Tips for getting pitcher over mental hurdle of behing hit by batted balls

[jmpauter]

There's not much you can say or do that will make her feel more confident about pitching. Have her work hard on hitting the inside corner as a primary pitch location and changing speeds. Everything that hangs brings the possibility of line drives up the middle

Before her second game last night we talked about going inside and up with her fastball, so if she doesn't have a feel for where to go....go up and in by default. As she seemed to get more comfortable in the circle as the game went along, then started mixing speeds. Will keep working on that at her lesson today and also our games this weekend.

 

[FP26]

As she is practicing, have her think about landing in a balanced and athletic position. Sometimes a pitcher is so focused on mechanics, speed, and location, that they sometimes don't think enough about becoming a fielder after the ball leaves their hand. Not stating that this is the case with your daughter. Just that I have witnessed it in the past.

 

[_MIA_]

As she is practicing, have her think about landing in a balanced and athletic position. Sometimes a pitcher is so focused on mechanics, speed, and location, that they sometimes don't think enough about becoming a fielder after the ball leaves their hand. Not stating that this is the case with your daughter. Just that I have witnessed it in the past.

There is a pitcher on Marcela's team who appears to be afraid of the ball (the "pirouette-girl" from Marcela's thread...) and last week I told the AC almost the exact thing as what you just said. You need to give them something else to think about after they release the ball...No idea whether they told/instructed her about this.

 

[chinamigarden]

My daughter was a very good fielding pitcher. We worked on it regularly. We would be about 35 feet apart, I would hit her a ground ball, she would field it and throw it back to me, immediately I would hit it back to her. No pause, no hesitation. Grounders, line drives, pop ups. I leaned how to hit one handed so I could catch her return throw and drop it from my glove and hit it. I didn't have to hit rockets. just get her used to releasing the ball and it comes back. Also when we worked on actual pitching, we worked on getting into a position to catch the ball, no standing still admiring the pitch. She needs to be ready.

Once her confidence is back that she can protect herself with her glove, maybe she will be less worried about it.

 

[BigSkyHi]

As she is practicing, have her think about landing in a balanced and athletic position. Sometimes a pitcher is so focused on mechanics, speed, and location, that they sometimes don't think enough about becoming a fielder after the ball leaves their hand. Not stating that this is the case with your daughter. Just that I have witnessed it in the past.

Don't know a lot about pitching but have always been intrigued by the defensive ability of the Japanese pitchers like Yukiko Ueno. After they deliver ball their feet seem to be on the move for the next play.

 

[_MIA_]

Don't know a lot about pitching but have always been intrigued by the defensive ability of the Japanese pitchers like Yukiko Ueno. After they deliver ball their feet seem to be on the move for the next play.

You can be guaranteed that whatever you are seeing has been practiced thousands of times...

 

[BT3100]

DD got hit twice in HS same season
Once in belly button area second time right under the belt.
I was worried about her being scared. I think that when its game time she gets the adrenaline up and goes with it.
DD left two change ups dead over the plate. She learned her lesson.
Maybe take your DD to the field and hit her line drives with a softie ball

 

[BigSkyHi]

As she is practicing, have her think about landing in a balanced and athletic position. Sometimes a pitcher is so focused on mechanics, speed, and location, that they sometimes don't think enough about becoming a fielder after the ball leaves their hand. Not stating that this is the case with your daughter. Just that I have witnessed it in the past.

When a person gets surprised, reaction time can be about 3/4 of a second.

This takes some mental work but when the ball is on it's way to the plate her eyes should go into a soft focus looking for the barrel of the bat to enter the hitting zone. Recognizing the direction the ball will most likely go from the angle of the bat just before contact is huge.

 

[radness]

Somebody is a werewolf...

 

[FP26]

My daughter was a very good fielding pitcher. We worked on it regularly. We would be about 35 feet apart, I would hit her a ground ball, she would field it and throw it back to me, immediately I would hit it back to her. No pause, no hesitation. Grounders, line drives, pop ups. I leaned how to hit one handed so I could catch her return throw and drop it from my glove and hit it. I didn't have to hit rockets. just get her used to releasing the ball and it comes back. Also when we worked on actual pitching, we worked on getting into a position to catch the ball, no standing still admiring the pitch. She needs to be ready.

Once her confidence is back that she can protect herself with her glove, maybe she will be less worried about it.

We did (and still do) similar drills, but I'm not nearly as skilled as you are. I stand in the batters box with a bat and ball and ask her to simulate a pitch. Entire delivery, but with no ball. Then I time the grounder based on her delivery. When she was younger, I would just have her pitch to me and I would hit the ball back to her in a pepper type format. But over the years either her pitching has progressed, my hitting has regressed, or both...