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chollyred
29 Posts |
 Posted - 04/30/2013 : 09:24:45
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Seeing several of the posts this weekend about hitting lessons, struggling at the plate, etc. I'm looking for help in this area.
My 11 y/o is a batting cage all star, but can't carry it to the plate. He seems to be struggling recognizing an incoming pitch. By the time he decides to swing, he's already too late. If he decides early, he's got a pretty good swing; but too often ends up with a weak arm swing.
How do you get them to decide to pull the trigger faster? More reps at game speed? More "live" pitching? I don't think it's fear as he's taken quite a few shots from some pretty good pitchers. |
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bballman
1432 Posts |
Posted - 04/30/2013 : 10:40:51
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Not being sarcastic, but have you had his eyes checked? My son struggled in HS, very up and down. We had his eyes checked and he needed contacts. Not really bad eyesight, but enough. 1st game with contacts in, went 4-4 with 2 HRs, a single and a double off the left center field fence. Best hitting day of his life.
Worth checking on. |
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Enine
66 Posts |
Posted - 04/30/2013 : 12:09:55
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Could be one of two things.
He's afraid of striking out and ends up getting behind in the count. Then being forced to chase or protect with a weak swing.
The more likely scenario is that he does not step into the box with a plan or an intent to swing. Recognizing the pitch doesn't seem to be the problem as you say he hits well in the cages.
Let him know that it is OK to be aggressive at the plate. I always tell my son that strike outs are acceptable if he is attacking good pitches.
Good luck.
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nastycurve
244 Posts |
Posted - 04/30/2013 : 13:01:53
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Hi, I hope this helps. What your 11 yo needs work on is his approach. He seems to have good mechanics, and hit the ball well as you have stated he is a "batting cage all star". The difference between the cage and the game is the variables involved. Lets think about why he is successful in the batting cage: 1. there is absolutely no pressure at all, its practice. 2. Mentally, he is prepared to hit every pitch as he knows the coach/machine is not trying to strike him out, but give him pitches to hit.(this is key) 3. In the cage he wants to hit every pitch as there are no alternatives other than the next kid coming in to hit(no actual hit walk or strikeout occurs).
In the game, it is different. The pitcher is not trying to throw it right down the middle of the plate, he is trying to get him out. There is pressure to perform as the game is on the line, and his teammates, coaches parents are counting on every batter to hit.
Reading your post, I think you gave the key to his problems at the plate. This statement: "By the time he decides to swing, he's already too late. If he decides early, he's got a pretty good swing; but too often ends up with a weak arm swing." says it all. The problem is that he has no approach at the plate, and this is causing him to be unsuccessful. There is limited amount of time to make a decision at the plate, and this is one of the main detractors to a successful at-bat, as Warren Spahn said, "hitting is timing, pitching is disrupting timing."
The way to help this player is to limit the decisions he has to make at the plate. Right now your player has these decisions to make PRIOR to swinging: 1. Where is the ball? 2. Is it a ball or a strike? which leads to: 3. If it is a strike and I'm thinking about swinging a. is it a strike I can drive? b. What type of pitch is it fastball/off speed? ok Ill swing, whoops, too late.
I recommend this approach to him: Plan to swing at everything. Absolutely Everything. The only thing you don't swing at is a ball/bad pitch. This limits the decisions he has to make to 1(don't swing if its not a strike), and if its not a strike then hes making the decision NOT to swing at a bad pitch which is never penalized by being made too late. This will make him aggressive at the plate and have him put the ball in play more. As his contact/hits increase and his apprehension wears off, he can start to get a more discerning plate manner and maybe watch some pitches to work the count towards the pitch that he wants. |
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jacjacatk
154 Posts |
Posted - 04/30/2013 : 13:45:40
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| Make sure he's actually starting the swing on every pitch, and that he's getting his stride started before he decides whether to swing or not. A lot of, maybe most, kids learn to hit early on by waiting to see if it will be a strike before deciding to swing. At 10 or 11, that quits working as the pitching speeds up. |
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Bigwhitevan
67 Posts |
Posted - 05/01/2013 : 11:21:28
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I agree with other posters. Especially jac, that at this age and mound distance the decisions have to be more decisive.
I have a couple questions though.
When he hits in cage, what pitch does he hit like an all star??
Is he only hitting pitches he wants to hit?
Many coaches feel that you should train in the cage to pick out balls and not swing at them is why I ask.
