Hitting and Hitters Discussion Scared Hitter.....

[Ericblank]

I have a girl who has a great swing but last year got hit twice in same wrist within' 5 pitches.

Do you know of any drills to break her not wanting to swing at live pitching.

Does fine off machine?

How do I break that mental block.

I did try the glove with machine trick which I wont know when we get back to practice this week and do live hitting if it worked.

Any other suggestions?

 

[straightleg]

Are you teaching her to duck towards the catcher and turn her back to the pitcher on a bad pitched ball?
On her set up at the plate, how far away are her hands from her body? Are they outside the elbows?



SL

 

[crystlemc]

Maybe something as simple as getting her those evoshield batting gloves would help her mentally. They have plates in them that protect the back of the hands and I believe some cover the wrist as well.

 

[SoCal_Dad]

Oh crud, I thought this thread was going to be an assault on Howard by another incarnation of ApogeeDemon.

How old is she? How did she do before getting hit? Is she doing anything else besides not swinging (e.g. backing away)?

 

[ApogeeDemon]

I have a girl who has a great swing but last year got hit twice in same wrist within' 5 pitches.

Do you know of any drills to break her not wanting to swing at live pitching.

Does fine off machine?

How do I break that mental block.

I did try the glove with machine trick which I wont know when we get back to practice this week and do live hitting if it worked.

Any other suggestions?

Maybe do front toss. Get use to seeing ball with arm motion. Slow speed to build confidence and to get over fear. Maybe front toss her tennis balls inside. If it does hit her, not going to hurt. Should also get rid of some fear. Sounds like the pain as shell shocked her. Get her over the fear of the pain, she will be ok. Padded gloves may also help as stated in a previous post.

 

[Ericblank]

Thanks everyone for responses. The glove trick is working and she did buy a protective shield sleeve for her hand that goes down to her forearm.

She hits great off machine and front toss. We play in two weeks so we shall see if she freezes or if the glove drill is paying off.

Her hands are in the proper location and she is loading properly. She has been seeing a hitting coach since last summer after this happened and I have only had her since Sept. I only found out about this issue a couple weeks ago. During live pitching she just stands there and doesn't move at all. Like I said front toss and machine she is all good.

 

[Hitter]

Thanks everyone for responses. The glove trick is working and she did buy a protective shield sleeve for her hand that goes down to her forearm.

She hits great off machine and front toss. We play in two weeks so we shall see if she freezes or if the glove drill is paying off.

Her hands are in the proper location and she is loading properly. She has been seeing a hitting coach since last summer after this happened and I have only had her since Sept. I only found out about this issue a couple weeks ago. During live pitching she just stands there and doesn't move at all. Like I said front toss and machine she is all good.

We do part of the Barry Bonds drill by having the hitter stand in the box using their throwing had with a left handed glove. We have them load on the pitchers arm at around 3 to 4 o'clock position and stride on the pitchers release and reach out with the left handed glove and catch the ball while looking into the glove. This means a good load and stride. It is a little intimidating with them using the left handed glove. However in my opinion it helps their confidence. I start with bouncing tennis ball to them and after they get use to it I use a full arm swing and they get it.

The next item is learning how to get hit with the ball. When they anticipate they will get hit we want them to turn their back and twist and lower the bat down towards the ground with both hands away from the pitcher. This move keeps the hands and elbows stay tucked inside. I take a ball hit the back of their leg and work it up the back leg to the butt and back. I explain you can play with a bruise however not with broken fingers, knee caps and elbows.

I also explain trying to jump backwards puts the wrist, fingers, knees and ribs in jeopardy.

You would be surprised by giving them a little information can calm them down and play with more confidence.

 

[CARDS]

My DD used impact protection since 11U.
Most never knew she had it on and it gave her a since of confidence as she was developing as a hitter. By the time she was 14 she stopped wearing batting gloves and evosheild wrist bands but, continued to wear the evosheild chest protector jersey until her junior year of high school.

Now some may say that having these devices does not teach the ladies how to get out of the way of a bad pitch and is cheating because they are more prone to stay in front of a pitched or batted ball and in some cases it may be so, but overall I have seen its benefits from the field and at the plate with a wide range of ladies.

One other thing I did with dd was pitch live to her... When all the pitches were working she got to see the plunk, dink, chin music , brush back and drill…

 

[Hitter]

My DD used impact protection since 11U.
Most never knew she had it on and it gave her a since of confidence as she was developing as a hitter. By the time she was 14 she stopped wearing batting gloves and evosheild wrist bands but, continued to wear the evosheild chest protector jersey until her junior year of high school.

Now some may say that having these devices does not teach the ladies how to get out of the way of a bad pitch and is cheating because they are more prone to stay in front of a pitched or batted ball and in some cases it may be so, but overall I have seen its benefits from the field and at the plate with a wide range of ladies.

One other thing I did with dd was pitch live to her... When all the pitches were working she got to see the plunk, dink, chin music , brush back and drill…

Come on man you know that is child abuse

The gloves and arm protection gives a level of confidence and some of the kids thrive on that.