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Two year hitting streak over......

D DP10+ posts
I know it's a HS site, but I wanted to share this with the baseball minds on this board.
My son is a 7 1/2 yrs old lefty and has been playing 44 mph machine pitch since he was 5. We started playing up and skipped t-ball altogther. He is in his 5th season of Spring, Fall baseball. Last night, he struck out for the first time in 100 + plate appearances. Not only did he strike out once, but he struck out twice.

The first time up at the plate he said the pitches were moving a lot and it appeared to me it locked him up. The first two times he barely swung at the pitches, all arms, flat footed, upright...very funny looking swing. This kid has one heck of a natural, fluid swing for a lefty, but he's a slap/contact hitter. Now that his 2 year hitting streak is over, it's time to work on some stuff.

#1.He hits only ground balls which is fine, but with little power. He's not pulling his hips into the pitch and getting the barrel of the bat out in front of the ball. Last year he pulled the ball all year. This year, we're back to hitting everything left. He will not follow through and he is all arms.

He cried off and on the entire game after he ended his streak. He did get a base hit his 3rd time up, but didn't hit the ball hard and looks to me like he lost all confidence at the plate. He needs to generate more bat speed and his confidence back. I'll post more....just rambling....back to work. Quick fixes...Suggestions? Smile Thanks!
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Coach WaltripCoach Waltrip100+ posts
Welcome DP, that's a cute little story about your son. So the curveball has got him a little nervous eh? I once heard it said that 'the best curveball to hit is a fastball.' Also, "the best way to hit a curveball is not to miss the fastball.' Kids at the young youth levels can fall in love with the curveball, which in the big picture of things is not a very good idea. However, I have seen very successful youth pitchers using the bender as their primary pitch.

Hitting to the opposite field is never a bad thing. Could be he is starting to face harder throwing pitchers and is getting around late. If he is lacking power you might want to see if his hands are leaking forward during his stride. Meaning that as he strides forward during the swing do his hands move forward? During the stride a hitters hands should stay back and should follow after the stride.

I'd encourage him dad to realize that he will not always be successful and that learning to live with failure is part of the game.

Good luck and enjoy the ride...
D DP10+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by Coach Waltrip:
Welcome DP, that's a cute little story about your son. So the curveball has got him a little nervous eh? I once heard it said that 'the best curveball to hit is a fastball.' Also, "the best way to hit a curveball is not to miss the fastball.' Kids at the young youth levels can fall in love with the curveball, which in the big picture of things is not a very good idea. However, I have seen very successful youth pitchers using the bender as their primary pitch.

Hitting to the opposite field is never a bad thing. Could be he is starting to face harder throwing pitchers and is getting around late. If he is lacking power you might want to see if his hands are leaking forward during his stride. Meaning that as he strides forward during the swing do his hands move forward? During the stride a hitters hands should stay back and should follow after the stride.

I'd encourage him dad to realize that he will not always be successful and that learning to live with failure is part of the game.

Good luck and enjoy the ride...


Thank you for responding. He is still hitting the 44 mph pitching machine, no kid pitch yet. Yeah, I think he ran into a curveball and he broke down. He normally hits everything thrown out over the plate. I'm sure he's seen plenty of movement from the ball in the past. I have threaded the ball for years to him through the machine. I appreciate your advice and sugestions. The ride is a great, I wouldn't trade it for the world. Thanks again.
D DP10+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by PGStaff:
He probably lacks power because he is 7 years old!

However, it's never too early to learn how to swing properly.


He is lacking power because, like you said, " he's not swinging properly." This kid should be going fence all the time. He's been a slap hitter for so long, I guess it's time to break his swing down again. All the kids on his team can go fence and my son is one of the bigger kids.
L 2014_Lefty_Dad100+ posts
There are probably a lot of remedies that can be presented for this, but I have a simple one to try for a young kid that does not attempt to complicate things for them when trying to add more power in their swing.

