Protecting the "strike zone"

[collinspc]

We all know that the strike zone varies from umpire to umpire, batter to batter.
My Daughter plays in 10U (turned 11 in April) and is 5'6" 160ish. It is getting to be very hard for her as the umpires seem to get stuck on low strikes for her that are below her knees. Most of the girls on her team are much shorter and what is called for her would be strikes for them. How do we "protect" the strike zone with out completely messing with her swing? Last weekends tourney she did very well (9 for 12), but got called on a strike once at her shins and twice swinging trying to bend down to hit what she thought might be called a strike.

Thank you all for such a great forum, I have been reading for weeks and learning alot!

Randy

 

[obbay]

Umps calls will always vary. not always correct but hopefully consistent from team to team.
Many time I have had players get strikes called that went by their face or even higher.

work on hitting low pitches anyway. develop her ability to hit, not just hit the pitches in a textbook zone.

good luck!

 

[Momo'sDad]

You'll often hear coaches instructing players to 'protect' when they've got 2 strikes, but I'm not a fan of that word myself. Hitters should be taught to *attack*. They should approach each at-bat with a plan of attack and then stay in attack mode until they're back in the dugout. You start your swing on every pitch, even if you're taking all the way. You stop your swing if you don't like a pitch. With 2 strikes, you've got to foul it off if it's a pitch you don't like. That's my philosophy anyway.

9-for-12 is great. She went for a couple of pitches that had been called strikes before, so she did the right thing. As her swing develops, she'll be fouling those pitches off to keep herself alive for a fattie.

 

[canyonjoe]

If you continue to see it being called and she isn't having trouble catching up to the fastballs have her move up to the front of the box. All except the best 10U pitchers balls tend to drop at the end so you can at least hit at the knees up there. Although if she is on my team I'll trade a couple of K's for 9/12.

 

[collinspc]

If you continue to see it being called and she isn't having trouble catching up to the fastballs have her move up to the front of the box. All except the best 10U pitchers balls tend to drop at the end so you can at least hit at the knees up there. Although if she is on my team I'll trade a couple of K's for 9/12.

I was very pleased with her weekend at the plate and behind it. I have her at the front of the box now because she has a quick bat and was out in front of the fast balls that she was/is seeing. I will work on her to just get her hands to the ball on the low ones and not bend to try and reach the low "strikes".

Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

[vdubya]

We never 'protect the plate' in this sport. That is one of the worst notions that a hitter could be thinking. She is not a goalie, she is on OFFENSE.

Also, if we have to adjust to pitching by moving the batter, well that is chasing fools gold and really just prolongs the underlying problem(s). While it may seem like a badge of honor to say that so-n-so is so far ahead of the pitchers/has such superior bat speed that we moved her up in the box, the reality is that there is likely a flaw in her timing/adjustability and/or the swing itself. Lots of foul balls to the left are indicative of a problem and not that your little stud somehow 'owns the pitcher.' I am generalizing here Collin, not picking on you or your kid. I know these aren't your words, and if this sounds snarky or smartass, it isn't meant that way, but rather just illustrating the error in lines of thinking that I often hear. Er,uh, I mean, just my opinion

BTW, great job on going 9/12!

 

[collinspc]

We never 'protect the plate' in this sport. That is one of the worst notions that a hitter could be thinking. She is not a goalie, she is on OFFENSE.

Also, if we have to adjust to pitching by moving the batter, well that is chasing fools gold and really just prolongs the underlying problem(s). While it may seem like a badge of honor to say that so-n-so is so far ahead of the pitchers/has such superior bat speed that we moved her up in the box, the reality is that there is likely a flaw in her timing/adjustability and/or the swing itself. Lots of foul balls to the left are indicative of a problem and not that your little stud somehow 'owns the pitcher.' I am generalizing here Collin, not picking on you or your kid. I know these aren't your words, and if this sounds snarky or smartass, it isn't meant that way, but rather just illustrating the error in lines of thinking that I often hear. Er,uh, I mean, just my opinion

BTW, great job on going 9/12!

Maybe a better title would have been How to hit the low ones! She is never timid at the plate, loves to hit and be on the offensive.

She is definitely a work in progress, as am I for FP. She used to give the 3rd base coach avoidance lessons hitting fouls that way. Her issue at that time was her wrists breaking and she wasn't hitting square. She has become a much better hitter the last 1.5 years and hopefully we can continue to adjust and help her grow.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

10U isn't just a training ground for players, but for umpires as well.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

I don't teach hitters to think in terms of balls and strikes at an early age. Balls fall into "I can hit that", or "I can't hit that".

Balls and strikes are subjective. Get them to swing the bat.