- Sep 29, 2014
- 2,421
- 113
All good advice but at 8U kid pitch teaching any kind of plate discipline becomes really hard you get probably only one pitch or so that you should probably be swinging at anyway; but as long as it's not on the ground or over their head would rather see them swinging than not I guess.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