Little League Fear Questions

Question
Hello.  My son is 8.  He just recently moved up from coach pitch baseball where he was one of the best players on his team.  He was not a superstar by any means but could play pretty well especially hitting.  He is now on a Minors team where the kids pitch.  His first two practices he was hit by the ball once in the mouth and then in the upper thigh.  He is now afraid to bat.  He proved at his first practice that he was a hitter hitting line drives to left field but now since he's been hit he's not swinging the bat or is swinging but not making contact.  He is also backing out of the batter's box because he's afraid to get hit again.  He is very capable of hitting the ball strong and far but his fear is holding him back.  A few other unrelated issues are he for some reason or another has started throwing sidearm and his throw is not accurate.  I'm wondering what I can do to figure out why he's doing it and how to break him of it.  He normally has a very strong far-reaching throw.  Because of all of this he is not showing his team what he can really do and is being picked on for not being a good ball player contrary to what we know he can do and be like.  I think this is only hurting him more and not wanting to change his ways.  Please help.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.  We are both very frustrated.

Answer
Thank you for your question, Lisa.  

This is how a lot of adult fears get started - something that happens as a child.  Luckily, young children have really good imaginations and you can use that to help your child overcome his fear of being hit by the baseball.

The problem is that it's difficult to reason with a young child, since their analytical mind is not really formed yet.  So, we use the imagination part.  What I'd suggest is that you find out who your son's favorite superhero is.  Ask him to really picture that superhero and point out that the superhero has an invisible shield so even if something hits him it doesn't hurt him.  Then give your son something to wear that is HIS invisible shield.  It could be anything - a wrist band, pin, anything.  And then reinforce and praise him whenever you see your son wearing it.  This may sound a bit silly, but it works great with kids.  I've used this tool successfully with many children for everything from fears to shrugging off hurtful comments and doing better in school.

Good luck and let me know how it goes.

Best regards,

David

David Kenward, The Mental Coach
http://www.thementalcoach.com