Keeping my eye on the ball

Question
My name is Shawnee and I play high school softball. During the summer I have been switching from being a right hitter to a slapper. I've been practicing like crazy. My only problem is, is that I am doing great on the mechanics or footwork, but I keep missing the ball(live pitching w/my coach). I see the ball, but no matter what, I just can't seem to hit it. Are there exercises I can do to fix that?
Thanks,
Shawnee

Answer
Shawnee,
We slap a lot,we try to put 5 to 6 slappers in our line up each game. I teach my girls to go slow, it's difficult to just jump over on the left side and start hitting the ball. I'll start by teaching them foot work useing a tee,once they get to where they can hit the tee well we move to soft toss, then machine pitch set at a slower speed and eventually to live pitching.Remember to have patience, this is something that, to most, is not natural for them and it will take practice. Good luck,
Coach Suthe.