Hitting and Hitters Discussion Hitting psychology 101

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I see many posts and discussions centered around hitting mechanics, but the mental side of hitting gets very little press. If a kid gets to the college level, they are probably capable of hitting well, and usually have decent swing mechanics, or they most likely would not have been recruited.

How many have witnessed a kid - say at the 14u level - with an absolutely horrible swing, but is hitting respectably somewhere in the mid .300s? Then, on the other hand, a kid with a sweet swing that simply cannot put the bat on the ball?

Problem is, the kid with the horrible swing is probably doomed getting into the college ranks. BUT - if the kid with the sweet mechanics could improve on her mental attitude and approach, she would have the potential to become a big time hitter at the college level.

After watching a team's hitting lineup, it's pretty easy to get a feel for the approach the team has in general. Are they aggressive? Do they ALL look at a lot of first-pitch strikes? Lots of "half swings"? Do they seem timid at the plate? Or do they all seem to step up to the plate and dare the pitcher to "get one by them"? I think OSU has a lineup this season that has a great mental approach - combined with great swings.

Developing great swing mechanics should be a given. The question is, as coaches, what approach do you take from the mental perspective? What kind of "pep talk" do you give your kids that are timid or struggling? Considering every kid is somewhat different, I'm betting this is a tough project for lots of coaches, and probably why it doesn't seem to enter hitting discussions very much.

 

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I agree Sammy...hitting has an extremely mental part to it. I know when I'm calling pitches for my pitcher that I sometimes get a little intimidated by a hitter when they are confident at the plate, and we can't seem to get anything by them. If a hitter approaches that plate with confidence and aggressivness they will be a tough out. Even if they strike out they are positive that they have given a "quality at bat" and the pitcher feels lucky to have gotten them out.
Batters who work hard on their own in the cage and on the tees can master that mental side. The "wannabes" are easy to spot, they won't put in the time, and it shows at the plate.

 

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Sammy, I agree with importance of mental attitude and hitting. From player to player, a coach can pretty much assess a team's hitters as the arrive to the on-deck circle. It is easy to spot the true hitters by just watching how close they mimic the incoming pitch as it arrives to the to the batter at the plate. Often time the real good hitters will not only be on time with their practice swing but also on location. When this happens, look out you have a thinker on your hands. As for the swing mechanics being the answer to advancement in the sport such as your scenerio adreessed, the player that hits well with less than par mechanics probably has something that the player with good mechanics but swings and misses doesn't and that is good visual perception. That may be the best attribute of all for a hitter.

 

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Awesome question, My dd had a tough weekend at the plate, she is lead off
and normally makes a lot of contact. Her swing is beautiful and she didn't seem to change any of her mechanics
this weekend but struggled. I don't think it was mechanics, I really think she wasn't in the game. I too would like to know how to fix that.

 

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Two outs,

When you say visual, you mean seeing the ball coming in right?

 

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Wish I had the answer I can tell what kinda weekend from 1st game she does well she hits all weekend she strugles she's done. It's all in her head but can't get her out of it.

 

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You know my frustration WWolf, dd made me crazy this weekend.We had an ump calling pretty low strikes first game. Her first up to bat she got struck out with third strike being pretty low. She went after everything low after that the rest of the game. Let's just say it wasn't pretty. It set the stage for 2 out of the next three games. I wish there was a way to erase the memory of that first strike out , it seemed to carry with her the rest of the weekend.

 

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Ya young ladies tend to beat themselves up. They are going threw a lot at this age and under alot of preassure. Heck you go to the Hall of Fame for failling 7 outta 10 time at the plate so they just have to try to live in the present when at the plate. I know not so easy.

 

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The mental part is as important as the mechanical, you can have great mechanics but only go so far with it, there comes a time when a hitter to become elite has to become a student of the game, to look for weakness,s in the pitcher and exploit them, and punish them if they make a mistake, and take enjoyment in that punishment, (also known as beatin puppies with a stick) when she walks to the plate and lets the pitcher know in no uncertain terms this is my plate and you will either pitch what i want , give me a walk or hit me if i frustrate you enough and not be afraid to take that hit. Its being agressive and smart that terrifies a pitcher. now mix power with that agressivness and intelligence and you have a hitter that will make a pitcher second guess her every thought and move......... and the hitter wins.

 

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One thing we teach our kids, they call balls and strikes not the umpire. We teach them to hit anything within 5 inches of the strike zone. Just as Tim pointed out, this is a mental battle between the pitcher and hitter. If the hitter can drive a ball for a double that the pitcher threw as a ball, the hitter owns the pitcher.

 

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Yes Blastmom, I mean seeing the ball from the triangulation of the pitch standpoint. You can determine this by watching your daughter from a distance as she swings. Is she missing the ball over/under or is she late/ early. Over/under is visual/mechanical and late/early is timing. Timing is corrected by changing the speed of batting practice pitches and can be fine tuned by changing pitch distance which in turm burns in the muscle twitch. The visual aspect is enhanced by varying the size of the ball i.e. golf whiffle, baseball whiffle, softball whiffle. The ultimate visual accuity drill is the the "blind-tee" drill when the hitter hits from tee first with eyes open and then with eyes closed. Coach should look for repeatabilty in the swing and good contact. Great hitters have the third dimension and that is the ability to control bat angle at contact with in the last two feet of the pitch. That is why they can go to all fields on any pitch.