Take a kickball and soft toss it to him and let him attempt to try to hit it out of the infield. There is a part of hitting that requires you to figure out how you are supposed to generate more power. The best would be for you to underhand it to him from out in front and let him try to knock you down with it. That way he does not just try to pull out to generate extra power. Tell him you don't believe he can knock you down with the ball.

Have fun with it and make a game where he gets a certain amount of points for hitting it out in the grass. 1 point for grounders, 2 points for line drives, and -1 point for pop-ups.

The other option is for you to find a hitting instructor for him to go to that will help develop the use of his lower half. My son is a lefty and went through a lot of this when he was young because he always got pitches on the outer half of the plate by RH pitchers. He saw very few leftys so relied on the poke and run method. As he has gotten older, and the field got bigger, he had to start using his lower half to drive the ball in the gaps more.

Good luck and have fun with his development. Don't get frustrated or at least don't ever let him see you if you do. He will go through enough of that without your help. Smile
Last edited by 2014_Lefty_Dad
RJMRJMHSBaseballWeb member since 2007
Don't make too much of accomplishments at seven years old. I'll bet almost every poster on this board has a son that did the same thing at that age. My kids didn't hit the ball at five and six because they didn't play organized baseball until they were seven. Just hit the ball, field the ball, throw the ball, run the bases and have fun. Along the way learn some fundamentals. When he's thirteen on the 60/90 field he'll start to find out if he can really play the game.

Make sure the game is fun. Not every seven year old will become a high school baseball player. But they can all grow up to be great fans of the game.
infielddadinfielddad10,000+ posts
quote:
The ride is a great, I wouldn't trade it for the world.


DP, I want to preface this by admitting how little I know. One thing I do know is the major mistake I made when our son was younger.
As time went on, until he was 12, he kept getting better and better. As he got better, I made it more about me and winning than him and having fun.
This all got very clear in our first LL All-Star game when he was 12. We were not playing well, the other team was playing great. My son dropped a line drive I felt he should have caught. I yelled at him. When I looked at him next, his eyes were filled with tears. It wasn't that he didn't try. It wasn't that he didn't compete. It was that he made an error. I made it more than that.
I wonder if you might be making the strikeouts of a 7 year old "more than that."
The point I am making is that tears don't belong on a baseball field when our sons are 7 or 12. IMO, tears come when our sons feel they have disappointed us. They only come when we make it "I" and not them, when we make it "our" ride and not their ride.
In my view, the only aspect of your post that would need attention, in my view, is your son cried during the game. At 7 years old, or at 12 years old, that does not need to happen, in my opinion.
There will be one time when your son might cry on a baseball field and that will be when he cannot play the game any longer. For ours, that happened at age 26 when his Milb career came to an untimely end.
I ended up coaching him from ages 13 to 15. I was so much a better coach when it became clear the ride was his and my coaching was about developing and coach him and his teammates to be better players. Winning didn't matter. If I coached them well, and created the right environment, they would play well.
He became a much better player, he never cried again on the field while playing for me, and I had 3 of the best years I could have imagined, except for next 10 when he played through HS, college and Milb.
D DP10+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by EC_Dad:
There are probably a lot of remedies that can be presented for this, but I have a simple one to try for a young kid that does not attempt to complicate things for them when trying to add more power in their swing.

Take a kickball and soft toss it to him and let him attempt to try to hit it out of the infield. There is a part of hitting that requires you to figure out how you are supposed to generate more power. The best would be for you to underhand it to him from out in front and let him try to knock you down with it. That way he does not just try to pull out to generate extra power. Tell him you don't believe he can knock you down with the ball.

Have fun with it and make a game where he gets a certain amount of points for hitting it out in the grass. 1 point for grounders, 2 points for line drives, and -1 point for pop-ups.

The other option is for you to find a hitting instructor for him to go to that will help develop the use of his lower half. My son is a lefty and went through a lot of this when he was young because he always got pitches on the outer half of the plate by RH pitchers. He saw very few leftys so relied on the poke and run method. As he has gotten older, and the field got bigger, he had to start using his lower half to drive the ball in the gaps more.

