In a slump

[batterslump]

My 8 year old is in her second year of softball, she does really well when we practice with her, hits the ball every time and hits it hard. However when we go to a game she just watches the pitches, she gets walked alot but she wont swing the bat. How can we give the confidence to go in there and swing. I have purchased a swing away softball hitting tool, and a tee. We practice all most everynight. But I am guessing that its a confidence thing????


Any advice is welcomed! thanks!

 

[JAD]

Are you mixing up your pitches when practicing? Start now making her learn what is a ball and what is a strike. A lot of kids get used to coach pitch or machine pitch where they swing at every pitch because all the pitches hit a 6" circle. When they see kid pitch they either 'freeze up' and do not swing at anything or they swing at everything. Do some front toss with her and vary the pitch speed and location.

 

[softballphreak]

My 8 year old is in her second year of softball, she does really well when we practice with her, hits the ball every time and hits it hard. However when we go to a game she just watches the pitches, she gets walked alot but she wont swing the bat. How can we give the confidence to go in there and swing. I have purchased a swing away softball hitting tool, and a tee. We practice all most everynight. But I am guessing that its a confidence thing????


Any advice is welcomed! thanks!

Make sure that she knows where she should be when the ball is near the point of contact. This sounds like something that should be obvious but I've found that a lot of kids don't really understand it.

The front foot (the timing foot) should be at toe touch when the ball is at or near point of contact. She will have developed a good timing with your pitches, but the game pitcher will be different as far as timing is concerned.

 

[GTRH8R]

I had the same problem when I was a kid. It was a confidence thing with me, so my coach made me go in and swing at every pitch and I got hold of one and it all clicked.

Practice off the tee or something else controlled is so different from live pitching though. I agree with JAD about mixing up pitches. My daughter plays 14U and gets a little messed up if she does a lot of tee work and no live pitching. Her batting coach will throw and purposes put a few out of the zone so she has to refocus about pitch location.

She'll be fine, you just got to get her to connect with a pitch or two. Throw her some pitches and get her used to timing them like JAD suggested.

 

[Stever]

My 8 year old is in her second year of softball, she does really well when we practice with her, hits the ball every time and hits it hard. However when we go to a game she just watches the pitches, she gets walked alot but she wont swing the bat. How can we give the confidence to go in there and swing. I have purchased a swing away softball hitting tool, and a tee. We practice all most everynight. But I am guessing that its a confidence thing????


Any advice is welcomed! thanks!

This is normal for many kids, especially at the younger ages. There is a nervousness or fear that comes over us in live situations, that is not there at practice. This will eventually go away with more experience, or more game at bats. You are right about the confidence thing, as she becomes more confident and comfortable in game situations, she will start to swing away.

There are a couple things I think can speed up the process.

One, as she improves in hitting, so will her confidence, so keep practicing. Within practice, much praise and positive talk from dad will expedite the process, tell her that was an awesome hit, you really smashed that one, awesome, WOW, etc....she will really start to believe she is good!
Two, to become a great hitter we have to swing the bat, we have to learn to hit good pitches and bad pitches. Walking should be discouraged at this age, I know I know, your not a team player if you dont take the walk, but bottom line is that you learn to hit by swinging the bat. Give incentive to your child for hits or even putting the ball in play during games, this will pay off by the time she is in 12u, she will have learned what pitches she can hit and which she cannot.

Be positive, Have fun!!

 

[mcastles]

This is a very common problem, but at her young age I wouldn't worry about it. Believe me, it gets worse in the early teen years when peer pressure and 'playing not to fail' becomes big. I am going through this with my daughter (14) right now. The fear of failing in front of her teamates can be paralyzing, but she is getting better at it. She understands all the points about how failing is part of the game, i.e. the greatest hitter fail 70% of the time, etc., but in the moment that rush of panic has to be controlled.

There are some drills that we have done that seem to help. The most useful has been visualizing and practing as if it were a game situation. As her to visualize a game situation, step into the batter's box and pitch to her just like in a game. Call balls/strikes and when she hits the ball, assess as a base hit, flyout, etc., then step back and start over. With your help and her willingness, you can create a lot of game time anxiety in your own backyard. This will help her get used to those butterflies in the stomach, so when she is in a game, the nerves aren't so overwhelming.

The main thing you can do is keep her interested by keeping it fun. If she is not having fun, then what's the point?

Good luck

 

[Briscos]

My daughter is also 8. I finally got her swinging but now she's not keeping her eye on the ball. I feel your pain.
QUOTE=batterslump;113359]My 8 year old is in her second year of softball, she does really well when we practice with her, hits the ball every time and hits it hard. However when we go to a game she just watches the pitches, she gets walked alot but she wont swing the bat. How can we give the confidence to go in there and swing. I have purchased a swing away softball hitting tool, and a tee. We practice all most everynight. But I am guessing that its a confidence thing????


Any advice is welcomed! thanks![/QUOTE]

 

[Briscos]

My daughter is also 8. We moved her up to live arm a year early and she would pound the ball in practice. Then in games she would freeze up. Now I have her swinging but she's not keeping her eye on the ball. I feel your pain.