HITTING SLUMP

you need to relax. you may be putting added
pressure on your son. if he is a good hitter,
just back off and let him work his way through
it. it happens to the best of them.

Try to take the pressure off the situation as much as possible. Lighten up, smile, and reassure your son that even the best MLB players have all had their share of slumps or slow starts...it's part of the game.

The harder you try to fix it the worse it becomes and by reading your post

quote:

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We have been hitting off TEE and cages ect. every chance he gets.

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you seem to be working pretty hard to identify the problem.
There is no solution to the "problem", because there simply is no problem. The ever lurking "slump" is nothing more than a player's negative perception of his performance that rears its ugly head because of this perception. Ever hear the saying "Success breeds success"? The same is true of failure. Since hitting is a an act of limited success, (.300 is great) all players are exposed to this "failure" and may become frustrated and slip into a slump. We as parents sometime magnify the "problem" because we are the ones that push our sons toward perfection. ( You did say "WE are hitting off the tee") I agree with what TxMom says, we have to lighten up. After all . . . . .this is just a game.
Fungo

Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.

bucs:
A good medicine for slumps is to seat for 2 games. He will comeback strong after a little rest. Right now he is probably too ansious to start hitting well.

"Peace is, the respect for the other people's rights".
Benito Juarez

bucs000, Whenever I hear of a young man struggling to get back to his normal hitting form it reminds me of a Yogi Berra tale. It seems that Yogi went a couple of games without a hit and the ever present New York media looking for a story asked: "Yogi, what about this hitting slump you're in right now"? To which he replied (as only Yogi could): "What slump, I just ain't hittin' right now"!

To him the word slump didn't even exist and the dry spell was just part of baseball. He knew that his hits would come but refused to buy into the negative connotation that the word slump brought.

Keep swinging.

Scorpio

I don't necessarily agree with Recab. The only way I would sit him is if it is affecting the rest of his game. Also, I would have to have someone else that could do better in all areas of the game.

Just go back to his basic workouts and try to get his routine back.

As Yogi Berra said " I ain't in no slump, I'm jsut not hitting right now".

The hitting will eventually come back, I agree with others, take some pressure off.


Heck, I went 0-31 when I was in HS in my Jr. year. Now, THAT's a slump.

cooms:
Bucs asked for oppinions and that one was mine. If a coach don't give it opportunity to the back up player after the titular is doing poorly, when is him getting his opportunity to play? Bucs was asking what to do to fix the slump, you are adding other factor (don't have anybody who replace the kid on the team?) I promese you that eventually the other parts of the game will be affected.
"Peace is, the respect for the other people's rights".
Benito Juarez

If you can determine it is not a swing mechanic problem, make sure he is seeing the ball. If he is seeing the ball well, relax and just hit the ball hard. Don't try to do too much in an AB. Just get the barrel in the ball.

Slumps come in all varieties many of them mental but first work through what is really happening. Is he hitting the ball and it just isn't falling or is he hitting it weakly if so where? Or is he striking out if so location and type of pitch causing the most trouble needs to be assessed. Although not always, the ball and where it goes is often the best clue as to what is the fault. You may have seen him too much to be of the help you would like to be it may be time for independent assessment preferably with video if the simple plan above does not help. Even with " mental slumps" it is probably best to "fix" something physical takes away from saying you're becoming a head case over this which is absolutely not what you want.

Well I agree with backing off the presure heck I'M allready sitting in centerfield stands with the rest of the dads that, let me put it this way are alittle "overbearing" I am aware of things like that so I try to back off. Heck he has not listen to me since he was in little league anyways. So the thing to do is just wait it out right?

never rule out the fact that he could need glasses/ if he is seeing the ball well, make sure he is getting good pitches to hit/-try to hit the pitcher in the forehead with the ball, that is of course, if it is possible that he will listen to suggestion, if not all you can do is wait and pray.
"When the student is ready the teacher will appear"

Listen:
Once in a while, every playes got a big slump...it's that normal?..Yes, but he cant stay with cross arm to see how will get up. First, I think he has to be observe by the coach and see how he is battling, maybe he's doing something diferets. Second, He has to take off the pressure. Nobody wins with a player(ask the mariners, the can't win only just Griffey) Do lot o peper, at leat 200 times and finally he has to enjoy playing every time. Please don't make this mistake, "to compare him with other players that are not in a slump" tell him that you got confidence on him. Good luck

I know that he is trying to hard. His team lost yesterday. So they have a few days off before they start a new tournament. I will take your advice and let him work it out. But it is hard watching him struggle like this. He has one of the best hitting guys around, thats also his travel ball coach. A very good man. So wish us luck and I will let you all know what happens.