Good luck and have fun with his development. Don't get frustrated or at least don't ever let him see you if you do. He will go through enough of that without your help. Smile


Sounds like you know where I'm at. He saw me get frustrated last night. I was really shocked when he didn't swing at the first 2 picthes like he always has. You're right, he will go through enough of that without me adding to it.(like last night)I got frustrated because he made no effort to swing for the first time in 2 years. I wish I would have handled it differently.

He is a high fast ball hitter and I'm thinking about moving him up in the box tonight. I have not critiqued him since the streak started. It sounds like we need to move on and advance his hitting motion. I can coach him a little, but I'm right handed, so it doesn't always pan out in my mind.

I like the kickball approach. We'll give that a shot. I know Joe Carter pretty well and will give him a call and see if he can't help out.

I will only complicate things if I get to involved with his swing. We just need to have fun now. No streak, no pressure. I hope your lefty is doing good stuff on the diamond and wish him much success.

Thanks for taking the time to respond. Smile
D DP10+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by CPLZ:
Would there still have been disappointment if no one had been counting?


Yes, there still would have been disappoinment. The entire league knew he had not struck out in 2 years. We didn't count every at bat. We know it was well over a 100 by counting the games. The kids knew and the coaches and the umpires as well. Thanks for responding.
D DP10+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by infielddad:
quote:
The ride is a great, I wouldn't trade it for the world.


DP, I want to preface this by admitting how little I know. One thing I do know is the major mistake I made when our son was younger.
As time went on, until he was 12, he kept getting better and better. As he got better, I made it more about me and winning than him and having fun.
This all got very clear in our first LL All-Star game when he was 12. We were not playing well, the other team was playing great. My son dropped a line drive I felt he should have caught. I yelled at him. When I looked at him next, his eyes were filled with tears. It wasn't that he didn't try. It wasn't that he didn't compete. It was that he made an error. I made it more than that.
I wonder if you might be making the strikeouts of a 7 year old "more than that."
The point I am making is that tears don't belong on a baseball field when our sons are 7 or 12. IMO, tears come when our sons feel they have disappointed us. They only come when we make it "I" and not them, when we make it "our" ride and not their ride.
In my view, the only aspect of your post that would need attention, in my view, is your son cried during the game. At 7 years old, or at 12 years old, that does not need to happen, in my opinion.
There will be one time when your son might cry on a baseball field and that will be when he cannot play the game any longer. For ours, that happened at age 26 when his Milb career came to an untimely end.
I ended up coaching him from ages 13 to 15. I was so much a better coach when it became clear the ride was his and my coaching was about developing and coach him and his teammates to be better players. Winning didn't matter. If I coached them well, and created the right environment, they would play well.
He became a much better player, he never cried again on the field while playing for me, and I had 3 of the best years I could have imagined, except for next 10 when he played through HS, college and Milb.


I think you hit the nail on the head. He cried because he saw how disappointed I was. I feel terrible now that I blew it. I have to admit, I don't think he would have cried if I would held my poker face. Never again will I bust like that.

He's a dynamite first baseman and can make all the catches from anywhere on the field. We need to focus on the postive and move on tonight when we play again. I agree, he should not be crying out there, he should be having fun out there. Thanks for the reality check and the time you took for us. It's truly appreciated.

P.S. The game is about my son, not me. Smile
RJMRJMHSBaseballWeb member since 2007
quote:
He saw me get frustrated last night

You should not be getting frustrated with a seven year old. I'm going to give you some advice I was given this summer at one of my son's 16U games.

My son was taking too many pitches. He was called out on strikes five times over two weekends. Three may have been outside. But they were still called strikes and we all know the saying. I yelled at him, "Swing the G D bat."

His coach turned to me. He's placed players in college ball. He said, "Relax and let him play the game. He isn't going to get better if you make him tense. Besides, he's a player. This is one rough spot in a long season."
Last edited by RJM
RJMRJMHSBaseballWeb member since 2007
quote:
He is a high fast ball hitter
No, he's a seven year old playing machine pitch. You need better perspective or your son is going to turn to you at some point and say, "Leave, or I'm not playing."

