in the box, much more confident. They're used to waiting for that perfect pitch from their coach, they're afraid of being hit (which they will be at some point). I think sometimes they just have to take the time to get over it and become confident.

 

[KCPhoto]

A few things I learned here :

1. Tell them not to think about balls and strikes, that's the pitchers job. Tell tell them to hit any pitch they think they can hit.

2. Teach them yes, yes, yes, no. Every pitch is a yes, I will hit it
until it becomes a no. They get thier load and step on every pitch, no watching pitches with bat on shoulder.

3. Take the pressure off of them. Remind them to have fun and meet the ball with the bat. This, also, helps eliminate casting.

 

[canyonjoe]

If you want them to be more aggressive you can never get on them when they swing at a bad pitch. As the swing more they might swing at a pitch at their eyes. If both coaches and half the parents yell "lay off the high ones" , they'll take the next pitch.

Agree with the others posts about loading each and every pitch.

Most young teams (especially in rec) struggle with this, so don't worry too much about it.

 

[#7sDad]

Live pitching as much as possible! It great that you're already using your pitcher to pitch live pitching, but also make sure to simulate in-game pressure. Do situational hitting with inter-squad scrimmaging as much as possible. And of course the go go go no! I'd even remove the no for the time-being. If it's hitable, then swing. At that age, just putting it in play will make things happen and they'll begin to want to swing. Reward them for progress!

Good luck, this is pretty typical and they'll figure it out!

 

[jamiejames82]

This is some great stuff! Thank yall!

 

[chinamigarden]

I have found that in a lot cases, the girls are afraid of swinging at a bad pitch. You and all the parents need to accept that swinging at a bad pitch is better the. Watching strikes down the middle. Let them swing the bat without fear of being yelled at. Once they start to gain confidence, then you can work on pitch selection.

 

[CoogansBluff]

I agree w/ #7sDad about live pitching, although that is a logistical challenge at practice since it takes up basically the whole field, and only three people (pitcher, catcher, hitter) are guaranteed to get a lot of work. Also, if you're a new team, you might not have pitchers with enough control to throw effective batting practice. And then they might hit your batters, making them more timid. I like live hitting, but it requires a good game plan and some pitchers with control. Might be good to find an older pitcher with more control to throw them meat balls.

I'll also add that hitting at 35 feet for 10U girls is one of the hardest things to do in youth sports. It defies common sense to get into a batters box at that age and let 9- and 10-year-olds with dubious control thrown hard balls at you. Can't blame these kids for hearing some inner voice that's saying, OMG! OMG! OMG! It takes time.

 

[Eric F]

I'll also add that hitting at 35 feet for 10U girls is one of the hardest things to do in youth sports. It defies common sense to get into a batters box at that age and let 9- and 10-year-olds with dubious control thrown hard balls at you. Can't blame these kids for hearing some inner voice that's saying, OMG! OMG! OMG! It takes time.

This ^^^ is a very critical point to remember. A LOT of kids in this age group who are new to the game and/or new to facing kid-pitch worry first about whether or not they are going to get hit with the ball. This judgement happens before they can even think about swinging. Typically, this is where the biggest difference is between hitting off a kid or hitting of a coach - they trust that the coach isn't going to hit them, so they can put more focus on trying to hit the ball.

 

[grcsftbll]

Yes to THING SWING. That was another thing we told our DD - we would rather her go down swinging than watch strikes go by and strike out standing there. Just getting permission to swing knowing we wouldn't be like, "Why the heck did you swing at that crappy pitch!?" helped her swing more. That said, if you go that route, you can't be overly critical if they swing at crappy pitches. Which they will sometimes!