Hitting slump breakout ideas

I used to take mine to the cage - but I had to wait for him to ask for help.  Any unsolicited suggestions usually got a version of "I'm fine...leave me alone" 

Go to the 75MPH tunnel...set the plate up so the pitch is on the outside corner or an inch off the edge.  Work on hitting  line drives into the opposite field net i.e. the right side for Righty and left side for a lefty.  Focus on staying in and driving through the ball the other way.  Stay positive - with a lot of "that's it", "good", "feel better?" kind of chatter when good contact happens.  If they get frustrated then come with the "battle", "gotta stay with it" or my favorite - "you know how to hit".

Then reset the plate so the ball is over the middle and work on driving it right back at the machine.

Do not leave the cages until he is clearly feeling better than when you got there even if it takes 200 swings. 

When the game starts look middle out and drive the other way or back up the middle.  Do not try to pull the ball. 

It usually did not to take long for line drives to return - and with them confidence - end of slump. 

Dominik85 posted:

Is he just not getting hits or objectively hitting the ball worse?

Maybe post a video here or send some DMs if you don't want it publicly out there. 

Hate to say but I think there's a little bit of both going on. His hard hit balls seem to be mostly on the ground so some get through and others do not. He's been working on staying back more to get some elevation as it looks to us like his spine is more straight up and down coming through than tilted back if that makes sense. Other ABs he just looks weak when he fans one or gets himself in trouble early and is forced to be less selective. I'll try to get some video in tomorrows game and maybe put it out here. Thanks for the input!

Consultant posted:

Question:

Does the hitter desire a "longer" look at the ball? Does he "crowd the plate or move off"?

Bob

I haven't noticed him moving closer to the plate but I also haven't been able to focus on each and every AB with all the other things that a small group of us parents seem to be tasked with at many of the games. I rarely just get to sit and watch my him play uninterrupted . I'm going to try to pay close attention over the next couple of games and get some video. Thanks for the reply!

This probably won't help much but this morning I worked with one of our hitters who has gone into a mini slump.  She is popping everything up.  So, I showed up with donuts and we talked hitting.  She took some swings on some drills that I identified long ago that she benefited from.  We ate another doughnut.  We hit some front toss.  Talked.  Threw some more front toss.  She got a drink.  Then, to the machine which was set up at 52 mph at 30 feet.  She absolutely raked!  

Am I a genus?   NOPE!  The doughnut and talk were really important.  She mentioned at one point that she can't even sleep she thinks about the slump so much.  She said that she is hearing comments from parents that bother her.  She said that she needed a little one on one coaching without the team there so that I could just focus on her.  When the team showed up, she kept hitting.  Will it help in a game?  I'm betting that the next team we play is in big trouble.  She hit the pitching machine 3 times in a row and if you think about 52 mph at 30 feet, that ball is coming in with some serious speed.