Posted by: Fran Jessup () on Sat Aug 24 06:24:40 2002

Dan, you made some good points. When does wearing the extra body protection end? Batters in cocoons not worried about being hit. Pitchers not having to learn how to pitch up and in because they know they can’t hurt the batter, yes pitchers have fears too. We may not want to admit it but fear is the only thing keeping some minor leaguers out of the majors. Kids have to learn how to protect themselves.

Gary,

Good post. People should point out the errors of these people. In some cases they go beyond being silly and become dangerous.

Besides ignoring advice from "macho" men who think that if they beat up on kids it makes the tough, here are my suggestions on dealing with kids afraid of the ball. Which, by the way, is the most common of all problems for kids who bat against live pitching. Probably because we have macho men trying to hit them with the ball or dress them in armor.

These are in no particulary order. Each has it's own importance depending on the individual kid.

1. Do not use pitching machines as the primary method of batting practice. Kids know they won't get hit. Using machines will hide the fact that the kid is afraid. Go to places that have public pitching machines and a common remark you hear from parents and coaches is "He hits so well here, why can't he do it in the game?" The reason is the kid is not afraid of the machine.

2. A lot of practice against live pitching from other kids. Most adults who throw batting practice stand closer to the plate and don't throw hard. If they don't do this it's because they can get it over the plate from the regular distance. In any event, kids trust adults not to hit them so its the same as hitting against a machine. I know the "macho" men will take this to mean they should be throwing at kids in practice. It's not, but don't try to tell them. It's not about the kids for those guys.

3. Make conquering his fear a challenge and give him something to focus on other then his fear. The ball, the spin, the release, anything to get his mind off being afraid. Anything to get him to focus on hitting the ball not on the ball hitting him. With older kids some times logic works. Try this. "Son, if you play baseball you are going to get hit with a ball. That's a fact and you can't avoid it. Wild pitches or bad bounces happen and you ARE GOING TO GET HIT. You have probably been hit already or seen some of your friends get hit. They are still alive and well, right? So, while it might hurt for a little bit, it wont do permanent damage, right? What you have to do is decide if you are going to allow your fear of getting hit make you a worse ball player than you can be BETWEEN the times you get hit." If you can say this in a funny way it will have more impact with the kid.

4. Do not try to tell the kid not to be afraid or that it wont hurt if he gets hit. If the kid believed it won't hurt he wouldn't be afraid in the first place. The kid will not say it but it will have no effect. "Macho" men will ridicule the kid for being afraid. They are apes and I would get my kid off that team.

5. Stress and practice picking the ball up the instant it leaves the pitchers hand. This will give the batter more time to react and a feeling of control. Soon the batter will learn that if he is picking up the ball early he doesn't have to worry about getting hit. One way to teach this is to have the batter stand in against a kid pitching just to watch the ball and not to swing. He takes the stance but with no bat. This allows him to focus on the ball without thinking about trying to hit it. You should never have a pitcher practicing without a batter standing there, without hitting, practicing "watching." This practice is more realistic with a bat but some kids start to fool around and someone might get hurt with an unexpected foul tip. Let them have a bat only if there will be direct, on going adult supervision

Frank Jessup