TPM #268 :First Experiences Matter
Understanding and applying this perspective will help launch a positive youth sport experience.
Welcome to edition #268 of The Physical Movement, a special hybrid edition!
Last week, edition #267 announced the next chapter for TPM. This special edition will give you a glimpse of that next chapter with an article that will appear shortly in the new Effortless Hitting newsletter (coming soon, updates will be posted here).
Effortless Hitting is a newsletter and resource that will bring together all we know about youth sport, along with special strategies to assist with hitting in baseball and softball. The resources will be both universal (for a successful youth sport. experience) and specific (for hitting success). Many of the lessons are applicable to any sport.
Here is an example of how first experiences for your young one matter in the shaping of the experience.
They matter a lot!!
Let’s dig in!
Developing a love for baseball or any sporting experience starts with it being fun for your youngster. The first experiences matter. This perspective, while simple, is not easy. We, as parents and coaches, get caught up in other things.
The only thing that matters is fun. Smiles, laughter, positive energy, wanting more of the experience = fun!
As adults, we do a terrible job remembering what it feels like to try something for the first time. For many of us, riding a bike happened many moons ago. What about learning a new skill on the computer? Or being put in a new situation at work? Those experiences can be uncomfortable. Most of us always lean to what is comfortable. Our brains are wired that way.
If that first experience in whatever is not positive, not fun, then it is harder to try it again. If 2nd experience is the same as the first, then gets harder to try again. And so on. As adults, we can find the skills, motivation, and discipline to muscle through those experiences. At 7 years old, that is impossible to expect.
Flip it over to a fun experience in step 1. In hitting a ball, fun is defined as seeing the ball fly off into the distance. That feeling brings smiles 9 times out of 10. The momentum builds from there.
How do those first experiences become fun?
It may start in the backyard with a plastic bat and ball. Or in the park with a badminton racquet and shuttlecock. A tennis racket and ball.
There are multiple ways, but the first step is connecting with the bat or racquet.
Would a tee help? Sure. I did not find a tee helping early on, but it could. There is no perfect way to find that “success feeling”. With a focus on that explore what works.
What helped a lot with young kids just figuring out hand-eye coordination is to get a sense of success in any way possible. A go-to strategy was the plastic ball and bat, showing the basics of a swing, and asking the young one to take a few swings. The next step is a few short tosses into the path of the swing. That works well in building the “success feeling”.
I see many parents teaching the little one with a bat that is too heavy, with tosses that are from too far away and not in line with the path of the swing. The very first step is to toss the ball into the path of the swing. From there, we work on watching only the ball, to the bat.
This cue should not change as long as they want to hit a moving ball with a bat. Watch the ball to the bat.
Another note, invest in a dozen plastic balls to start with. A swing and a miss are quickly forgotten if another ball is coming. Having to go and get the ball on every miss slows down the fun!
Mom/Dad tossing the ball plays a massive role in the first steps. They must show the ball, be close, and hit the bat as the swing comes through.
With a few times successful, the first experiences become fun. The ball starts travelling and most kids love the feeling. The “success feeling”. That needs to be found as soon as possible to get the fun factor inserted.
The transfer of this skill of ball hitting bat to bat hitting the ball will be harder for some, and less for others. Some will pick this up easily. Some will twist their bodies on the follow-through like a corkscrew. It takes a few times for the youngster to figure it out. You will be amazed at how kids can figure things out physically, on their own. Let them try with multiple opportunities. Adults, before over-correcting, work on your tosses!
Many will say that this is very basic and simple. I challenge that sentiment by saying that most are not aware of the absolute importance of the first few experiences.
This same thing applies to coaches of young players just learning the game in a team setting. How many times do we see all kids standing around except for one at the plate, taking swings with mediocre success either from coach pitch or off a tee?
Most kids come to practice with a bat these days.
If not, 1 for every 2 players?
1 for every 3 players is reasonable.
We can also encourage parents to understand the skill of tossing and its importance early on. I do remember practices when my guy was young with 12 parents tossing to their kids during our initial hitting drills. (plastic balls are a must).
In summary, make the first few experiences matter. Make them fun. Find ways to get that “success feeling” into your kid. You will be surprised at how often kids want to go hit when they experience success.