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MariettaDad
13 Posts |
 Posted - 08/04/2015 : 15:52:48
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Our son will be making the transition from rec ball to 8U travel ball this fall. We have gotten through the tryout process and joined a team. Now, we have a month before our first practice. The team is looking to start coach pitch in the Fall and work towards transitioning to kid pitch in the spring. I was wondering if anyone had any good tips on preparing for the kid pitch transition process. I have read about how to turn away on an inside pitch, and I will definitely work on that with him. He also will be learning how to pitch which I have very little experience myself. Any other tips would greatly be appreciated.
Thanks |
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Tripknows
12 Posts |
Posted - 08/04/2015 : 16:19:29
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| Well Marietta dad if you stay in Marietta please feel free to contact me (live in the south Cobb area) I'll try and help you and your son out best possible. |
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CaCO3Girl
1989 Posts |
Posted - 08/04/2015 : 16:25:03
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| This is going to sound odd, BUT, purposely throw tennis balls at him and over the plate. The thing with 8u kids is that no one is going to be throwing 70mph....and no one is going to have great aim. The kid that can stay in the box and "wear it" can help his team greatly. Unless the ball is coming in for their heads my son's coaches have always instructed him to stay in the box! A good way to train for that is to get over the initial jump-out reaction when you see a ball coming straight at you instead of over the plate. |
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rippit
667 Posts |
Posted - 08/04/2015 : 19:37:10
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| Teach him how to turn and take it. This involves getting the bat out of the way too. |
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ABC_Baseball
90 Posts |
Posted - 08/04/2015 : 21:42:29
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Learning to turn your back to a pitch and not being scared to get hit is big.
Personally, I made sure I got my kid hitting lessons from someone that knew more about hitting than I did. It's a different ballgame when someone is throwing with the intention of you missing. My son was a big hitter at 7u rec ball, but it took all fall and most of the winter before he got back to being able to hit faster pitching consistently.
A technically sound swing goes a long way. It can be had with hard work. |
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RoamingCF
77 Posts |
Posted - 08/04/2015 : 22:08:45
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While I (only somewhat) appreciate teaching a kid to "turn away" properly, I think you are doing a huge disservice focusing on getting out of the way. Don't focus on the negative thought.
Mostly, teach aggression. Focus of attacking the baseball, driving the ball (no check swings). Focus on crushing the baseball!!! So many kids simply stick the bat out to make contact, and ground weakly to 2B. I'd rather see them strike out swinging hard on pitch above their head or on a ball in dirt. He will develop a selective strike zone after a bit of time.
Teach him to GO FOR IT!!! |
Edited by - RoamingCF on 08/04/2015 22:44:53 |
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Peanutsr
171 Posts |
Posted - 08/05/2015 : 01:53:11
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| Get yourself a really comfortable chair. Preferably a recliner. |
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turntwo
955 Posts |
Posted - 08/05/2015 : 08:13:23
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quote:
Originally posted by ABC_Baseball
A technically sound swing goes a long way. It can be had with hard work.
So TRUE! The biggest issue I see with kids coming from coach pitch (transitioning to kid pitch), is most have the 'long looping' swing, which works great with arched coach pitching. But it's way too slow to hit a 40 MPH pitch. So tee work, quick under-hand toss from a short distance (10-15 feet-- BEHIND an L-screen), or faster (leveled-off) pitching from further (appropriate) distance. |
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hshuler
1074 Posts |
Posted - 08/05/2015 : 09:58:19
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| Make sure you get him a bat that he can handle and I would also recommend teaching him to hit with no stride right now. |
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prestont
197 Posts |
Posted - 08/05/2015 : 10:26:20
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When my son started kid pitch, a small group of us from the team did group pitching lessons to help teach proper mechanics. Group lessons help lessen the cost, and also helps them to start with a solid foundation.
