Childs fear of being hit

Question
Dear John;
My son loves baseball.  He's is 8 years old and is in a pitching league with other 8 year olds with a 40 foot distance from rubber to homeplate.  
His problem is fear of being hit by the baseball.  His fear causes him to duck down when the ball is over the plate and moving out of the batters box before the ball enters the hitting zone.
When he hits off a pitching machine or hits wiffle balls he does very well.  He probably has the nicest swing of any of the kids on the team.  
How can I help him to overcome his fear so he continues to enjoy baseball and enjoys the success that standing in the batters box would provide?
Thank you in advance for your help,
Larry

Answer
Hi Larry,

this is a tough subject for coaches and parents alike.  Almost every child has at some time some fear of being hit by the ball.  It's normal and can only be tamed by practice and a slow buildup of confidence.  

There are drills and techniques that can help children with this fear.  T-ball, wiffle balls and even tennis balls instead of baseballs.  If T-ball and wiffle balls don't work, as in your son's case, move on to tennis balls.  You'll have to practice often with these soft tennis balls.  Have your son pitch them with you batting.  He'll feel the softness and it could help him overcome his fear.  Then, switch places and try a few soft tosses until he is more confident.

Some other techniques to prevent stepping out (or stepping in the bucket) is to place obstacles in the way.  It seems cruel but some coaches have had some success with this.  They place either a bucket of balls just beside the batter's box or the childs glove.  

Another technique is to build a batter's box out of 2x4's and have the batting practice for all kids.  Teaches the good batter's not to pull and the weaker batter's not to step out.   I have mixed feelings about this ... it can be a safety hazard.

It really is a question of confidence and the only way to overcome this is to practice, practice, practice until the fear is almost replaced by boredom.  Encouragement from coaches, parents and teammates helps but the practice sessions at bat are the most useful.  

You also have to tell the children that stepping out only exposes them to even more harm.  When they step out, they open up their stance to expose not only their head but their entire body.  Keeping inline reduces the exposure.

I had one coach tell me to practice taking a hit. Teach the children how to turn away (inward) to take the hit on harder parts of body (this is obviously for older kids).

I have problems with younger kids who are exposed to pitched balls and prefer our league's method of using pitching machines or T-ball.  Even with this type of training for younger players, I still saw older kids stepping out - especially if they've been hit a few times.

It's just a question of confidence and a matter patience, practice and time.  It's harder for younger batter's to overcome the fear and that's were a patient coach and supportive parents step in.  

For older kids, I tell them that if they want to play baseball, they have to try to hit the ball.  Sometimes the best defense is a good offense.  Hitting the ball can prevent it from hitting the player.

For younger kids, I would practice them out with tennis balls and gradually move to baseballs.  I may not put them in the game until they start batting (this may be an incentive to bat) but I would never exclude them completely.

With either younger or older children who fear being hit, I give them the chance to swing and do my best to practice with them on a one-on-one basis.

Hope this helps,

JohnMc