Afraid of the ball

[whitesox]

My 8 year old is in his 6th year of playing and one thing he's always loved to do was hit, unfortunately this year he was hit by a pitch 4 times in a span of two games, now he has started bailing out as soon as the pitcher is releasing the ball.....is there anything I can do to help him? Thanks!!!!!!!!

[AgentX]

Usually, when they get hit at this age, it helps them realize that it ISN'T something to be afraid of.

Was he hurt badly?

[whitesox]

He got in hit the head once which shook him up a bit but the one that seemed to really throw him was a pitch he took to the ankle.....that one was bad and he had to come out of the game

[AgentX]

In that case, try getting him to build up some confidence that he can avoid those pitches in the future.

Play a game with him where he stands against a wall pretending to bat and you try to peg him with a tennis ball. When he's ready for it, you shouldn't be able to hit him. :D

It's normal for our 9yos (first year of kid pitch) to be a little skittish about pitched balls. So when I've thrown to them in the cages and a ball goes inside, I make a point of reminding them how easily they were able to dodge the fastball. They might be a little wary about stepping up for the next pitch, but evenually, they realize that they can dodge pretty much anything.

And that will remain true for a couple of years until the pitchers they face start throwing harder.

One thing you should avoid doing is babying him though. The sooner he learns to toughen up while hitting, the better off he'll be. We had a 12yo take a fastball to the jaw in his first AB this weekend. It looked really gruesome, but he only sat out for 2 innings. He came back and got a base hit.

[ctandc]

Getting hit is part of the game. The quicker they learn, the better off they are.

What I did at 5/6/7 was take tennis balls and I threw BP...would let them hit the tennis balls, but every now and then I'd hit them. AFTER showing them how to turn away from a pitch that is going to hit them. Notice this move is not AWAY from the plate, but towards it. Once they learn that they are less likely to go away.

After that it was the RIF balls. I'd "miss my spot" every now and again. After awhile, the kids thought it was funny. They were used to it.

And to this day I'm still reminded of what one of my first year kid pitch players did.

First game of kid pitch. Kid "pitching" for the other team was wild...even for a 8 year old...lol.

So one of my guys gets PEGGED. He turns back towards it, gets popped. He's running to first and the other teams's coach asks

"son you okay?"

Kid: "Yes sir. My coach has hit me harder than that plenty of times..."

[StraightGrain11]

Try being honest with him... Being afraid of the ball is part of the game - it's just something that no one talks about. At higher levels, players understand that everytime they step in the box against a pitcher like a Verlander or Zumaya or Rodriguez (K-Rod), a ball to the head could be the end of a career - or worse. But you don't think about that, you just understand it is part of the game.
Don't tell him not to be afraid of the ball. And don't tell him getting hit doesn't hurt - it DOES hurt. Be honest. Tell him it's ok to be afraid. Tell him that getting hit hurts. But you can also tell him that he's not going to get hit all the time. And that he should concentrate on hitting the ball as much as possible - because if he's hitting the ball then the ball can't hit him. :)

[shake-n-bake]

When I was a HS soph. our coach spent the better part of an early season practice lining us up outside the shop building and peppering us with baseballs - true story. That probably wouldn't fly these days.

I agree that getting hit a few times is usually a good thing at that age. It usually serves a way to remove the fear. I'd work that angle - you got wacked a couple good ones and you're really not that much worse for the wear.

I too have hit my son more times than I can remember. Used to be that it'd freak both of us out a little as I threw harder and harder to him. Thankfully, I haven't broken anything. I did break a couple of his fingers tackling him once though. Like ct said, after getting hit more often and by harder pitches in practice a bit of an immunity develops. Still hurts, but my son and his buddy have a rule - you can't rub it. Even if it's one that leaves the stitch marks in the bruise, you cannot rub it!

[sd72667]

When I was a HS soph. our coach spent the better part of an early season practice lining us up outside the shop building and peppering us with baseballs - true story. That probably wouldn't fly these days.

I agree that getting hit a few times is usually a good thing at that age. It usually serves a way to remove the fear. I'd work that angle - you got wacked a couple good ones and you're really not that much worse for the wear.

I too have hit my son more times than I can remember. Used to be that it'd freak both of us out a little as I threw harder and harder to him. Thankfully, I haven't broken anything. I did break a couple of his fingers tackling him once though. Like ct said, after getting hit more often and by harder pitches in practice a bit of an immunity develops. Still hurts, but my son and his buddy have a rule - you can't rub it. Even if it's one that leaves the stitch marks in the bruise, you cannot rub it!

LOL, The movie "Dodgeball" comes to mind instead of being hit by wrenches, you were pelted with actual baseballs. OP, Try getting one of those newer helmets with a faceguard. Or some added protection on the arms or shins.

