One thing we do is have a couple of the soft tee balls mixed in with our bucket of balls. Whenever I got one of those balls I would try and brush them or sometimes hit them with it. I would always joke with them after and say I am trying to get my first hit. They have fun with it now. They don't know if it is a hard ball or a soft one but it teaches them what to do. When most u9 go to live pitching I think they are all afraid of getting hit. Then they get hit and they realize it only hurts for a short period of time. Now, I should qualify what I am saying by admitting I am not a coach nor do I play one on TV