Expert: Willie Ansley Jr. - 5/1/2008

Question
My 8-year old son has great mechanics in his swing, and has always hit well, but this season has developed a fear of hitting against kid pitchers, who can be wild.  He is  reluctant to get close enough to the plate to hit the ball against those pitchers, and he often strides to the side instead of back toward the pitcher.  He does fine in the 35 mile per hour batting cages.  We want to help him get over this hang-up before it ruins his self-confidence.  Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Answer
A few things I would try.First get him as much protective equipment as you can find so that he feels protected in the box.Second just keep trying to build his confidence up.Most of the time you will just have to take it slow.I have a kid who I am working with and he has the same problem.We just keep tyring to work on his swing and getting his confidence up.He is doing a little better in games but in practice his swing is looking better and maybe one day when he gets over his fear, he has a great swing to go along with it.