Mental approach

[brewcrew5]

DD hit a wall hitting. she had been destroying the ball the past 3 tourneys. This past weekend it seems that she forgot how to hit. Had no hip rotation or leg push. Said she was shaking at every at abat. I asked her if she was nervous or sick. She said no. We worked on the tee and soft toss in between games. She was doing fine, but when the game started , she went into the funk. I know ever kid is different , but do any of you have any pointers that I use to work with her. She plays 14U a ball.

 

[fuzzy2651]

Maybe it's a confidence thing or feels too much pressure to produce? She may need some live pitching or some game speed pitches off a machine to get her back in it or get her confidence back up if that's an issue. I know with my DD who plays 12U, I had to work on her loading as soon as the pitcher started her wind up because she was in a bit of a slump. It really seemed to make a difference. I try not to make too many adjustments at one time, just little ones here and there because I don't want her thinking about all that when she's hitting. Honestly to me, confidence at the plate for girls at that age is like 75% of the battle. They are afraid to let their team, coach, or parent down, so it gets in their head.

 

[MaverickAH]

It happens......... It could be a multitude of things. There's no way that anybody here can give you a definitive answer without being familiar with your DD & actually seeing her in person.

I will say that it is unrealistic to expect anyone's performance to be consistent week in & week out. Even the pro's can't do it! I will also say that the average 14yo who is competitive & wants to be out there is not going to be completely honest with how they feel. They will say anything to stay in the game. Sometimes you just can't take them at their word.

Not to get too personal, but the first thing that comes to mind is that she was attempting to play through her cycle. This can be daunting for someone of that age.

In any case, I wouldn't dwell on her performance too much unless it continues. What you really want her to do is, good or bad, forget about last weekend & get prepared for the next.