If i were you I would take some video, identify the problem, and get to work on fixing it in out of game situations. If he has a day off from school, do some drills to fix his problem and go to the field or cage and get to work on fixing the problem. A good day of hitting can be a huge boost of confidence, but it is also important to get in a routine day after day so his confidence can stay high. If there isn't enough time to realy analyze his swing and work on it thouroughly, then get him to focus on another aspect of the game that he likes, like playing his position or stealing bases. Encourage him to enjoy the other aspects of the game and not let hitting affect them. Once he takes his mind off it and he can go to the plate with a clear mind, he may find the solution to his slump.
I also agree with a a few other posters when they say that a mechanical change can give him the confidence he needs to get out of a mental slump.
But don't ever stop hitting and trying to fix his poroblem, because it will come, and probably at a time you wouldn't expect it too.

the view is always the same unless you're the lead dog

Just a few random thoughts from my experience as a player and a coach. Some of these, I know, have already been addressed.

Is he swinging at good pitches? Sometimes when players are hitting well(locked in) they tend to expand their strike zone. Everything looks good and even if they do hit some balls hard off less than ideal pitch locations, this will ultimately catch up with them. Suddenly, they are slumping and if not realized, the first thing they think is that something's wrong with their swing.

They'll next start tinkering with the mechanics of a swing that doesn't need fixing and the slump can be prolonged even longer. If they are a real "thinker" about mechanics in practice sessions and they are trying to make some changes, many times they will take this "think about my mechannical changes" approach with them to their game swings. A severe no-no in my opinion(especially if they are seeing quality pitching).

All the while they are trying everything to get out of this slump, the #1 killer is growing larger and larger. TENSION!!! Even if they realize and try to combat the mental tension that comes with a slump, many times they don't realize they have physical tension as well.

They become a little more rigid in their stance/swing and maybe grip the bat a little bit tighter than normal(also sometimes comes with the discomfort of mechanical changes). Relaxing the body and mind are so important, but it's much easier said than done.

Even if the swing is overall mechanically sound, I'll also agree that a slight change in it can help, but usually just for the sake of confidence. It's usually something very minor and many times can be found in their setup and not their actual swing. How many times have you heard a player say after a minor change, "That's it!!! I've found it. Now I know what I was doing wrong". When in reality, they weren't doing anything wrong, they just found something that gives them confidence and maybe a little more physical comfort.

Some have already talked about "seeing the ball". If we can rule out that glasses aren't needed and his head is in a good position, then maybe it's as simple as he's not getting started soon enough(late getting to a strong hitting position or never even gets there). Can sometimes happen when facing hard throwers and can make the ball look like it is pea size.

As Swingin7 said, don't just ignore the problem and hope it will go away. Keep working to find that "something" that will click(whether it is mental, physical, or both) and try not to let the TENSION get the best of you.

As I said earlier.....just a few random thoughts. Good luck!

Easiest way out of a slump...Choke up about an inch to get better bat control and try to DRILL the ball through the pitcher!

I'm looking at your schedule, past and upcoming and it looks as if you've already played the hardest part of this years schedule. I figure since the rest of your season is so simple you should work your way out of your slump. Uni, Scripps Crawford no sweat.

Well weekend has gone by with great improvment on his swing a lot of hard work on his part. On my part I went fishing!!! Thanks "SoCal" but I'm taking anything for granted!! We were supposed to be in the championship game Sat but we did not play.

here is a interesting piece of advice, "if the slump continues, switch to the other side and start from scratch!!'

BullFighter