So Cal Ellie

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May 9, 2010
19
3
I disagree with this.. I mean, yes slow and early is fine and good thing IMO. However with a machine there is no lead up (Pitchers sequence before the ball is released). So even if the hitter is slow and early, their timing is messed up.. they have nothing to reference, no wind up, nothing. You can ride the rear leg forward, but you still need to get that front foot down/heel planted.. and this is the part the hitters rush and force in order to be on time. So being slow and early does not resolve timing issues when hitting off a machine. You can still be slow and early and rush barrel delivery sequence when hitting off a machine. Like somebody else mentioned, the ball disappears and all of sudden it's rushing towards you.

Additionally the trajectory of a machine ball is different than a pitched ball... I prefer front to do front toss any day over machine fed. Game speed can still emulated in front toss... the only issue is distance

You can simulate the pitching motion while feeding the machine. Hold one ball in your left hand by the chute. Hold another ball in your right hand. Go into a pitching motion with the right arm then let go of the ball with your left hand when the right reaches it.
 
Jan 6, 2009
6,591
113
Chehalis, Wa
You can simulate the pitching motion while feeding the machine. Hold one ball in your left hand by the chute. Hold another ball in your right hand. Go into a pitching motion with the right arm then let go of the ball with your left hand when the right reaches it.

Yes holding one ball in the chute, stops those erratic attempts of trying to get the ball into the chute.
 
May 16, 2019
415
63
nothing beat live pitching provided they can throw enough strikes for the batter to get good work in. Almost every time I pitched front toss to the granddaughters 8 U team, the kids that focused and turned the barrel in to the ball vs kids that moved their body to a spot before swinging, hit better and more consistent. My suggestion is try and get her to turn the barrel in to the ball and adjust the other things as we go along. My granddaughters swing is not a thing of beauty but nothing beats her smile on her face making solid contact and great hits.
 
Mar 22, 2016
505
63
Southern California
UPDATE: Fall season is finally over. Ellie was invited to play on an 8U tournament team (pure kid pitch), so her season was extended by a month. It was her first experience in a more competitive setting, and I think overall it was good for her. But I can see she was burning out towards the end. She did rally, though. Hitting wise, she's a tad late on everything. She faced some velocity in the tournament she hasn't seen, but her approach was much better than it was in the middle of the rec season (the pitchers were very wild, and she became very passive and looked at a lot of pitches). She was up there swinging, mostly at strikes, but was just late. In four games, she went 0-3 (three swinging strike outs) and five walks.

She also slid for her first time, in to home plate on a tapper back to pitcher with bases loaded (she's never practiced sliding and this was pure instinct, and it looked good!) to spark an eventual 8-run inning.

If you don't know, she's been playing catcher all season, and in another first, she was able to throw out her first base runner, who attempted to steal third. In the regular season, our any of the infielders on her team would rarely cover the bag in time, let alone catch a ball. In tournament play, though, it's nice to have some better players for teammates. She was thrilled.

Overall, she didn't take the leap in hitting that I'd hoped for. Part of that is due to the lack of pitching/strikes and some confidence issues she ran in to. It seems she's taking too long to make a decision (this is her in all sports, she thinks too much), but maybe it's technical - I don't know.

And, wouldn't you know it, evaluations will be upon us in three weeks. Then right back at it.
 
Jan 6, 2009
6,591
113
Chehalis, Wa
No, it's more like she's waiting to see if it's a good pitch to swing at. I've tried preaching the YES, YES, NO approach, but it just isn't clicking with her.

Is she still while deciding to swing? Perhaps break the swing into 2 parts, preparing to swing and then swing.
 
Oct 2, 2017
2,283
113
With younger players, we have to get them to learn to get to the launch position every single time. No matter what. Because you will notice young players wait until the ball leaves hand and is coming to them before they start their sequence. Often times, they don't even go through their sequence if they think its a bad pitch, and they will be starting their sequence late if they do determine its a good pitch. In my opinion the solution is to start early and slow. This slows everything down, allows them to relax more and allows them to get to the launch position every time, which they can then swing or not. Also allows them to see the ball better. Again start early and slow. Then get to the launch position every time - This is critical.

Also i found that Yes, Yes, No doesn't always help. At this age I would much rather have the player swinging. The "No" part will come over time as they gain more confidence. The only way to gain confidence at this age is to hit the ball. Can't hit if your not swinging. More often then not the younger player will say no, before yes. So, I suggest you tell her to think, "I'm swinging. I'm swinging, This is my pitch, I am swinging!" Before they even step into the box. Do not even use the word "No". Will they strike out more, yep. But they will then start self adjusting, to swing or not on their own. Just my opinion.

Hopefully this all helps
 
Last edited:
Mar 22, 2016
505
63
Southern California
With younger players, we have to get them to learn to get to the launch position every single time. No matter what. Because you will notice young players wait until the ball leaves hand and is coming to them before they start their sequence. Often times, they don't even go through their sequence if they think its a bad pitch, and they will be starting their sequence late if they do determine its a good pitch. In my opinion the solution is to start early and slow. This slows everything down, allows them to relax more and allows them to get to the launch position every time, which they can then swing or not. Also allows them to see the ball better. Again start early and slow. Then get to the launch position every time - This is critical.

Also i found that Yes, Yes, No doesn't always help. At this age I would much rather have the player swinging. The "No" part will come over time as they gain more confidence. The only way to gain confidence at this age is to hit the ball. Can't hit if your not swinging. More often then not the younger player will say no, before yes. So, I suggest you tell her to think, "I'm swinging. I'm swinging, This is my pitch, I am swinging!" Before they even step into the box. Do not even use the word "No". Will they strike out more, yep. But they will then start self adjusting, to swing or not on their own. Just my opinion.

Hopefully this all helps

Speaking on the tournament, the pitches she did swing or didn't swing at were mostly fine, and improved over certain parts of the regular season. And she wasn't swinging after it hit the glove or anything. She's just late enough to make you feel like if she was a split second earlier, she would've hit it hard.

I'll see if my dad grabbed any video of the first game. I took some video for my wife of game 3, but between the shadows on the field and shooting on the other side of a fence in the bleachers, it's pretty unwatchable.
 

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