Honestly, I WAS intimidated by velocity when I was younger.
One reason?
I played travel ball 2 years up.
I was 10 playing with 12-year-olds…
and stayed playing up until I was 16.
So early on, the game felt FAST.
The biggest thing that helped me?
Exposure.
Because eventually your eyes and brain adapt.
That’s something I learned again in pro baseball.
We’d hit off machines cranked over 100 MPH before games.
It was miserable.
The ball would:
- sink
- cut
- ride
- explode on you
But then the game started…
and normal velocity suddenly felt slower.
That’s when I realized:
Confidence against velocity usually doesn’t come from avoiding it.
It comes from exposure to it.
So now when I coach hitters intimidated by velo, I do 3 things:
1. Put them around faster velocity often
2. Let them track the baseball first without swinging
3. Let them swing only after they start feeling comfortable seeing the ball
Because once the brain starts saying:
“I’ve seen this before…”
the fear usually starts disappearing.
Thank you,
Jermaine Curtis
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