My son may have got a hit every at bat for two years in 7/8 machine pitch. I'm not positive. The important thing is we didn't keep track. I coached. He played. We had fun. I wouldn't know his high school and travel batting numbers without looking.
Last edited by RJM
ClevelandDadClevelandDadHSBBWeb Administrator
infielddad - great story, great advice.

I had almost an identical experience with my son. For a 13u team, I was the scorekeeper and responsible for maintaining order on the bench like keeping the kids heads in the game while it was going on. Before one game, I asked the team to concentrate in order to try and cut down on the mistakes we were making. The very first play of the game my son made an error and I yelled LOUDLY. I yelled embarrassingly loud. When he came in from the field his face was beat-red and he would not look at me. I knew then I had made a huge mistake. In the car after the game, he told me that if I ever acted like that at a game again that he requested that I not be there any more. That hurt. I told him it would never happen again and it didn't. Imagine that, being taught how to act like an adult by a 13 year old! Red Face It is all about the kids indeed.

DP - I suggest lightening up - a lot. Let your son have fun. Quit noticing stats or anything else like that such as hitting streaks. Make it about having fun and nothing else or you will regret it someday. Until now, I never heard of seven year old and hitting streaks as they are meaningless imho. I would not worry about whether or not he moves up in the box or stays back in the box. Ok to make suggestions every now and then but in general let him figure things out. Be his loving Dad and let him have fun.
B Blprkfrnks100+ posts
Infielddad is right on here.

None of what he is doing right now means a thing in his baseball career. The only thing important is to enjoy the game and learn to get along with teammates (and coaches). If the whole league knew that he had some streak like that at the age of 7, then they are just as guilty as you are of making a big deal out of nothing. With as much attention as you are paying to this, I feel you have a better chance of burning him out than making a great baseball player.

Don't get me wrong, most of us here have made this same mistake at some point, including myself. Of the few parents left from my sons little league days, every one of them looks back at those times and realizes how silly we parents acted, and how much fun we sapped from the game.
Three BaggerThree Bagger1,000+ posts
DP,
I was a lot like you when my boys were your sons age and there's nothing wrong with that. You've received some good advice here about just letting him have fun. Power means nothing at age seven because things like that just don't translate to the big field from the little field. The biggest kids are the power hitters and often the best hitters on the little guy fields. This all changes later when it becomes about bat speed, mechanics, hand to eye coordination. Another thing, strikeouts on modern baseball mean very little when you have successful major leaguers striking out over 200 times and leadoff batters like Sizemore and Granderson striking out 130 times or more. Truthfully, your sone probably doesn't hit with as much power as his potential precisely because he is too worried about striking out. An example is my son who is playing college ball now. His Junior year in high school he struck out 4 times in 112 plate appearences, hit a couple of HR's but a lot of his hits were factors of his great speed or singles. We changed his mental outlook that next summer and did some things to allow driving the ball more. Senior year extra base hits more than doubled, hit 5 Hrs in less games a couple over 400 feet, and increased his batting average from .473 to .536. But he did strikeout 10 times. So what! The K's just replaced weak ground balls which were more than made up for by the extra power shown.
infielddadinfielddad10,000+ posts
DP,
Thank you for your responses and having an open mind.
Hopefully this little story about hitting streaks might keep things in perspective:
If you look in the NCAA record books for consecutive game hitting streaks, you will find my son listed in the top 10 of all time, maybe top 5.
Those who remember are myself, our son, our family and his college coach.
Next week, no one is going to remember your son's streak, either. He might remember having an ice cream with Dad, though.
AM AL MA 08100+ posts
Hi DP, and welcome to the HSBB Web!

I like the Chuck E. Cheese idea. Dairy Queen also helps get over those "slumps".

