Opinions on Hitting in a game for a 10U player

[lhowser]

I coached 10U all last year. We were pretty aggressive at the plate. Here is how we handled it.

As a BIG rule the only pitch to absolutely lay off was above the letters. Definitely above the head

We would not adjust in the box very much. Maybe move up to center a hitters body in the first 1/3 of the play vs where we normally line up at the spot where the plate starts to angle back to the point.

Here is how we would handle it.

0 Strikes - Be selective. If it seems low let it go. Look for YOUR pitch.

1 Strike - Widen the strike zone. Anything close (not above letters) swing out of your shoes.

2 Strikes - Widen strike zone. Think solid contact. NEVER allow yourself to be called out on a third strike.

If the pitcher started behind on the count with low balls that weren't being called we could continue to take until they got up in the zone but once they had a strike on us we were in attack mode.

 

[chinamigarden]

My dd is 14u and I have found that a pitch under the zone is more likely to be called a strike then a pitch above the zone. The fact is you can't only teach the strike zone as you think it should be called (or even what the book says) you have to teach the kids to adjust to the strike zone the ump is calling. If you go into the pitching forum here, it is a regular question. How do I teach my pitcher to pitch when the ump isn't calling the right strike zone, the answer to your query is the same answer the pitchers get. You have to learn how to adjust to the what the ump is calling. Teach your players that, and you will be teaching them correctly.

If you find they can't get their bat low enough to hit a mid shin pitch I would take a look at how far from the plate they are setting up. Also make sure they know that the strike zone is when the ball crosses the plate, not when it passes them. If they are way back in the box and pitch knee high at the front of the plate may end up shin hieight when it passes them

 

[PEPPERS]

I was watching a televised game of Little League Softball World Series and the UMP was calling strikes that looked inches outside and low. The hitters were struggling to hit those pitches for obvious reasons. We would run into an UMP now and then that called some strikes that looked way out of the zone.

Hitter (Howard) who use to post here advised that he worked with his students on hitting balls out of the strike zone. They practice hitting balls up to six inches out of the strike zone, Low, high, inside and outside. I tried it with my daughter and we tried to keep the mechanics as good as possible, but in the beginning the some of the swings looked a bit unorthodox. In time she began hitting pitches off a tee six inches out of the strike zone with good swings.

The low ball I took a tee and cut it down where it would adjust six inches low and would adjust for different players, (I think Howard used a bottle) high pitch set the tee on the bucket and just move the tee inside and outside for those pitches in and out of the strike zone. It helped eliminated so many strikeouts of taking those bad pitches and just watching the third strike.

I think having the confidence of being able to hit those pitches helped with hitting pitches in the strike zone also.

 

[02Crush]

Thanks More good stuff for me to consider. The purpose of this post was not to say I do not know what to do but rather express conflict with the obstacle and consider that as a coach sometimes you get locked into a perspective (blinders on). With that in mind I felt on this issue I was in a moment where I needed others who have tried to get through this before to share specific things tried so I could get some perspective. Thanks for the specific ideas this is helpful. We start back up tomorrow and I look forward to bringing some of this into play in the coming weeks. Will let you all know how it goes. Sorry to others if I was rude. Just did not like the generic statements like "be agressive" or "never watch a third strike", etc...I was looking for how you guys have trained a kid to "never watch a third strike" or define what you call "being aggressive". Sometimes when you tell a kid at age 9 to be aggressive they do not understand you so you have to show them what your expect that to be thus defining it for them by example. Hope that makes sense.

