Question
all star
my son is an amazing baseball player. his dream is to play college and major league ball. he is a left handed multi position player and is an amazizng pitcher. he is 12 years old and is 5'9 at 180 lbs. durring practice, he destroys the ball, hitting just about everything including several homers. but the problem lies durring game time. he has struck out more times this year than he ever has, swinginging behind and in front of the ball. i have a friend/coach who has played in the pros that said he has a mental block durring games and i have no idea how to get him out or it. if you could help me with this i would appreciate it.i have video footage of him available if needed. thanks
AnswerTrampas
Mental blocks can be very difficult to get over. Repetition is very important and making the baseball movements more natural is very important. It is very important for your son to learn to react and not to think. This will come with repetition. During practice your son should be put into more game like situations and not just batting practice when he can sit back and hit the ball. Your coach may not be accommodating to this however your son can do it on his own by controlling where he hits the ball. The best way to get out of a slump or to break a mental block is to hit the ball to the opposite field. Hitting the ball the opposite way gives you the longest time to see the baseball and it also ensures that you stay short to the ball. Getting good at opposite field hitting will give your son more confidence in his hitting abilities. Usually this fixes most problems if it doesn't you should send your son for a hitting evaluation with an instructor. Make sure he is balanced and leading with his hips and rotation while finishing with his hands. There is obviously more than that to hit a ball but keeping things simple for now is important
Good luck,
John Priest
