Posted by: Astounded () on Mon Aug 6 11:00:27 2001

My son is 9 - big for his age & has loved baseball since he was 1 year old. He has always hit very hard - this past season he got into the habit of hitting safe. Nothing wrong with that! But poking at the first pitch when batting in the 4 spot does not help when he is almost 5' tall & 135lbs - does not make the coach happy or help the team. When I make him mad & he decides he wants to hit he can hit very hard & deep to outfield. A local hitting instructor found the same thing with him (I was feeding the p. machine @ 65mph / 46ft to plate & the instructor was talking to him & finally raised his voice to him & told him to HIT IT HARD & he lined it past my head & hit wall behind me & one bounced back & hit him at the plate. The instructor said with his bat speed(avg.68-74mph) & strength there shouldnt be a field that would hold his ball. I know it doesnt help when he sees ESPN & watches that smooth stroke & the balls just fly out of the park with little effort / I just wish they could capture that teeth gritting - body torqing -arm vibration it actually takes sometimes to hit those balls.My Question what do you tell a 9 year old without yelling & making him mad so he will hit hard at each at bat.
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> > DM,
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> > Why would you yell at a 9 year old kid? Its a game, isn't it? What are you trying to acheive? You talk about the kid like he is some pro prospect you might buy, or sell.
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> > You talk about his size and strength and you got him a hitting instructor. You are writting to discussion boards to get tips on how to make him better. Plus you are manipulating him by making him angry, not the best life lesson. I don't think this is a game to you, is it?
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> > I will tell you this, kids do not let you know what they are thinking. Especially their parents. If I had to guess, with my experience with kids this age, I would say that you are putting too much preasure on him and he is letting you know by backing off.
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> > Its a game. If a 9 year old kid can't enjoy baseball without being manipulated, scrytubized, disected, anaylized and worried over then I would bet that by the time he is 12 he won't be playing any more. That is if you let him quit, which I doubt.
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> > If it isn't fun for the kid it will never be serious for the kid.
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> > Joe A.
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> joe a.,
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> you are very harsh, but you are exactly right.
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> ray porco

I second that notion. Second, what child could possibly enjoy baseball "since he was 1 year old"? My son was barely walking at that age. Third, I think a 9 year old who is "almost 5' tall and 135 lbs" needs to lose some serious weight. My own is 14 , 5'9" and weighs 135lbs. Kids who were overly large and dominating when very young generally do not remain on top because they do not keep working to improve their actual skill levels. Finally, what kind of knucklehead would feed balls at 65 mph from 46' to a 9 year old? There are many 13-14 year olds that cannot hit 65mph well, much less a 9 year old. I recommend that DM get a grip on life - you will destroy your son's desire to play with your approach.