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To get back to gunners1 original question....
I've been through this exact same thing. I think it is pretty easy to overlook the mental standpoint of a younger player.
As older adults, we get a passion for something and can't wait to translate it to our children or our players. But especially from the younger player, the "passion" for something can last as long as the next text message or the next trip to the mall. They want to be good players, but REALLY wanting to put hours into drills in the winter is not something that they REALLY want to do, or if they do actually go through the drills, the value of them doesn't necessarily sink in.
When real games start, and a player comes up to the plate with the game on the line, the value of those drills suddenly start to make more sense. They may be more interested in REALLY applying themselves to the drills in that time frame.
I have had it happen with my own daughter -- ask me on Monday after a tournament if we could go out and work on something which previously I had tried everything I could think of to get her to do with no success.
As others have said, it takes a lot of patience, and that in itself makes coaching very challenging.
When I coached younger kids, we always ended practice with some sort of competition, a game of some kind. They ALWAYS responded to "practice" with these because to them it was not "practice", it was a game. You can find a lot of practice games for indoors and out if you search around the Internet a bit. Funny thing is also, my DD and her friends still play some of those 'games' even though they are high school players now.
Stay with it!!
I've been through this exact same thing. I think it is pretty easy to overlook the mental standpoint of a younger player.
As older adults, we get a passion for something and can't wait to translate it to our children or our players. But especially from the younger player, the "passion" for something can last as long as the next text message or the next trip to the mall. They want to be good players, but REALLY wanting to put hours into drills in the winter is not something that they REALLY want to do, or if they do actually go through the drills, the value of them doesn't necessarily sink in.
When real games start, and a player comes up to the plate with the game on the line, the value of those drills suddenly start to make more sense. They may be more interested in REALLY applying themselves to the drills in that time frame.
I have had it happen with my own daughter -- ask me on Monday after a tournament if we could go out and work on something which previously I had tried everything I could think of to get her to do with no success.
As others have said, it takes a lot of patience, and that in itself makes coaching very challenging.
When I coached younger kids, we always ended practice with some sort of competition, a game of some kind. They ALWAYS responded to "practice" with these because to them it was not "practice", it was a game. You can find a lot of practice games for indoors and out if you search around the Internet a bit. Funny thing is also, my DD and her friends still play some of those 'games' even though they are high school players now.
Stay with it!!
