Expert: Willie Ansley Jr. - 6/1/2008

Question
My 10 year old grandson plays ball for our local little league. He has developed into a pretty good player over the past several years, but recently seems to be bailing out in the batting box. He tells me he is afraid of being hit when he plays a team that has pitchers that can that have power in their pitches. He pitches and plays short stop and just made the all star team. This concerns me since he is going to be facing all fast pitches in the all star games. He also seems to be not wanting to pitch in highly competitive games. He will say he is hurting somewhere to try to avoid pitching. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
With his confidence, just keep trying to let him know how good he is and can be if he does not step out and how much his team needs him to hit.Sometimes you can do whatever you want but the kid has got to over come that fear on his own.And you have to allow him that time. Maybe even try telling him to move away from the plate some when he is facing a hard thrower.Try buying the new under armor protection gear.It has pads that protect his back and rib area.