My strong 8u machine pitch has moved up to 10u kid pitch. They where hitting very strong off machine. Now with live pitching there struggling with timing, scared of getting hit, backing up as the ball is about to cross plate. What is some drills or techniques to overcome these issues?
Moved from machine pitch to 10u kid pitch. HELP!
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- Jun 24, 2013
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Bribery works wonders for staying in the box. I know DD faced some 10U pitchers that I would have no interest in being in the box against either, I know the pitcher had no clue where the ball was going.
Timing, you need to practice with a live pitcher if you are not already. She needs to start her swing before the pitcher releases the ball. Like when their front foot lands, when the ball gets to the ½ down position, etc. Just something.
She should be planning to swing at every pitch. Yes, Yes, Yes, No bad pitch leave it go.
Since you are a first time poster I will bore you with this video.
Timing, you need to practice with a live pitcher if you are not already. She needs to start her swing before the pitcher releases the ball. Like when their front foot lands, when the ball gets to the ½ down position, etc. Just something.
She should be planning to swing at every pitch. Yes, Yes, Yes, No bad pitch leave it go.
Since you are a first time poster I will bore you with this video.
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DD had some of the same issues this fall as she made the transition from 8U to 10U. I had a couple of her 10U pitcher friends throw to her while I coached her through it. At first she was bailing out, so I drew a line in front of her and told her not to swing, but simply step over that line on every pitch. It took a few for her to get comfortable, but before too long she was able to stay in there. She decided on her own to swing at a pitch and ripped it to left field. After that, her confidence was through the roof.
- Oct 19, 2009
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I have taken a soft sponge ball and have the kids set up in the batter box and throw at them, once they feel comfortable they can get out of the way of a pitch they are more comfortable in the box and focus on hitting.
I taught myself how to pitch when I coached a team about that age facing live pitching from me and knowing I’m not going to hit them also taught them to worry about mechanics and timing not the fear of being hit.
I will air through a pitch and check where they are in their load, toe touch and swing.
I taught myself how to pitch when I coached a team about that age facing live pitching from me and knowing I’m not going to hit them also taught them to worry about mechanics and timing not the fear of being hit.
I will air through a pitch and check where they are in their load, toe touch and swing.
They just need to see more pitches. At some point they figure out that hitting a ball is the same regardless of who's throwing it, if they know how to hit it they'll be fine. Kids are convinced that kid pitching is totally different. If their mechanics are poor, those flaws may be exposed when going to kid pitch.
- Aug 20, 2013
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Yes more pitches. We did the same thing and the mental queue of when to start loading is very different--even depending on how the machine was run. We pointed to the 8U kids right before we pulled the arm back and looking back, we should have simulated the arm movements like other coaches did. Oh well, we did the best we could with what we knew at the time.
Soft toss or another awesome drill Cindy Bristow does is to put the kid into the batter's box with a glove and tell them to catch the ball. They start off in swing stance and just move a bit to catch with the glove. This forces them to start using their "catching" eye to find the ball. Also, the popcorn spit. also, CB. Put them in the box with a mouth full of popcorn seeds(think of saftey) and have them spit a seed on the balls as they cross the plate. Not as easy as it sounds. These two drills are super fun for the kids and they don't even realize they are working on a crucial part of hitting--finding the ball.
GG
Soft toss or another awesome drill Cindy Bristow does is to put the kid into the batter's box with a glove and tell them to catch the ball. They start off in swing stance and just move a bit to catch with the glove. This forces them to start using their "catching" eye to find the ball. Also, the popcorn spit. also, CB. Put them in the box with a mouth full of popcorn seeds(think of saftey) and have them spit a seed on the balls as they cross the plate. Not as easy as it sounds. These two drills are super fun for the kids and they don't even realize they are working on a crucial part of hitting--finding the ball.
GG
WARRIORMIKE
Pro-Staff Everything
I hate machine pitching to kids in softball. baseball maybe.
Either coach does it or kid does it.
Either coach does it or kid does it.
Agreed. In our league we use hybrid kid-coach pitch for 8U. It works very well for developing pitching and hitting skills, and getting the kids ready for 10U.
No machine pitch, here, for 8s, either. It is girl pitch and then, the batters coach helps out.
But, I agree with more front toss for your DD. Do you know about Total Control Balls? They are heavy and only come off the bat right, if hit correctly. They might seem pricey, but they last a long time. Do not buy the atomic sized. Get the baseball sized.
But, I agree with more front toss for your DD. Do you know about Total Control Balls? They are heavy and only come off the bat right, if hit correctly. They might seem pricey, but they last a long time. Do not buy the atomic sized. Get the baseball sized.
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