This leads to hesitancy at the plate in a live situation. The kid then becomes an umpire of himself. Delaying the decision to swing until it is to late. Also watching pitches go by that the real umpire calls strikes.
Just a thought. Good Luck. |
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Coach D
167 Posts |
Posted - 05/01/2013 : 14:01:10
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bigwhitevan,
regarding your last statement ,I can understand your reasoning however, if this is the case , how do you suggest they approach the cage ? swing at everything ? |
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jacjacatk
154 Posts |
Posted - 05/01/2013 : 14:50:39
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quote:
Originally posted by Coach D
bigwhitevan,
regarding your last statement ,I can understand your reasoning however, if this is the case , how do you suggest they approach the cage ? swing at everything ?
I'd say this is age dependent also. At 10 or 11, I don't think you want them swinging at ridiculous pitches in BP, but you probably do want them swinging at things that should be balls in a game, both because they won't always get called that way and because at that age anything you can actually hit hard is probably worth swinging at.
As they get older, you can refine things more. Do hit and run, 2-strike, 2-0 drills in BP. |
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Bigwhitevan
67 Posts |
Posted - 05/01/2013 : 22:15:30
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| Coach D, I do have kids at 10-12 swing at everything in the cage. Several reasons. One it proves to kids they can hit pitches that their head is SURE they can't hit. Second it gets more reps at swinging within a proper time window while swinging normally. Thus teaching how to time the swing to ball position rather than just speed of pitch. Third it teaches the kids how to hit pitches that they MUST put in play on hit and run. This improves success during games. |
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chollyred
29 Posts |
Posted - 05/02/2013 : 08:30:16
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A lot of good information here. I appreciate all of the feedback. While he lays off the obviously bad pitches in the cage, he is swinging at "near misses" just like at the plate.
I had a talk with him last night about going to the plate, loading up, and being ready to swing at every pitch. I think it kinda sunk in. We'll see in his rec game tonight.
Not sure what else we can do in the cage since he hits well there. His coach is usually pretty receptive to any suggestions that help his team. I may suggest during one of our off periods that we have "live" batting practice against one of the team pitchers so they get more reps against someone besides the coach (as long as we don't burn up a pitcher). I think some of it may be fear of the unknown. |
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AA17Dad
211 Posts |
Posted - 05/02/2013 : 11:56:37
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A simplified analogy of the good info nastercurve gave.
Light switch " On " light switch " off ".
Light switch on hitters are planning on hitting the pitch before it is thrown. They will load up and begin their stride/swings and then flip the switch off if it is a bad pitch. You will see these hitters checking their swing on pitches they are taking.
Light switch off hitters are not planning on hitting the ball until it has pass all the criteria they are processing to consider it a good pitch and then begin their swing. These hitters will often be vary still when taking a pitch ie. no load, no stride no check swing.
Pay attention to what he does when he does not swing at a good pitch. Then you will know if his switch is in the on or off position.
Younger players can relate to and understand the simplicity of this analogy.
It may be as simple as getting him to turn his switch "on". He'll probably swing at more bad pitches in the beginning but will hopefully become more successful as a hitter.
I believe in making them "good" hitters first. As they mature you can teach them more about being "smart" hitters. |
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b@s3b@11
23 Posts |
Posted - 05/06/2013 : 22:16:21
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| Some good info here. Thanks y'all. |
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cmoncoach
29 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2013 : 18:29:30
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| AA17, What type of hitters do you think scouts prefer, a light switch on or light switch off player? |
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low-n-out
14 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2013 : 20:14:13
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| Is the pitcher in the cage throwing bp alot slower than he sees in the game? I think that makes a difference I like to simulate similar speed even in the cage ... |
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AA17Dad
211 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2013 : 09:21:06
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quote:
Originally posted by cmoncoach
AA17, What type of hitters do you think scouts prefer, a light switch on or light switch off player?
The OP's player is 11.........scouts???.....Really?
But to try to answer your question. I think a very large percentage of good hitters are always looking to hit the pitch. Obviously scouts are looking at " Good " hitters with plate discipline.
Plate discipline does not always bode well for younger players that get too caught up in the strike zones they see on TV.
I'm not trying to be a know-it-all about hitting. Just sharing a little analogy that help my own kid and a few others that needed to be a little more aggressive at the plate.
Strike zones at the youth level are so inconsistant and vary such that a kids with a great eye and great plate discipline will often draw more K's than walks. |
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Recognizing a pitch...
