Posted by: PJ (pattyj@fbcanyoncreek.com) on Mon Jun 16 15:02:19 2003

I have a 7 year old that his team is playing in the 8 year old division and winning. We have been taking him to hitting lessons and baseball camps, and he is hitting line drives and doing everything fundamentally correct in the cages, even hitting curve balls. But when he gets into a game, it looks as though he is just trying to make contact with the ball and not swinging threw. His hitting coach told us that he may not be getting anything on the ball in the game because the pitcher is not pitching hard enough (coach pitch) and he could be ahead of it. Is there anything he can do to mentally prepare himself before he goes up to bat? What could help him wait on the ball? The other kids on the team are hitting the ball over the outfielders heads and maybe he is too anxious. What we have tried to explain to him is that as you get older, some of the balls that his teammates are hitting will be pop ups. How could you explain this to a 7 year old?

Please help!
PJ