![]() They are not trying to defend themselves or the plate against the pitch. Great hitters are all about the process of the at-bat. In softball terms, that means the hitter shouldn’t be so focused on the outcome. In fact, as my friend and fellow coach Heather Cole once told me, the predator loves the hunt more than it loves the kill. A predator doesn’t worry about what might happen if it doesn’t catch the prey. What they should be doing instead is adopting the mindset of a predator. Whatever it is, they’re thinking about the possibility of negative outcomes and therefore not focusing on the task at hand – which is to see the ball and hit it. They may be thinking if they screw up the coach will yell at them or take them out of the game. They may also be looking at how many runners are on base and thinking about the possibility of stranding them. Or that they will pop up, or hit a weak ground ball, particularly if they have been doing that a lot lately. They may be worried that they will strike out, looking bad in the process. The problem is that they don’t have the right mindset. It isn’t that they don’t know how to hit, or that they haven’t practiced the physical act of hitting. Then it comes and they wait until they can wait no longer, then finally flail at the ball as it goes whizzing by them. They stand nervously in the batter’s box, shifting from foot to foot, death grip on the bat as they await the next pitch. ![]() One of the things that probably holds more hitters back than anything is having a tentative approach at the plate.
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