Expert: John Priest - 5/27/2010

Question
My son is 5 years old. My husband and I signed him up for baseball thru our city's recreation department. He has no prior baseball experience, so we work with him in between games to build his confidence and experience. We use the same balls as his team (the softer, rubber t-balls). We also have one of those brightly colored batting practice balls on a stick, which he hits fine, almost every time. But when it comes to having a ball pitched, he can't make contact. He appears to swing too soon. We are wondering if maybe he's afraid of the ball? We would like to know if you have any suggestions on how to best teach him to hit a pitched ball. He gets frustrated that he can't hit the ball and I don't want to see him get discouraged from playing such a fun game as baseball is. Thank you for any suggestions you can provide.

Answer
Claire,
Not sure what the ages are for baseball with your recreation dept, but 5 year olds are usually playing T-ball.  Especially if your son does not have any baseball experience.  I wouldn't worry about pitched balls.  At 5 years old, children will not understand any technique being taught, they just want to hit the ball.  They don't usually care how it happens.  I would just focus on hitting off the batting T.  If you really are concerned about pitched balls then pitch a ball to him.  He will eventually get the hang of it.  There is no technique here just repetition.

Good Luck,
John Priest