batter stepping out

Question
I have an 11-year-old batter who is scared to be hit by a pitch, and as a result steps out of the box before every swing. We have tried spreading him out, putting a board behind his foot, etc, but nothing works. Any drills or techniques you can suggest to teach him to stay in the box and step toward the pitcher?

Answer
Hi.

I simply used tennis balls or some other "soft" ball to show the hitter that he could either hit the ball or get out of the way 99% of the time.  This hitter needs to be confident that he can do something about the ball coming at him.  The fear comes from the unknown and the feeling that he has no control over the situation.  Give him the experience of being hit and the experience of turning away in time and he will likely get more confident in his ability to control what happens to him.

Good luck.

Pete