Taking pitches in Little League (9-10 yrs)

Question
I coach a Minors Division Little League team consisting mainly of nine year olds who have never faced live pitching situations before.  They are coming up from a coach pitch division.  And, the pitching in the league is suspect, at best, given that many of the boys are pitching for the first time.  My kids, many of whom I coached in coach pitch, are fundamentally sound for their age and can hit.  However, they, as well as some new kids were over aggressive at the plate, swinging at bad pitches and striking out a lot.  Given the pitching situation, and given the fact that the kids have not learned to recognize strikes while hitting, I started having my players take until they got a strike.  I was hoping to accomplish a couple of things here: 1. teach them the strike zone - if they see balls and walk, they are rewarded, if they see a strike, they learn what one looks like coming from the pitchers hand.  and 2.  generate some offense by getting runners on base and letting them learn that aspect of the game as well.  It has been successful in that the team has since gone 6-2, losing only to teams consisting mainly of kids 2 years older than my boys.  I can't argue with the win/loss results, however I have heard some parent rumblings about "making their kid take pitches and not letting them hit".

I feel strongly that a player at an early age needs to learn the strike zone.  Allowing them to freely swing at pitches over their head, getting behind in counts and striking out does little, in my opinion, to teach them the art of hitting and does little for their self-esteem and confidence - which I think is HUGELY important at this age.

When we see a good pitcher, that is, a pitcher who throws consistently around the plate, I turn them loose and let them hit.  On the other hand, those pitchers who consistently throw more balls than strikes, I have my players take more pitches.  In your opinion, is this a fair model by which to teach boys the strike zone and learn good hitting skills?

Answer
I think that is not a bad approach except  I  would start to turn them aloose now and see if they are really learning the zone.some time as they get older it will be important for them to be aggressive in the strike zone.So make sure you allow them the freedom to make mistakes.I  started that approach with my son and now he has a good eye at the plate.Although some times I wish he was alittle more aggressive.