[emmitt]

My son play 7 year old travel kid pitch. All of the kids are really talented, but being afraid of the ball hurts them in there hitting. The kids can hit off of me all day, but put them against a kid and most of them are a little intimidated because of the lack of control from some pitchers.

One thing our coach does is make the kids hit off of kid pitch during batting practice. All of our kids can pitch and do it pretty well. The kids still get to hit off of the coachs as well, but facing a kid gets them used to it a bit more.

One thing my son was told was that if the batter gets hit, it's the batters fault for not moving. He was told this after he was pitching and hit a kid pretty hard in the back. He uses this same thought when he hits as well.

Another thing I do to him sounds crazy, but it works. I hit him with the ball at times. When we are picking up balls in the cage, I will lightly toss one at him when he's not looking to show him that 'it's just a ball' I've thrown some off of his batting helmet and shoulders, chest, legs. they don't hurt him, but they do seem to reassure him and he seemed to get more comfortable.

I do also throw some at him during batting practice. I throw from around 35 to 60 mph to him depending on which league he is currently playing on. He always gets out of the way though, but he doesn't bail on pitches and is very aggressive at the plate. I think the fact that he know he has time to move gives him an advantage to be more agressive. I started off by having a tennis ball in the ball bucket and sneaking it out and hitting him with it. Eventually he would always be able to move out of the way. After that stage, I started using real baseballs.

He also plays a lot of catcher and hits hit a good bit back there. That seems to help too.

[Jake Patterson]

My 8 year old is in his 6th year of playing He's been playing since he was two?
... and one thing he's always loved to do was hit, unfortunately this year he was hit by a pitch 4 times in a span of two games, now he has started bailing out as soon as the pitcher is releasing the ball.....is there anything I can do to help him? Thanks!!!!!!!!He's eight... If it hurts he won't like it. That is an inate tidbit we all have thanks to evolution. If it hurts- don't do it! If it tastes bad- don't eat it!

I would sugest you make up a game about hitting that HE enjoys using something that won't hurt him. We played kitchen dishrag basketball (Sink was the basket), newspaper baseball (Dining room was a home run), etc... This sometimes helps...
Jake

[whitesox]

He's been playing since he was two?
He's eight... If it hurts he won't like it. That is an inate tidbit we all have thanks to evolution. If it hurts- don't do it! If it tastes bad- don't eat it!
Jake


He started t-ball when he was 3......he played two years of t-ball, then two years of coach pitching....last year he moved up to kids pitching, this is his second year of kid pitch......because he started earlier than usual he's always been a level above where his age would put him.....this years it's 9-10 year olds he's playing with.....I'm not going to move him up next year....I think he will benefit from playing another year at this level with kids his own age......that being said, I really appreciate all the advice and tips.....I am going to try quite a few of them with him tonight when we go out for our daily practice...thanks again

[songtitle]

Found this
wikihow How to Not Be Scared of Being Hit by a Pitch in Baseball (http://www.wikihow.com/Not-Be-Scared-of-Being-Hit-by-a-Pitch-in-Baseball)

[whitesox]

Okay.....we worked on some of the tennis balls drills on Tuesday night and yesterday I took him to the field early and asked a couple of kids there to throw him BP, they were happy to do so........during the game he went 2-2 with 2 walks and while I could still see him wanting to bail and on a couple of pitches he did, it was a vast improvement...thanks for all the advice people.....I feel we have turned a corner

[songtitle]

We get 10% of his signing bonus.

[virg]

Rule for avoiding a pitch a kid can handle, an old MLB tip:
1. If moving when you see one coming- keep moving, never stop. Continue, blend that motion into the escape. Never stop and restart; it takes long enough to get you drilled.
2. If it's coming above the breadbasket- Duck!
3. If it's coming lower- Dodge! Skip forward or back.
4. Borderline case, not sure- Duck.

Being hit isn't part of the game- not quitting is! Never Quit!

[Fivensbaseball]

dodge duck dive and dodge

[Ursa Major]

Whitesox, I think you're learning that few things are permanent with kids under the age of thirteen -- even fear. One week they want to be a fireman, then an astronaut, then maybe a designer of women's lingerie... (Huh, not you??? :blush:)

Strong ballplayers tend not to get too caught up in their fear of being hit -- in many there's a subconcious cost/benefit analysis going on, where they realize they can't continue to tbe the stud hitters they've been if they're bailing out. Just don't get invested in his fear by making a big deal about it and making him worry about it being something that is reasonable and enduring. I'm guessing that you're better off approaching it as a 'you know you can't keep bailing' thing and, as you're doing, getting him to work on technique in non-threatening situations where he hits the ball well. Then, by the time he gets back into the game, he's hopefully more focussed on doing what he needs to do to crush the ball (which sounds like what you achieved) than on dodging the ball. Just be prepared for relapses and diversions along the way.