Most importantly..... HAVE FUN with your son @ the ballpark, and help them to understand the positives (early on) they accomplished in the game/practice. We've all been around parents that really rip into their kids on errors (mental or physical) so don't be one of those that focuses on the negatives! As your son grows, and grows in baseball IQ, he'll initiate the discussions about what he could have done differently, or better. Fun conversations |
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MariettaDad
13 Posts |
Posted - 08/05/2015 : 10:57:51
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| Thanks for the feedback. We need to get him a kid pitch bat. We are looking at bat with a -12 length to weight ratio. Based on his height and weight, he probably should use a 27' or 28' bat. Would you recommend a 27' since it's a little lighter for a quicker swing? |
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hshuler
1074 Posts |
Posted - 08/05/2015 : 12:01:03
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| Lighter is better than heavy early on. Heavy bats can lead to bad swing mechanics. |
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CaCO3Girl
1989 Posts |
Posted - 08/05/2015 : 13:25:09
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| Without knowing how your kid swings, or what his build is like I would HIGHLY recommend you go over to better baseball where they have knowledgeable staff that can assist you in a bat size. Also, if you pay $20 you can try that hitrax program that allows you tryout any bat in the store to see what he swings best/fastest with. If you wind up buying the bat there they take the $20 cost of the hitrax off of the bat, it really is a great deal when you just don't know what your kid should be swinging. Making the wrong choice in bat will cost far more than $20! |
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RoamingCF
77 Posts |
Posted - 08/06/2015 : 07:39:01
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| Worry less about weight (-10 should be sufficient, so 27/17 or 28/18). But make sure it's balanced, not end-weighted, until he gets the fundamentals of the swing (key is staying inside the ball). A balanced bat is better for the normal sized kids. |
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zwndad
170 Posts |
Posted - 08/06/2015 : 16:18:00
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| I found that throwing BP from a knee was helpful. That way, I had to throw hard and flat. It looked more like what they would see coming from kid pitch. |
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bfriendly
376 Posts |
Posted - 08/09/2015 : 11:23:18
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quote:
Originally posted by MariettaDad
Our son will be making the transition from rec ball to 8U travel ball this fall. We have gotten through the tryout process and joined a team. Now, we have a month before our first practice. The team is looking to start coach pitch in the Fall and work towards transitioning to kid pitch in the spring. I was wondering if anyone had any good tips on preparing for the kid pitch transition process. I have read about how to turn away on an inside pitch, and I will definitely work on that with him. He also will be learning how to pitch which I have very little experience myself. Any other tips would greatly be appreciated.
Thanks
I like the turn away on a pitch "At You", simply because it IS better to get hit in the back then in the front; like the back of a helmet vs the front(Face). And bring the bat down with you to get it out of the way.
Staying IN the box will be the hardest thing for him to do, IMHO. Watch his front foot and make sure it stays in line vs going away from the middle...mentally he needs to be ready to swing hard but balanced on every pitch until he is convinced it is no good; yes yes yes, then No
My son seemed to have NO real issues going from coach to kid pitch, but we hit A lot of balls so he gets A lot of swings and I throw pretty hard; and have hit him quite a few times . Fear is the biggest factor when batting AND Pitching. Pitchers do Not want to hit a batter probably more than a batter does not want to get hit. I think it is important for young kids to understand that when batting.
There are a lot of Youtube videos on Everything baseball if you dont want to spend money on lessons.... prospeedbaseball is my recent favorite and I wish I would have found them long ago. |
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leftfielddad
16 Posts |
Posted - 08/11/2015 : 10:10:50
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| My son is a junior in high school and has been playing for one of the major travel teams in the area. He started travel ball when he was 8 years old. These are my recommendation regarding pitching this early and these are just my $.02. First, stay away from pitching as much as possible - if he does not have to do then don't do it. Protect his arm as much as possible from coaches who have no concept of pitch counts and overuse. You will begin seeing this when you start travel ball. Second, if you are going to have him pitch then please find a good pitching coach. The idea is for your son to have good mechanics so that he does not hurt himself. When you get a good pitching coach you will realize how many kids out there are not throwing correctly and are in danger of hurting their arms. Third, if your kid is going to pitch at an early age just have him throw fastball and change up to protect his arm. |
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MariettaDad
13 Posts |
Posted - 08/11/2015 : 15:39:11
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| Wow, thanks for all the feedback. We found a cheap senior league bat to start off with. I had to order it online. Better Baseball stock is real low until the 2016 bats come in soon. I am kind of cautious throwing tennis balls at my son. First I don't want to discourage him or cause any initial fear of the ball. He's been hit by errant throws a few times so I hopeful he won't be scared. He's very excited to get things started with his new team. |
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Travel Ball Transition
