How to teach a 6 yr old not to be afraid of the baseball.?

Question

My son is currenlty in minor league baseball and is terrified of the ball. Does anyone know how I can teach him to not be afraid. We have practiced with a tennis ball but as soon as a baseball comes towards him he either moves out of the way or puts his back towards the ball. Please help. I'm not sure what else to try.

Answer 1

Why don't you play with him and call it another game until he has gotten over his fear. Another thing you could do is have him watch some baseball tutorial movies.

Answer 2

if you toss baseballs to him lightly, maybe let them bounce toward him or something, then progress to harder throws, he will eventually get used to him. you could also try asking him what about the baseball scares him, and then try to work on that specific area of his fear. don't push it, though, otherwise he won't want to play anymore.

Answer 3

give him a baseball and just have him play with it, have him toss it around between his hands and just give him time, if he can't get over it then I wouldn't  force him to play, maybe it's just not his thing, but I would encourage him to get over his fear.

Answer 4

You might try using a bigger ball and lobbing is gently to him from a close distance.  Or even using a stuffed animal, or balled up socks so he gets the hand-eye coordination down and gains a little confidence.  My daughter was doing the same thing the other day!

Answer 5

LOL  I went through this A LOT.  If you try k-mart they have these Nerf baseballs.  Throw these at your son and let him see how they don't hurt and once he learns to catch the ball without trouble you gradually switch over to tennis balls and then a softball etc.  It's very scary to be hit in the face with a ball.  Some kids are more cautious then others.  It will work you'll see.

Answer 6

He turns away when catching? not when batting? Was he hurt when catching a ball the wrong way???? He could get hurt if he keeps this up, so I see why you are concerned.

Have you asked him why he is afraid? That is a good place to start. I am guessing he has been hurt by a ball or seen someone else get hurt. If he isn't confident in his ability to catch the ball it would make sense for him to want to get out the way rather than catch it.

Are the kids using soft t-balls or hard baseballs? I would think that at this age and stage they would be using the softer balls---find out and if they aren't using softer balls you might want to ask why...

Practice rolling easy grounders to him and have him "alligator" the ball into his glove. He MUST use two hands to prevent the ball from rolling up his arm and into his face or head.  If you catch a fast moving grounder the wrong way you can really hurt your face (personal experience talking here LOL). Start slow and work your way up to faster balls.

Has he been taught how to properly catch a ball in the air? Does he know how to use two hands and put the glove up so he doesn't get hit? It is too hard to explain here---at least it is for me without writing a book----but you should make sure he has been taught how to do this properly. Once again, catching it wrong and dropping it is NOT the issue: trying to catch it and getting hit in the head or face is the problem.

Once he is very comfortable with the grounders you can start working on catching them in the air. If he is really nervous about getting hurt let him wear a bike helmet or batting helmety a few times until he is confident. I think if he is confident of catching the ball he won't be dodging it.

Good luck.

Answer 7

Have him wear a helmet with a face guard. Maybe this will alleviate the fear.

Answer 8

LOL...kids are so funny!!  My 5 year old was the same way and we went to wal-mart and bought him a baseball net that when he throws the ball it will bounce back to him, I believe it is called a pitchers net.  At first, every time the ball would come back he would move, but then after about 30 minutes he was trying to catch it with his glove.  I hope this helps....good luck :)

Answer 9

Why do you have him in a sport where he is afraid of the ball.. ?Why would you try and MAKE him not be afraid...? Why haven't you pulled him out?

It may be his way of telling YOU that he doesnt want to do it...

but to AFRAID of what you might say or do.  Think about it.

Answer 10

I agree.  Just keep practicing with throwing and catching.  It may be that he just isn't a baseball person and ends up being the soccer star or gymnast star instead.  I wouldn't worry too much.  Just relax and help him but don't push it too much.  It will come naturally if it's meant to be.

( I was always afraid of volleyballs in gym.)