basic plan of attack

[gophert]

I coach a 10U TB team and have a number of new girls from 8U and a few talented REC players moving to the TB game. A lot of them really struggled early trying to decide which pitch to swing at etc. What I told them to do is to think about what pitch they like the most, (low outside, low middle, inside, etc) and feel that they could hit. Go to the plate ONLY swinging at that pitch. That eliminated all the other bad 10U pitches they would see. Once they had 2 strikes they had to swing at anything close. It made a huge difference for these young batters and their confidence. If they struck out, many times it was because they didn't see the pitch they wanted. I was ok with that. However, they became more aggressive on the pitch they liked and many of them started killing the ball. It also cut down on the swattin at flies swings and turned some normal strike outs to walks. It was a simple mental approach for a 10U player and it worked very well.

 

[SCDad]

Hitting at the highest level is truly a journey. I personally am not involved as my DD has progressed to levels far beyond what I am able to offer. Most on this board get way too technical. Find the mistakes, and fix them with the ultimate goal of keeping it "short". It will serve you well.

After 12U, it is all about speed. Getting the player to take what has been learned, and speeding it up. Figure out and learn to hit a 60 mph fastball. Do not ever let your hitting be beat by a fastball. Master the fast ball, and hit it hard.

In high school, it is about pitch recognition. My DD can recognize the 2 pitches which start looking like strikes, but will be balls. She knows what a change-up is as soon as it leaves the pitchers hands. She knows what a rise ball is the same. The key becomes to lay off these pitches which are presented as strikes, but will be balls.

Sure, she will get struck out by a great change-up, or great rise ball for a 3rd strike. But that is the path, and it is a battle out there. Sometimes she wins, other times she loses.

The absolute start, is both the pitcher and hitter "knowing" in each of their minds, a fastball in the meat of the plate is a hitters pitch, and my DD will make them pay.