My 12 year can't hit. Need help

[JustinB]

I need help!


My 12 year old step son has gotten to where he struggles at the plate. He is very athletic. Dominant pitcher and probably best catcher in the league. He smashes the ball in the batting cage and at home. # of reps is not an issue with him at all.

When he was in coach pitch through the first year of kid pitch, he was an elite hitter. Always hit #3 or #4 hole. It was interesting because EVERY ball he hit was to the opposite field. But they were sharply hit for base hits. His last year in kid pitch he started struggling. I started working with him as a 10year old and then last year started coaching him as an 11 year old.

He bats lefty. He hammers the ball in the cage and has a beautiful swing, at least as good as any 12 year old. But in the game, his swing is so hesitant. He just waves the bat. I feel like he is just looking for a walk. Every ball he hits is opposite field and weakly hit. His foul balls hit the screen in front of the 3rd base stands. Late, late, late all the time. I've worked on hitting the ball out in front of the plate from a tee and soft toss. Everytime we're in the cage I'm like "he's got it". Then in the game, same old story. Weak swing. No lower half movement at all. Always late. I'm at a loss.

I feel like this is a psychological issue. He's told me before he's worried about striking out. I have not been critical of him at all. Only tried to encourage and help him.

What the heck do I do?

[JustinB]

I feel like my influence on him has ran out. He's not getting results from my teaching when it comes to game at bats.

[DamonJ]

My 1st suggestion would be to work with him on Seeing the Ball out of the pitchers hand. Sounds like he is picking it up late.. Also let him know that the best Big Leaguers in the game strike out, it is part of the game.

That's all I got without seeing him swing it..

[More Liberty]

When I was in little league - my first year - I couldn't hit during games to save my arse. In the cages I could, during practice I could but not when it counted. My dad worked and worked with me to no avail. To this day I think about how hard he tried and how he probably had to endure over hearing comments from other dads every time I walked to that plate. It became a mental thing after awhile. But the next year it completely changed. I became one of the best hitters. No special coaching. Let it play itself out.

[bucknbass21]

Steve Springer has helped a ton of guys with the mental side of hitting. Saw him speak at the High School Baseball Clinic in Waco this past January. May be worth a shot to pick up one of his CD's or DVD's from qualityatbats.com

I'm well past my playing days, but even listening as a coach I learned a lot of positive ways to build up players through what he preaches. Good luck to you and your son!

[Big C]

Had a nephew that is be of went through the same thing. Weak swings if he swang at all cause he was worried about striking out. Took several talks with him to help at all. Had to convince him that a striking out while taking good cuts and trying to drive the ball was better then going up there and doing just enough to try and not strike out. It's 100 percent mental for him. nephew is doing much better this year.

[dpatterson1976]

How are his feet positioned?

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[Smith2001]

I was absolutley terrible at batting in little leauge up until about 13, i never hit "bombs" but i got good solid hits that hit shallow outfeild, tell him to look at the pitchers logo on his hat and doing that he'll pick up the ball much faster out of the pitchers hand

[AZST_bowhunter]

Lots of soft toss and tee work.. move the tee to different parts of the plate so he can learn to hit the ball at different parts of the plate. I started throwing my BP to my 9 and 10 year old team at 20 feet and I mixed in some breaking stuff. I try to make the pitching they see in practice a little more difficult than the pitching they will see in a game.

[Horns33]

Check his eyesight. He can get in a groove in a cage because the balls are consistent. In the box he has to adjust to it. I have seen this happen to many kids. All great hitters had 20/20 or better vision. Ted Williams had 20/5. He could pick up the laces on the ball.

[mooney_ag]

I need help!

I feel like this is a psychological issue. He's told me before he's worried about striking out.

I'm in no means an authority on baseball or coaching, but sounds like you have identified the root of the problem. It's 90%+ mental especially from your discussion on mechanics. Almost as if it is taking the fun of the game from him. A friend told me something along time ago in golf. He hits takes the ball at the hazard and moves it away rather than worrying about the hazard coming into play and then hitting it there. If he's worried about striking out; he already has struck out. The actions you see is only a result of that. He needs to clear his head and relax at the plate. Take the mental worries out of it away; whether he's intending to hit a home run or a single the main thing should be the intention of solid contact. It's one thing to say it but it's whole other struggle to get him to accept that concept and use it to his advantage. Separately, you may be overthinking it. He may be overthinking it too - trying to identify the pitch as the others discussed. The tentativeness you describe could possibly be a result of indecision or late decision. Perhaps a hitting coach can get him over that hump or an older baseball kid in high school or similar from the neighborhood or community.

Good luck this year. Wish your boy success.

[Gclyde12]

I was fortunate enough to play this child's game much longer than most and the best advice I was ever given was given to me late in my career. No one cares if you strike out or ground out or fly out. They all equal the same result. As he gets older and truley grasp the game within the game then he will understand when it will be ok to take a weak swing just to put the ball in play to move runners or what ever the situation dictates but until then remind him that they call it offense for a reason, he needs to be letting it fly with every swing. Weak swings equal outs and singles. He needs to have the mindset of hitting nothing but doubles and homeruns and the singles will come as accidents. Also he needs to have in his mind that he is swinging at every pitch and then decide not to once the pitch is delivered instead of the other way around. It should be yes, yes, yes, no and not no, no, no hurry yes. Hope this helps

[Shane]

It sounds like he's scared of getting hit by the pitch. The first couple of years of kid pitch are tough on a lot of batters, because most of the kids pitching don't have great control. Even the biggest and toughest 11-12 year olds still don't want to get hit by a pitch. They just have to find a way to go up to the plate looking for an opportunity to drive the ball into the outfield instead of going up to the plate worried about getting hit.

Soft toss and tee work is good. Pitching machine work is good. But there is zero chance of getting hit by a pitch during those drills, so a kid can be fearless and just hit. Put the ball into an unpredictable kid pitcher's hand though, and it's a different world.

[ckamp52]

where are you located? maybe a tbh batting coach could swing by and lend a hand

[TMC50]

I have high school kids who cant touch anything. A lot of it is mental. CAnnot be afraid of striking out and have to just put the ball in play. Some of them get it, Some of them not so much.

A problem I see all the time is kids trying to smash the ball. You don't have to swing hard to get a good hit.