practice good game bad
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First thing I'd do is find out what she's focused on -- seeing the ball and hitting it, or what happens afterward (the results). All too often, kids will hit well in the cage because there are no consequences. But when they get into a game they're so worried about making contact or not striking out or whether they look bad or people are judging them that they can't take the same swing into the game.
She probably needs a new definition of what makes a good at bat. Hitting the ball hard is a good at bat. Taking her best swing, even if she strikes out, is a good at bat (at least for a while).
These things tend to be more mental than physical. You may see some physical things, but they're usually driven by the mental approach. Help her believe in herself and her training and she'll probably improve dramatically. Remember that girls, especially teenage ones, think a lot differently than adult males. Most of us would be scared to death of the stuff that goes through their heads, and amazed at the circus full of activity that is going on at any given time. Most of which revolves around whether they look bad and if people will be mad at them if they fail.
She probably needs a new definition of what makes a good at bat. Hitting the ball hard is a good at bat. Taking her best swing, even if she strikes out, is a good at bat (at least for a while).
These things tend to be more mental than physical. You may see some physical things, but they're usually driven by the mental approach. Help her believe in herself and her training and she'll probably improve dramatically. Remember that girls, especially teenage ones, think a lot differently than adult males. Most of us would be scared to death of the stuff that goes through their heads, and amazed at the circus full of activity that is going on at any given time. Most of which revolves around whether they look bad and if people will be mad at them if they fail.
Mind over matter, most likely lack of confidence.
thanks guys i will try to get her thinking of good form and not so much the result for a while until i think she is confident in her form. i know she can hit the ball because she has hit a homerun in a game that went farther than any ball i have seen hit in awhile including high school games.
Let me throw this out there because I see a lot of it. Not accusing you but I have been guilty of this too so don't be offended. Are you hanging around the dugout talking to her before she bats giving her instructions? When she gets up to bat does she hear your voice saying "keep your head in there" or do you say something when she swings at a bad pitch. I am telling you, and I don't know if you are a dad or mom, but dads are worse about their girls than they are their boys. But make sure you only give encouragement on game day, no instructions. Some girls just get overloaded with advice and criticism during games. That is the day to just let it go and let the coaches handle things. Have you asked her if she is nervous? How much does she get to hit against live pitching? I think it is tough if all you see is a batting machine, a tee and soft toss and only batt against live pitching on game day. How is the coach handling her when she it up to bat? One of the girls on my daughters team who I know well says she is nervous and as a result watches a lot of good pitches go by. She is trying to be too precise on what she swings at. I personally think we need to tell the girls to be aggressive and widen the strike zone. Don't wait for that perfect pitch.
- Jun 11, 2010
- 17
- 0
Minor Adjustments
1. SWING at everything. Almost.
What is she thinking in the cages? SWING SWING SWING, at every pitch, right? It is possible that in the games, she is waiting to initiate her swing sequence after the pitch is released and partially on the way to evaluate it and decide whether or not it's good enough to swing at. No Good. It's too late. She needs to reverse that procedure. She needs to Swing at everything, and only STOP the swing if it's a bad pitch. Sure, once in a while she will have difficulty holding up and get called for a check swing. (As an ump, I really really give the benefit to the batter in these cases. In fact, nowhere, NOWHERE in the MLB rule book does it ever talk about 'breaking the wrists' or 'the barrel crossing the plane of the plate'. NOWHERE. A strike is merely defined as a ball that "Is struck at by the batter"! (Despite what the expert announcers say all the time.) If I see a player holding up, [not completing the swing], they're getting a ball.)
Trust me, she will have an easier time and more frequent success at stopping her swings on bad pitches than she will at starting her swing sequence after release and hitting the ball.
If she takes three good swings at three pitches, she'll improve her hitting. If she takes a strike, she's giving up 33% of her chance to hit it. So if she goes up thinking SWING SWING SWING, she'll become more successful right away.
2. Make sure she is up front in the box.
Hitting off the tee and in the cages, she's not seeing any ball that has movement. At 13, she will face pitchers with movement on the ball. Being up in the box, she has a better chance to hit the ball before it gets to move much. This will help her from here on in because as she gets older, she'll see more and more movement from pitchers. And don't worry about the old misconception that she'll have more time in the back of the box. At the speeds the pitches are coming in from 43 feet, the extra 3 feet has virtually no significance (at 50mph an extra 4/100 of a second). She will quickly acclimate to the front of the box, the ball will have a better chance of being fair because she is closer to the fair portion of the field, and the insignificant lesser time to see the ball will only be the difference when the ball is hit of 3 or 4 feet left or right.
3. Take a hint from Yogi Berra:
"You can't think and hit at the same time" Tell her not to think about anything and just hit. Believe it or not, it's probably the best advice you could give her.
1. SWING at everything. Almost.
What is she thinking in the cages? SWING SWING SWING, at every pitch, right? It is possible that in the games, she is waiting to initiate her swing sequence after the pitch is released and partially on the way to evaluate it and decide whether or not it's good enough to swing at. No Good. It's too late. She needs to reverse that procedure. She needs to Swing at everything, and only STOP the swing if it's a bad pitch. Sure, once in a while she will have difficulty holding up and get called for a check swing. (As an ump, I really really give the benefit to the batter in these cases. In fact, nowhere, NOWHERE in the MLB rule book does it ever talk about 'breaking the wrists' or 'the barrel crossing the plane of the plate'. NOWHERE. A strike is merely defined as a ball that "Is struck at by the batter"! (Despite what the expert announcers say all the time.) If I see a player holding up, [not completing the swing], they're getting a ball.)
Trust me, she will have an easier time and more frequent success at stopping her swings on bad pitches than she will at starting her swing sequence after release and hitting the ball.
If she takes three good swings at three pitches, she'll improve her hitting. If she takes a strike, she's giving up 33% of her chance to hit it. So if she goes up thinking SWING SWING SWING, she'll become more successful right away.
2. Make sure she is up front in the box.
Hitting off the tee and in the cages, she's not seeing any ball that has movement. At 13, she will face pitchers with movement on the ball. Being up in the box, she has a better chance to hit the ball before it gets to move much. This will help her from here on in because as she gets older, she'll see more and more movement from pitchers. And don't worry about the old misconception that she'll have more time in the back of the box. At the speeds the pitches are coming in from 43 feet, the extra 3 feet has virtually no significance (at 50mph an extra 4/100 of a second). She will quickly acclimate to the front of the box, the ball will have a better chance of being fair because she is closer to the fair portion of the field, and the insignificant lesser time to see the ball will only be the difference when the ball is hit of 3 or 4 feet left or right.
3. Take a hint from Yogi Berra:
"You can't think and hit at the same time" Tell her not to think about anything and just hit. Believe it or not, it's probably the best advice you could give her.
What is her hitting practice like? Is it pitches from the front or always from a machine?
- Oct 12, 2009
- 1,463
- 0
It is a myth that you can hit pitches before they break.
Pitch FX has proven this on the baseball side.
And that is exactly why, MLB, college players, gold players and even top 14 YOs do not do it.
Plus, how do you know if the pitcher is going to throw a fast ball - "Move back in the box!" or a rise ball "Move up in the box!", anyway?
Plus, how do you know if the pitcher is going to throw a fast ball - "Move back in the box!" or a rise ball "Move up in the box!", anyway?