 

[PEPPERS]

Thanks More good stuff for me to consider. The purpose of this post was not to say I do not know what to do but rather express conflict with the obstacle and consider that as a coach sometimes you get locked into a perspective (blinders on). With that in mind I felt on this issue I was in a moment where I needed others who have tried to get through this before to share specific things tried so I could get some perspective. Thanks for the specific ideas this is helpful. We start back up tomorrow and I look forward to bringing some of this into play in the coming weeks. Will let you all know how it goes. Sorry to others if I was rude. Just did not like the generic statements like "be agressive" or "never watch a third strike", etc...I was looking for how you guys have trained a kid to "never watch a third strike" or define what you call "being aggressive". Sometimes when you tell a kid at age 9 to be aggressive they do not understand you so you have to show them what your expect that to be thus defining it for them by example. Hope that makes sense.

As far as taking the third strike, if my daughter or any of the kids I work with swing and miss on the third strike I don’t say anything. When they take the third strike I will say something to them like, you work on hitting that pitch you need to try on the third strike.

It is not always about hitting the ball in play, a foul gives you a chance at another pitch if you can get the bat on it. I can only remember my daughter taking the third strike two times last year one early in the year and one at the end of the year when she was playing hurt.

 

[MsDinosaur]

Hitter (Howard) who use to post here advised that he worked with his students on hitting balls out of the strike zone. They practice hitting balls up to six inches out of the strike zone, Low, high, inside and outside. I tried it with my daughter and we tried to keep the mechanics as good as possible, but in the beginning the some of the swings looked a bit unorthodox. In time she began hitting pitches off a tee six inches out of the strike zone with good swings.

DD's hitting coach was doing this with her just last night. He was trying to place the pitches where they were difficult to reach, but possible. I was surprised at some of the pitches she was able to hit; she grew an inch this fall and also moved from a 30" to a 31" and it's made a big difference. One of the outside pitches, he thought he'd missed on, but after she banged it off the far edge of his screen, he told her, "Well, that will teach me that I can't ever give up on you." Nice of him to boost her confidence!

Dealing with an overly large strike zone will probably become a lot easier for your girls naturally when they and their bats get a little bigger!

 

[02Crush]

Dealing with an overly large strike zone will probably become a lot easier for your girls naturally when they and their bats get a little bigger!

Thx MsDinosaur.
I cannot wait for that day!

 

[undergroundga]

I am not a coach and I'm definitely not a hitting instructor. That said, I don't like my dd moving around in the box. At her age(9) I prefer her to always stand in the same spot in relation to the plate. I just feel like it helps her to be more disciplined as far as her mechanics go. I don't like people yelling at her to move in the box either, which dw seems to be fond of(why people from the bleachers think they can see the ball better than her I just don't get). When she is practicing at home or at lessons she always stands in the same spot and when she moves around during the game I think it changes the way she sees the ball. Granted when she get's older and can judge the ball herself, then I think it will be appropriate for her to adjust herself in the box, but for now I prefer her in the same spot.
And I would way rather see her strike out swinging than watching the ball. Too many girls, and she is sometimes one, get use to theinconsistentt pitching and expect ball. While I know a walk is as good as a hit, I don't like them not trying to hit.

 

[southwestsoftball]

I personally would stick to your guns and make sure your girls stick to what they are taught. I LOVE what momos dad said.

As a fellow 10u coach we teach our girls that anything from armpit to knees is a ball they should swing at( assuming its over the plate). We want them to be very aggressive. We want to develop girls who hit the ball and we want to be a team that hits the ball. We dont want to be a team with 15 runs in a game and only 2 hits. We want our girls putting sticks on the balls. So we are aggressive in our approach. The great thing about telling our girls to hit anything from armpits to knees is that its VERY easy for them to recognize pitches they shouldnt swing at and so our girls are usually making very good decisions even though they are being aggressive.

If I were you I would calmy talk with the officials when you have a question about their calls. I have had umps call strikes on my girls when the ball hit the plate. I called time to talk with them and when you approach it the correct way and with respect, IMO most of them tend to be very reasonable.

 

[JAD]

The umpire decides what is a strike, so if he is calling balls at mid-shin a strike you need to tell your girls to start swing at it! My DD is playing 14U TB and the strike zone is about the same - from the belly button to 6" below the knees.....better get used to it!