Just moved team up to 10U. Can't get them up on the plate. A couple are scared & backing out but most of them just won't get close enough to start with. When a pitcher messes up and gets the ball inside, we are hitting it on the button. But middle-out we are either fouling it of end of bat or can't even reach it all together. Its not that I am wanting them to "crowd" the plate, I just want them to be able to cover the entire plate. Any advice or suggestions or drills to help with this will be greatly appreciated.
Help getting 10u's "Up on Plate"
- Thread starter dhawkins
- Start date
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I have them lay the bat down on the ground, so that the end cap reaches the outside of the plate. Their front foot goes up against the knob of the bat. Bend down and pick up the bat and they are set.
They have to do this at every at bat.
They have to do this at every at bat.
- Feb 3, 2011
- 1,880
- 48
It's not unusual for many players to be afraid of the ball at this age. Use a reliable pitching machine to send nothing but inside pitches to your team. You have to get them to overcome that fear, which means they've got to face it. Let them know that their job is to make the pitcher's job harder, not easier.
- Feb 8, 2009
- 271
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The only thing that I've found to help the backing out is time spent against live pitching. Some kids adapt quickly, others take quite a while. Some kids never overcome it.
Don't really think I can do much about bat length. My DD is using a 29" 17.5oz bat. She weighs 59 lbs soaking wet. Its the longest bat she can swing. Three girls in my starting lineup is smaller than her. We faced a couple of pitchers this past weekend throwing 50mph. At 35' they simply can't swing anything heavier. Backing out or stepping out doesn't really seem to be the problem. Just can't get them to "start out" close enough during game. During practice when I get on them about being too far away, they fix it. But during game, from 3rd base box, I can't tell.
I've always wondered if this is a good strategy or not to crowd the plate with two strikes? It seems that it makes the batter susceptible to the inside pitch. It would seem to me that the batter should always set-up in the batter's box to give themselves the best plate coverage every at-bat regardless of strike count.
- Jan 20, 2010
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I am not a big fan of making too much of a 2 strike adjustment but most of the time at 0-2 or 1-2 (even 2-2) pitchers will try for the outside corner (or just outiside of it) rather than come inside.
At this age a great rule of thumb is... (right handed batter) for each pitch batter steps the tip of right shoe on top left corner of home plate, heal perpendicular. Left toe touches back of right foot. Keeping left foot down, place right foot back into an athletic batting stance. Obviously this is not a universal way to get every individual kid in the exact spot. What it does do is get them into a pre-hitting routine with a consistant starting point.
Early players need exact spots and form. I found that young girls are so much more fanaticle about making sure everything is lined up and in proper position before each pitch way more than boys thier age.
Very cute when they come up to bat, use thier feet to measure out thier spots, twist thier hands making sure thier pointer fingers are parallel, put thier hands back by thier ear....and freeze.
In practice, after they get all measured up in the box, put a ball on a tee on the inner and out edge of home. Show them how safe they are
Early players need exact spots and form. I found that young girls are so much more fanaticle about making sure everything is lined up and in proper position before each pitch way more than boys thier age.
Very cute when they come up to bat, use thier feet to measure out thier spots, twist thier hands making sure thier pointer fingers are parallel, put thier hands back by thier ear....and freeze.
In practice, after they get all measured up in the box, put a ball on a tee on the inner and out edge of home. Show them how safe they are
obbay
Banned
I tend to agree. I've seen too many (young) girls jumping away from a pitch that's a called strike. crowd the plate and the whole plate becomes an inside pitch.
On the other hand, you don't want your batters doing the opposite and drifting away from the plate as they get deeper in the count. I have 'em set up the same for every pitch.
My daughter was taught the trick of placing the bat against the outside of the plate, making a mark, drawing that line and then stepping on it. Her coaches had been telling her to crowd the plate as everyone's second pitch seemed to be the curve, so closing in on the plate let her get the bat on the curve. We went through a period of her stepping out with her front foot, you guessed it, now afraid of not only the inside pitch, but the pitches down the middle seemed inside to her. Her coaches tried placing a bat behind her feet, I highly recommend against that as nothing is gained except the opportunity to twist or break something. Went to a pitching coach who taught her the bat on the plate trick but at first she still stepped out. He then proceeded to back her AWAY from the plate while throwing outside pitches. He kept backing her away until it was impossible for her to reach the pitch. At that point, he gradually worked her back to her original mark. She learned how and why to step in the correct direction and became more aware of ball placement, which made it easier for her to judge the ball, thereby being less afraid of the inside pitch and still able to hit the outside ones.
