Skip to main content

5 replies

agressive/patient

D danocaster10+ posts
I'm helping coach a Pee Wee team (8 - 9 year olds) Most of he kids have just come up from machine pitch, except for the ones who have played in the fall season. I realize that there is a big adjustment for them when they go from a machine to a kid pitching.

We have taught them where the strike zone is, but we've also told them to protect the plate when there's 2 strikes. We are seeing a lot of called 3rd strikes. It doesn't seem to matter how many times we tell them. I told them it's OK to go down swinging, but don't take a 3rd strike. It old them if it's close and you have 2 strikes, swing the bat. My own son is doing too,and he's been in kid pitch before.

I thought about telling them to be more aggressive, but I'm afraid if I tell them that, they'll be swinging at balls over their head.

Any suggestions?
Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

T tfox100+ posts
Tell them if they can hit it,swing.For the most part,kids at this age need not worry too much about the "zone" My son is 10 so he is in the same kind of league and the biggest mistakes I see from kids this age is overthinking things.See the ball,hit the ball.Remind them not to swing at balls over their head and leave it at that.This should cut down on the frozen 3rd strikes but it will not eliminate it.
O OCB100+ posts
For kids this age my best advice. Tell them to swing at pitches they know they can take the bat to and hit hard.

The problem with this age group is the fact that they try to look for perfect strikes or are just learning what the strike zone is. So the best way I found to combat this problem and avoid them watching pitches go by is by telling the kids to hit the first pitch they see that they can take the bat to hard.
OzoneOzone500+ posts
IMO learning eye hand coordination is the most important thing at that age and younger. When I used to coach that age group I never taught the strike zone. As a matter of fact we threw fewer strikes in practice but told them to swing at every pitch. As the season progressed they learned the strike zone because they were not successful at making contact out of the zone. In a game we told them to swing at the pitches that were easier for them to hit in practice, which is actually teaching the zone. You can teach a kid to walk but why take away his aggression. I'd rather lose the game and win for the long haul.
Last edited by Ozone
D danocaster10+ posts
I wanted to to reply to both of my threads on pee wee hitting and batting practice that I started. I thought that you would like to know that I have used your advice and it has helped.

We rallied yesterday in the last inning to get our first win after starting 0-7. Before they went to plate, I told each one of them what you said -to swing if their bat can reach it unless it's over their head. We got the hits, won the game, and carried that over into today's game. Won 2 in a row with improved AB's. A lot of kids were making contact that had been struggling.

So thanks for coaching tips. I am certain I'll need more in the future. This is a big learning experience for me. I really appreciate it...and the kids and parents do too, they just don't know it.

Add Reply

Post
Baseball Sale Canada

Membership Required

We're sorry. You must be signed in to continue. Sign In or Register
×
Are you sure you want to remove from your Block List?
×
Loading...
×
When you block a person, they can no longer invite you to a private message or post to your profile wall. Replies and comments they make will be collapsed/hidden by default. Finally, you'll never receive email notifications about content they create or likes they designate for your content.
Note: if you proceed, you will no longer be following .
×
Advanced Search
Advanced Search
Link copied to your clipboard.
×