Need A Confidence Boost

[Newbie 0]

My 8 & under team (mostly 6 &7 yr. olds and even a 5 yr. old) has been awesome until we play two teams in our league that are even with us in talent. The problem is that my girls average double digit strikeouts when they play these teams(we normally average about 4 k's per game and it's coach pitch). The girls say they get nervous. I've tried telling them how good we are, I've tried avoiding talking about the other team, and now I'm about to try bribery What can I do to instill a little confidence when we play good teams?

[Saugussoftball 0]

Hi

I love that age and would go back to coaching it in a heartbeat! I think what you have is a case of "stage fright". The girls know, that even if tyhere is no score kept, there is a score in their heads. And when they are up to bat "EVERYONE'S LOOKING AT ME !!!!!". For somwe kids, this is OK but for most, this is SO scary! Imagine if they had to pitch too!

What you might try is emphasising defense. Most of the runs at this and the next level (Minors) come from walks, not hits and it's what they do in the field that holds a score down or runs it up to 25+ runs. Work on throwing in to the infield, getting it back to the pitcher and just plain catching the ball. Most of all, have fun!

To get them used to hitting the ball, try "soft tossing" to them before the game. 5 balls each, more if there is time. I used this a lot and my littlest ones, became really confident when they knew what it felt like to make contact with the ball. Surprisingly, some of my girls said it hurt their hands when they made contact, which could also contribute to a shy hitter.

Good luck and HAVE FUN! They grow up so fast anad become....adolescents.....AAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!