It sounds like your son has great hand-eye coordination.
A couple of things I saw a coach do to improve hitting include:

1) take a 2x6 about 4 or 5 feet long (limit size on your means to transport i.e. trunk or truck?) and tack a small piece of 2x6 (about 4 to 6 inches long) on each end to elevate the long section. Then have the young slugger stand on it and swing at the ball when it is pitched to him. Teaches him to stride correctly or he falls off the board.
2) Also fasten a tire (or cut a square hole in it so it fits) over a 4x4 sunk into the ground so that the tire is in-line with his swing as if swinging at a pitched ball. Set a routine for him to hit the tire to increase his power against the ball. If he pounds the ball like he practices pounding the tire you should see some immediate improvements. Try to plan for his growth over the next few years. This may work for him for several years? Our high school had some of these set up to warm up on before games and practice.
D DP10+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by infielddad:
DP,
Thank you for your responses and having an open mind.
Hopefully this little story about hitting streaks might keep things in perspective:
If you look in the NCAA record books for consecutive game hitting streaks, you will find my son listed in the top 10 of all time, maybe top 5.
Those who remember are myself, our son, our family and his college coach.
Next week, no one is going to remember your son's streak, either. He might remember having an ice cream with Dad, though.


Right on target. I agree with you 100%. Thank you for helping us out. Your words mean a lot to me.
D DP10+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by AL MA 08:
Hi DP, and welcome to the HSBB Web!

I like the Chuck E. Cheese idea. Dairy Queen also helps get over those "slumps".

It sounds like your son has great hand-eye coordination.
A couple of things I saw a coach do to improve hitting include:

1) take a 2x6 about 4 or 5 feet long (limit size on your means to transport i.e. trunk or truck?) and tack a small piece of 2x6 (about 4 to 6 inches long) on each end to elevate the long section. Then have the young slugger stand on it and swing at the ball when it is pitched to him. Teaches him to stride correctly or he falls off the board.
2) Also fasten a tire (or cut a square hole in it so it fits) over a 4x4 sunk into the ground so that the tire is in-line with his swing as if swinging at a pitched ball. Set a routine for him to hit the tire to increase his power against the ball. If he pounds the ball like he practices pounding the tire you should see some immediate improvements. Try to plan for his growth over the next few years. This may work for him for several years? Our high school had some of these set up to warm up on before games and practice.


Thanks for the advice. Sounds like a good routine and station to hit. His hand-eye coordination is out of the world. He scored close to 30 pts in his first basketball game he ever played. The kid can play some golf, too. Thanks again.
RJMRJMHSBaseballWeb member since 2007
quote:
I like the Chuck E. Cheese idea. Dairy Queen also helps get over those "slumps".
Is there ever a point where this stuff doesn't work? In a high school game last year my son was the tying run at first in a 1st and 3rd situation. He's fast. He was going. He got picked off to end the game. From some loud comments a few parents forgot they were watching high school and not MLB.

Post game takes a while with the post game talk and grooming of the field. I went to the store. When he came out of the dugout I tossed a roll of LifeSavers at him. He chuckled. Then we went to Outback.
Last edited by RJM
D DP10+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by RJM:
quote:
I like the Chuck E. Cheese idea. Dairy Queen also helps get over those "slumps".
Is there ever a point where this stuff doesn't work? In a high school game last year my son was the tying run at first in a 1st and 3rd situation. He's fast. He was going. He got picked off to end the game. From some loud comments a few parents forgot they were watching high school and not MLB.

Post game takes a while with the post game talk and grooming of the field. I went to the store. When he came out of the dugout I tossed a roll of LifeSavers at him. He chuckled. Then we went to Outback.


Mexican Food always makes me feel better. Good call on the Lifesavers. heh
L 2014_Lefty_Dad100+ posts
DP,
As you can see, there is no shortage of support here on the website. This is a great place with a lot of great people.

As for you being RH and not being able to help him much, keep one thing in mind, you swing from a mirror image side of the plate from him. Sometimes when you are trying to explain something to a kid, seeing what you are talking about is easier than imagining it. Stand in the opposite batters box and go through the motion and have him imitate you. His mind can visualize it better than if you do it, then have him do it. It's a little trick I learned several years ago coaching 9 and 10 year olds, which worked well.
D DP10+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by Three Bagger:
DP,
As you're probably seeing or realizing for the first time from these posts it's often us parents who need the "instructions" more than our kids! I do like how you seem very willing to listen.


