my daughter just moved up to 12u select. she pitches some and plays outfield, she is pretty little. she is very intimitated by the larger players and how hard they hit/pitch. she now jumps out of the box and really is fine sitting in the dugout.... how do i help her with her confidence. she is a switch hitter and can throw a fast ball, change up, and drop ball but now it might all go to wast.
Jumping out of the box
- Thread starter pjeang
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- Dec 7, 2011
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Maybe the move up was too early....?
There is a fine line between moving up to provide more challenge and getting into an environment they are just not ready for.
My DD is 17yrs old right now. I look back at the challenges I have provided to her and I am at a loss to decide exactly if each smaller decision was the right or the wrong move. But I know she has come a long way to the point of getting her current D1 verbal offer. I definitely had my share of these types of moments like you are expressing here where my DD was heavily challenged and other events when I might have insulated her a bit.
So from what I have learned I would suggest the following. Confidence is HUGE for a DD's progression. This trumps by a hair the need for her to get challenged. But if this is her first challenge so far in her SB experience, and it's not crumbling her, just openly talk to it with her and be her biggest fan/promoter in getting over that fear. Talk to it like it's not a shortcoming of hers but more of challenge that ALL players have gone through and you know she can conquer it too.
Who knows, while you are being her biggest fan in tackling this she might just eclipse one of those magical mental maturation points where she finally decides that "hey,..I got this!". If she doesnt then that's OK too. We all learn from failure too. The next season you can define a path that potentially ensures she gets a more successful outcome. I would recommend though staying away from repetative failure paths,.... whatever it is she does.
There is a fine line between moving up to provide more challenge and getting into an environment they are just not ready for.
My DD is 17yrs old right now. I look back at the challenges I have provided to her and I am at a loss to decide exactly if each smaller decision was the right or the wrong move. But I know she has come a long way to the point of getting her current D1 verbal offer. I definitely had my share of these types of moments like you are expressing here where my DD was heavily challenged and other events when I might have insulated her a bit.
So from what I have learned I would suggest the following. Confidence is HUGE for a DD's progression. This trumps by a hair the need for her to get challenged. But if this is her first challenge so far in her SB experience, and it's not crumbling her, just openly talk to it with her and be her biggest fan/promoter in getting over that fear. Talk to it like it's not a shortcoming of hers but more of challenge that ALL players have gone through and you know she can conquer it too.
Who knows, while you are being her biggest fan in tackling this she might just eclipse one of those magical mental maturation points where she finally decides that "hey,..I got this!". If she doesnt then that's OK too. We all learn from failure too. The next season you can define a path that potentially ensures she gets a more successful outcome. I would recommend though staying away from repetative failure paths,.... whatever it is she does.
- Oct 25, 2009
- 3,335
- 48
Was she a little nervous when she first joined her previous team? IOW, she probably just needs a little time to adjust. Don't make it an issue. As one President said, "the only thing we need to fear is fear, itself."
- Dec 7, 2011
- 2,366
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