gun shy at the plate

Question
this is the 1st yr for my 8yr old playing 1b. he did play 2yrs of tee ball. about almost 2wks ago my son was at bat when he got hit by a pitch, on the side of the face. it broke his lip open in 2 places. outside the lip and inside, also loosen one of his permanent front tooth. he was done and wouldnt take his base. later that evening my wife and i had a talk with him. he wanted the full face shield and if we got it he would play. ok local sporting store sold one for 13.00. bolted right on to his helmet he has now. next game 2 pitches but backed out and said he didnt want to do it. 2nd game wouldnt even go to bat. 3rd game one pitch, no good. 4th game one pitch the other team sympathy walked him after one pitch. ump told him to go and take his base. game 5 promised mom he would bat. never made it to the plate.
 this poor kid is so scared. after his 1st game back, his sister started to throw him pitches, now she is in her 4th yr of baseball 3b, and he was fine. i threw a few pitches and he was fine untill one got near him. mom said he started to begin to cry but he went back in and was ok to do it with me. come game time is a new story.
 two nites ago he had practice. took some pitches from the coach and no problems untill one of his team mates would pitch and he was scared. wouldnt do it. toward the end of practice i took a few pitches from his team mate no problem. told my boy that he is throwing right over the plate. coaches finally got him to try. started to back out and coaches stood behind him and made him stand in the box. finally after 4 pitches a solid hit between short and 1st base. BINGO!!!! yea right. game time he wouldnt go out and practice on the field by taking pitches from a team mate. said he would bat in the game. ok fine but he did go in and take a couple throws while trying to back out. up to bad, never made it in started crying.
  the main thing is he will trust someone he knows but no one else. we tried to bribe him and THAT didnt work. buy his video game if he just stood there. $5 a hit, no good.
   i talked to the commish and said i was pulling him because its unfair to the team and coaches. she told me maybe if he misses a few practice and games hes gonna start to ask. BUT he wanted to give his stuff to the neighbor.
  i dont know what to do and out of ideas. hate to see him get out of it because he has the perfect stance and good swing. coaches even had said so. talks and everything else has not worked. im lost. dont wanna see him miss out on the end of yr party when he can get alot of nice stuff plus the fun of playing with other kids. maybe a future in the majiors!!!!
      thanks
      allen

Answer
Allen:  It is a shame that happened to your son at such a young age.

It will take him a long time to get past that, and a lot of patience on your, and his coaches parts.

There have been many Professional Baseball players who were never able to overcome that same situation.  While at the professional level the velocity and impact is much greater, their age and maturity should make it somewhat easier to come back from.

At 8 yrs old, no one is equipped with the resources to bounce back well.  Their ability to handle pain of any kind is limited at best.

Start by teaching him the correct way to protect himself from a ball that is coming at him.  By turning his front shoulder back towards the catcher, it takes his face, elbows and hands back and out of the way.  Allows their back and muscles, or back of helmet, to absorb the hit.  The pain is still very real, no escaping that; but the end result is less devastating for the player.

On my website, www.theoleballgame.com, if you look under coaches corner in the nav bar, there is a page called Fear Of Being Hit.  It may provide you with some help.  

I wish I could tell you that this is a fast cure; it's not.  Time, safe repetitions, maturity all work over time to help him gain confidence.

Take your time, hang with him, point out how this new way of protecting himself will keep the ball from hitting his face, elbows, hands and ribs.  

Good luck to you and your son, as you move forward.  It has to be tough to see him struggle.

Yours in baseball,

Rick