Posted by: bob (bob@bobburnett.com) on Fri Jul 21 08:57:40 2006

> > Hey Jack - I have tried everything - How can I get my daughter to sit back on the pitch and let the ball get into the power zone in lieu of jumping on it so quick and either pulling the ball extremely left or hitting weak balls to the left side.
> >
> > she has good swing mechanics and her hand eye coordination is fine, she makes consistent contact on any speed pitch 50-65 mph but it is mostly at full arm extension and there is nothing behind the hit. I just cant get her to time out the pitch and wait for it.
> >
> > Any suggestions??????? PLEASE???????
> >

I find that often the best way to solve a problem is to do seemingly unrelated work that focuses on the problem (in this case,timing).

One timing related exercise consists of a dropper (coach or player) and a hitter. The hitter takes her normal batting stance facing a net or fence about 6-8 feet away from the net. The dropper drops the ball into the contact zone and the hitter must see the ball (she watches the dropper drop the ball) and hit it with a level swing and proper stride. I usually do a variation where the dropper stands on a chair.

Maybe try doing some different batting work with her to help her improve her focus. I like to do soft toss with different size balls for this. I use a 5 gallon bucket with balls from oversized (16") softballs to golf-ball sized whiffle balls.

Bunting practice with live pitching is good for helping them calibrate how long it takes the pitch to reach the bat. In lieu of a pitcher, she could go to a batting cage and bunt 5, swing at 5, bunt 5, etc.

Then again, you could take Ted's advice and just get in more BP!