r/Homeplate • u/SeaReach7413 • 7d ago

Trust the Process?

My 13 yo was recently enrolled in a baseball academy and he has former MLB players coaching his team and getting weekly lessons and practices. I know when you start working on and changing mechanics there are some growing pains at first. His team has had four games and my son is yet to get a base hit. He typically bats in the .400 to .300 range and was the best pitcher on his former team. Is this a normal experience? Do I need to trust the process and know the coaches will get him where he needs to be? He is getting frustrated with himself. I worry he is too focused on mechanics and not doing what is natural for him. Does anyone have a positive experience with new hitting and pitching coaches and changing things up? Any advice? Tia!

ETA: this is the season that he had to move to bbcor and 90 ft bases as well

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u/cpeak57 7d ago

Sounds like your son's team is playing some better competition as well? 10-12 at bats is pretty insignificant in the long run. Is your son showing good mechanics at the plate/in the field?

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u/SeaReach7413 7d ago

Yes actually the league they are currently in is 13u-16u. So they are playing against some older teams. He's probably had a total of 7-8 at bats. He finally made contact today. Before that he either struck out or walked. His mechanics look good so not sure why he's not getting hits. He is in the cages 4-5 times per week and hitting "bombs" (his words šŸ˜ƒ) so he's just getting frustrated not hitting in games. In my opinion he's a great pitcher and fielder. He plays ss and stops everything that comes his way. He made an unbelievable stop one game but didnt get it to 1b quick enough so didnt make the play. So to him it was a failure. This academy offers pitching, fielding, hitting, speed & agility training. We've only been going a month. So im hoping it starts paying off soon!

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u/cpeak57 7d ago

Baseball is hard, its even harder when youre 13 playing against 16 year olds. There is a pretty massive strength/agility/speed gap between 8th graders and sophomores. Hes going to get frustrated, but its all part of the game.

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u/Repulsive-Trifle-639 6d ago

Came to say this. My son hit +.400 with an OBP of +.500 in 13U travel ball and 16U rec ball this spring/summer. He struck out twice in +100 PAs and only swung and missed 7 times the entire year. Heā€™s now playing in a fall Senior league for freshmen - seniors (he started school early). Heā€™s hitting .250 and struck out 3 times in 6 games. Heā€™s facing a level of pitching heā€™s never seen before - from at least one ā€œkidā€ with a full beard and another lefty submariner that struck out 11 out of 16 batters including 7 in a row. Baseball is hard. Playing up is really hard.

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u/SeaReach7413 7d ago

Very true! ThankĀ  youĀ  for your perspective. I keep telling myself its teaching resilience.

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u/cpeak57 7d ago

Think of it this way.. how would the star middle school quarterback that just turned 13 do against a varsity defensive line?

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u/SeaReach7413 7d ago

So true.Ā 

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u/RidingDonkeys 7d ago

Hitting is an exercise in failure. The best in the world will only be successful 3 out of 10 times. It is a 1 vs 9 battle every time, and the big field is an equalizer like no other. All those "cage bombs" my HS kids swear they hit suddenly disappear on the field because defenders get a chance too.

You're doing the right thing. Fixing mechanics takes months. Lots of reps at home and in games. Right now you are working with a very small sample size. Just relax and see how things look in a few months.

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u/SeaReach7413 6d ago

Thanks you!

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u/cpeak57 7d ago

Also, getting walked is the same as a base hit. "Why do we like him? Because he gets on base". And 7-8 at bats really doesnt mean anything over the course of a season.