quote:Originally posted by ILVBB:
I am going to take a different tack with this discussion.
I am big believer in hitters are "trained" to hit. I know, what an obvious statement. However, most people really don't think about how and when kids learn.
I can remember many a little league game with parents yelling "a walk is as good as a hit." A true statement, but what is the message that they are passing on to an 8-12 year old? The kid is sitting there, not wanting to make a mistake, not wanting to strike out and what does he do? He freezes. After a while this becomes part of his learned behavior, if I don't swing maybe I will walk. Or alternatively, maybe I will wait until I have 2 strikes and take a swing then.
I go back to my years of coaching, I tried to instill in kids, that hitting was fun. Go up there take a hack, if you hit the ball hard you accomplished something. The message was fundementally different, the game is tough enough, why let kids worry about making a mistake when it is suppose to be fun.
Moving foward several years latter, my son has taken that basic premise to his college level game. His purpose when he steps into the batters box is hit the ball hard. He has learned the numbers of the game better and become more selective, but he still goes up with the "I am going to knock the cover off the ball attitude." It is a simple philosophy, but if you make too much of the game you loose the joy with that failure starts to get the better of you.
So much for in-depth "psycho nonsense."
I agree with everything you said. I believe the last thing a child should be told before he enters the batters' box is "Do your best." If the child strikes out simply say, "You did your best and that is all you can ask of yourself." If the child gets a hit, the next time he is in the dugout tell him, "You should be very proud of yourself."
Little League children are in what is referred to as the "egocentric stage" of their development. They are incredibly vulnerable to everything they hear. An excellent book that might help explain this phenomenon is available at amazon.com called Mastering The Mental Side Of Hitting.
There is also another great book that will help you communicate with children (as well as adults) available at amazon.com. It is called How To Talk So Kids Will Listen, And Listen So Kids Will Talk.