Three Bagger,
You're right, I didn't realize how much "instruction," I needed. Smile I'm all ears and have recieved excellent advice and it's much appreciated. I like to do things right and last night, things weren't right. We'll get it right tonight when we take the field. Thanks!
D DP10+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by EC_Dad:
DP,
As you can see, there is no shortage of support here on the website. This is a great place with a lot of great people.

As for you being RH and not being able to help him much, keep one thing in mind, you swing from a mirror image side of the plate from him. Sometimes when you are trying to explain something to a kid, seeing what you are talking about is easier than imagining it. Stand in the opposite batters box and go through the motion and have him imitate you. His mind can visualize it better than if you do it, then have him do it. It's a little trick I learned several years ago coaching 9 and 10 year olds, which worked well.


EC Dad,
I'm really pleased and impressed with all the great responses. I told my wife there are some quality folks on this board. It's hard not to notice. I'll try the mirroring in the opposite box. I can visual how that could help. Appreciate the advice. Thanks!
C CaBB1,000+ posts
At first I thought I might have the date wrong and maybe it's April 1?????

Where's TRHit when you need him? Would love to see his reply.

This thread is very amusing TPM and I am amazed how polite the replies have been.

Dad, you need to lighten up. He's only 7 after all and has lots of time to grow and play and become serious about baseball. Be careful you don't burn him out with your intensity. Have fun and don't sweat the small stuff.
Coach_MayCoach_May10,000+ posts
Kids are just playing a game having fun. Parents take that game and turn it into pressure and the fun soon leaves. The ride home is fun if Jr has a good game. The ride home is he ll if Jr has a bad game. Dad is all smiles if Jr has a good game. He is grumpy and ill if he does not. Soon the player is feeling pressure to please pop and instead of being happy is relieved when he plays well. When he gets older the pressure of having to please pop takes the place of just playing a game and having fun. That is replaced with "Im burned out I dont want to play this year."

When kids are young starting out in the game the ONLY thing that matters is they are having fun and learning to enjoy the game. As they start to grow in the game proper instruction and coaching along with a fun and enjoyable environment is needed to help assist them grow in the game. As they continue down the baseball path they will either have an inner drive to be all they can be in the game or they will see it as a burden.

The fact that anyone noticed or knew a kid that age had a hit streak is hard to fathom for me. The most important thing you can give your son at that age is love and support and encouragement to enjoy the game. He should not be able to tell from your attitude after or during the game if he was ofer or hit for the cycle.

Kids want to please. First and foremost they want to please those they love. They should know they have done that just by being out there and doing their best. I am not picking on you. I think we have all been guilty at some point and time of not having things in the proper perspective. Let it be fun.
GunEmDown10GunEmDown101,000+ posts
WOW - Great, "tempered" responses, not the usual suspects - LOL....

If I may, I have one word that might sum all this up. It's entitlement. Alot of great dads spend lots of money on bats and gloves, drive 1,000s of miles, sleep in 100s of hotels, throw endless hours of BP, etc., helping little Joey be a great player. Just remember, all you are entitled to DP, loving your son! The baseball is just the gravy!

Good luck, we've all (well, some of us) have been there!
GED10DaD
CPLZCPLZ1,000+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by DP:
quote:
Originally posted by CPLZ:
Would there still have been disappointment if no one had been counting?


Yes, there still would have been disappoinment. The entire league knew he had not struck out in 2 years. We didn't count every at bat. We know it was well over a 100 by counting the games. The kids knew and the coaches and the umpires as well. Thanks for responding.


So what you're saying, is that everyone was counting...not necessarily, one, two, three, but everyone was keeping track...probably talking about it...taking notice. Being a proud papa is a great thing, but it comes with some responsibility. It means, taking care to present the right balance of competition and just plain fun and giggles, at 7 years old. My sincerest hope is that you find a better balance than you have so far...it's a problem with many of us. Been there, done that, got a drawer full of t-shirts.

The way it is right now, doesn't sound healthy, to be quite honest. Not at that age. JMHO
Last edited by CPLZ
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