Hitting Approach - Mental

[Cannonball]

I was watching a couple of college games recently and I noticed something that few teams are doing but were things that a lot of teams seemed to do in the past. A young lady had stepped out of the box after jerking a long foul balls that left the stadium. She looked at her bat with what I would call extreme focus and then said changeup. I could read her lips as she said it. The next pitch was a changeup and she was ready for it. I tried to instill in my dd the idea that a hitter has to understand what a pitcher is trying to do to them. IOWs, know how they get her out. To be forwarned is to be forearmed. IOWs, have that plan.

For my dd, we developed a routine. She would step out of the box, talk to herself, look at her bat, turn it 3 times and get the barrel where she wanted, take a deep breath and then enter the box. What she was said to herself varied. Was she guess hitting at times? Heck yes. I would suggest that most of the time, she used educated guesses. For example, I posted one of her home runs on this site. My dd and the pitcher had what might be described as an unfriendly rivalry. The pitcher tried to stare her down in that at bat before she stepped into the box. My dd stepped forward and spit at the pitcher. Then, her thought, or what she said to herself was "don't be late." She knew that the pitcher was going to throw something as hard as she could throw it. My dd was not late. If an at bat in a regional game, she knew that she was not going to get a pitch to hit after getting two strikes on her. He comment to herself was to, "foul off anything close."

IMO, this type of routine helps set a mindset that is positive in nature and prevents hitters from taking a negative approach or where they hope to get a hit. Also, this type of routine enables a hitter to have a better idea of how to build a plan for an at-bat. When I was in HS, I kept a notebook on all pitchers. I knew how they got me out and, to be honest, I was arrogant when I stepped into the box. I knew I had a working knowledge of what they did to hitters. My dd did the same.

I want to wrap up this long post by saying that if you look at the mechanics of hitters, most have a lot of ability and mechanically don't need much of a tweak. It is the mental approach that is lacking. It is the lack of a routine that builds confidence and a positive presence when they enter the box.

 

[Rolling Hard]

Working on routines, watching for patterns, breathing, understanding yes yes yes mentality and putting your attention on your intentions are much more important than your exact elbow position at toe touch.

 

[Borrowingminds]

Did your DD always have a confident, healthy positive "arrogance" to her in the box? Or did the routine really help develop it? That is a special trait.

 

[Travis Lassiter]

Thanks for posting this. This is good stuff!

 

[Cannonball]

Did your DD always have a confident, healthy positive "arrogance" to her in the box? Or did the routine really help develop it? That is a special trait.

Do I think it is special? Heck no. I think that she gained her arrogance due to how she was raised. Her bus from school dropped her off at the HS each day. She came to my basketball practices. She came to my baseball practices and games. From a very early age, she was out hitting in a cage on her own during my baseball games. I have posted on this site before that the one thing I do think was different about my dd is that she could not accept failure. I know others say the same about their dds. For BB, and as parents, we were scared when she would fail. If she made a couple of out in a game, she had to hit before she went home. If she pitched and lost, we might be at the field for hours with a ball placed on a cone and her knocking it off until she could hit 10 in a row. While it scared me, it was also the reason I knew that she would be an outstanding student and successful in life. She will graduate this spring while gaining her master's degree. She had done this in roughly a little more than a year. She is teaching, coaching softball. taking two master's classes and doing an administrative internship program this spring.

With her focus at the plate, she had done so many times when I threw situational BP to her. When she pitched, I had her switch her mindset and know what the hitter was thinking. While others here also have their dd's do it, pitching backwards was ingrained in her. IOWs, when the hitter is sitting dead red, they are going to get a change. One last thing I would add is that my dd often suffered from being my dd. Others had such unreal expectations for her. It wasn't right. Still, she did her best to step up to those expectations.

 

[Cannonball]

Working on routines, watching for patterns, breathing, understanding yes yes yes mentality and putting your attention on your intentions are much more important than your exact elbow position at toe touch.

I think that the breathing part of her routine was really important. I also think that people don't understand the mindset of this type of routine.

 

[Rolling Hard]

I think that the breathing part of her routine was really important. I also think that people don't understand the mindset of this type of routine.

Yeah, it's not just a quick breath. Itis a deep 6 or 7 count inhale, 2 count hold and a slow exhale thru pierced lips. It is going onto a trance/zone.

 

[Cornbread]

Yeah, it's not just a quick breath. Itis a deep 6 or 7 count inhale, 2 count hold and a slow exhale thru pierced lips. It is going onto a trance/zone.

I’ve got “BREATH” on the wrist band. I need to see it when I call it

 

[Rolling Hard]

I’ve got “BREATH” on the wrist band. I need to see it when I call it

Stealing it.

 

[Rolling Hard]

"My dd stepped forward and spit at the pitcher."

Going to hold off on that technique. Going to stick with the mouthing "let's go bitch".