Posted by: skip (piks5@sbcglobal.net) on Fri May 11 09:48:25 2007

> My son has great form, can hit my fast pitches and does well at the batting cages. Problem is, when he's in a game, he's not swinging. He says he wants to, but he just stands there like a deer in the headlights. Any Ideas?????

Frank, Just hypothetically, if he were in the middle of a game, and for whatever reason all the adults and spectators except the ump had to go down the street for a half an hour, do you think he'd swing the bat with just his peers around?

If you were 10 and taking golf lessons, and finally one day you're going to play a real round, and there's 40 people gathered around the first tee, some of them offering advice, and one with a scorecard and a pencil, how well would you hit the golf ball.?

I work on this every spring and fall with other people's kids in rec league. I tell them, stride every pitch, expect a strike, and even sometimes have given 9 thru 11 yr olds the "hit" sign, ie, swing no matter what. Sometimes it works, and once they're hooked on the thrill of the bat hitting the ball, they can overcome the deer in the headlights thing. 12 yr olds are humiliated by the "hit" sign, but if a DITH boy is up with a runner at first, I'll give him the "hit-and-run" (it sounds more grown-up), regardless of the count or situation, if I see he needs help getting the bat off his shoulder. I'm going to do it tonight with one of my guys (great hits and swing in the cage, but DITH at bat in a game)

A normal 10 yr old kid would be deer in the headlights while trying to hit a baseball under game conditions. The ones I can't figure out are those that tune everyting out and hit the ball just like they would in the backyard with nobody looking.

Good luck,
Skip