 

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A coach once yelled at my kid's team about called K's. Told them he didn't want to see any more of them. Got a lot of swinging K's on bad pitches as a result and team average dropped. Mentally, "I'm not going take a called strike three" replaced "I'm only going to swing at strikes." Took a good long while for things to work back to the way they should be.

 

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Thanks TwoOuts!

dd was under most this weekend but speed was good. I know what she needs to work on. I will suggest the blind fold to her instructor.

 

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A coach once yelled at my kid's team about called K's. Told them he didn't want to see any more of them. Got a lot of swinging K's on bad pitches as a result and team average dropped. Mentally, "I'm not going take a called strike three" replaced "I'm only going to swing at strikes." Took a good long while for things to work back to the way they should be.

The problem is sometimes girls become little umpires instead of being agressive at the plate. I would rather they try to make contact with anything close than watch strike three go by. I personally can't stand looking at a scorebook full of "special K's" from girls who consistently want to umpire from the batters box. A player has to believe thay can hit the ball. Sucess at the plate is the only thing that can make you believe you can do it and swinging the bat is the only way to hit the ball.

 

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dd0818 exactly, that is why I find the "Blind Tee" drill to be effective. What can boost a girls confidence more than hitting a ball with her eyes closed. That drill was shown to me by the former OU coach and when I worked with my DD on it, I couldn't believe the difference it made. Remember the visual side of the equation is what tells the brain how to respond.

 

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bottom line 60 inches of your body can be doing the right thing but if you cant control the 6 inches between your ears you will never get it

 

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I have a theory on the mental part of hitting that I believe in...problem is getting young ladies to buy into it.

Back (way back)in my high school days, I had a high school basketball coach that introduced "Visualization" to our high school team...everyone laughed behind his back when he passed out a photo-copy of a basketball clearing the front of the rim. He asked all the players to take it home and tape it up in our rooms...visualize what we want to see happen each time we take a shot.

Maybe a little too "Zen" for today, but I think girls should visualize all pitches while in the on-deck circle...visualize a low-inside, a low-outside, etc...I think this is a good way to establish a routine for each AB and gets their young minds off of the last AB. Routines breed confidence and induce focus.

As I said...some young ladies buy into it and some don't/won't!

 

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great post.......

getting the girls to see all of the spots a ball can come across the plate at gets them focused on the task at hand.
alot of times you see a nice swing but always in the same spot not where the ball was thrown
It will also give them a good sense of the strike zone.
I want my kids hitting the pitch they want in a good zone the **** the pitcher wants them to hit off the plate

 

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I have a theory on the mental part of hitting that I believe in...problem is getting young ladies to buy into it.

Back (way back)in my high school days, I had a high school basketball coach that introduced "Visualization" to our high school team...everyone laughed behind his back when he passed out a photo-copy of a basketball clearing the front of the rim. He asked all the players to take it home and tape it up in our rooms...visualize what we want to see happen each time we take a shot.

Maybe a little too "Zen" for today, but I think girls should visualize all pitches while in the on-deck circle...visualize a low-inside, a low-outside, etc...I think this is a good way to establish a routine for each AB and gets their young minds off of the last AB. Routines breed confidence and induce focus.

As I said...some young ladies buy into it and some don't/won't!

Great post - Exactly the theory I believe in. The great coach Phil Jackson of Chicago Bulls fame has several NBA titles that seems to prove the "Zen" theory does hold water.

When practicing, one of my daughter's pitching coaches used to have her occasionally close her eyes as she was starting her pitch. When my son was younger practicing free throws, I had him close his eyes and "visualize" the ball going through the basket. By closing your eyes, you disconnect the outside influence of distractions being transmitted to your brain from your eyes. You let your body "do the work" that it already knows how to do!

This is completely different than something like thinking about where to hit the ball in a game situation. It's not "computational" thinking. It's about creating a "mind-set" or a "mental zone" that gives you a feeling of confidence.

I'm convinced there are many kids who correctly practice endless hours on perfecting a swing, and the result is a beautiful swing that would make Mark McGuire smile. But when they step into the batter's box, they engage their brain and start "thinking" about what they should do, when in fact they should do the opposite. Something like - "OK, if I can only drop a blooper over the second baseman's head, I can score that runner on second base and make my coach happy." The next thing they know, they're sitting on the bench with another strikeout in the book.

Physically, their body already KNOWS how to hit, but their brain feeds them conflicting signals about WHAT and WHEN to do things. They need to shut off the distractions, and go on "mental autopilot".

Consider this - Your daughter is pitching a tough game. She's in a tough situation with a 3 & 1 count on a good hitter. Dad yells "Don't lose her now!!" What did Dad just tell her? What did she hear? She probably heard "LOSE" most of all. Why not yell "C'mon, let's sit her down right here - let's get this out". Negative vs Positive.

What's the difference? Ask Phil Jackson...

 

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Sammy,
What do you suggest for the fundamentally sound hitter, who just as you alluded to above, has spent hours perfecting swing (looks very good in practice situations) but gets "happy feet" in the box. We just can't seem to break it. Everything else is solid.