Brief background. 13u (just turned 13 -so second youngest on the team) but a bigger kid 5'8 140lbs, 7th grader, playing 54' 80'. Normally a great hitter. Moved up to more of an elite team and is struggling at the plate. Is 9 for 28, hitting mainly grounders with just a couple of line drives. Because of this he is batting at the bottom of the order and not as often as he would like. It is breaking my heart to see him struggle like this. I am doing what I can to help him - he is getting lessons (and does phenomenal) I have golf ball wiffle balls that he hits with a 1" diameter pipe, and to make things even more challenging and fun for him and his younger brother, I started throwing airsoft bb's from about 10-15 feet - which he does very well hitting them (with the 1" pipe) as well. So I know what he is capable of. A positive is that he is doing way better at 1st base then I thought (and the coaches thought) he would do. He does typically start in the big games at first. Although, the bad thing with that is he might play 4 - 5 innings but not get an AB (which isn't helping him).
Anyway, I am looking for any stories you all might have where you knew of someone who struggled early but then came into their own.