I have a 10 year old ballplayer that has no fear of the ball when I(coach) pitch batting practice but when he faces live pitching from his teammates he has happy feet and can`t stay in the box. Do you have any drills I could use or tips.

This may seem primative and mean, but as a player our little league coach gave us "hitting drills". Where we would stand in the box batting and around every tenth pitch he would hit us with the ball. He would do this to let us know how it doesn't hurt and that getting hit is as good as a hit in most cases.

batting cage

put him back on the tee and go back to step pivot swing. over and over while he is doing this say it through the drill step pivot swing. Some times you have to break it down to one at a time and stop at each one.

Pitch to them with tennis balls. This teaches them to see the ball in and have no fear. Progress to drawing a box in the dirt and have them stand in that box and not move out. You can also put a bat down on the ground so they can tell if they are backing out. I used to coach little league and this is what we did with our kids. The tennis balls are also good at teaching them to field correctly and once they become confident in their skills their fear goes away.

The tennis balls are what I use. Also putting the bat behind him will stop the kid from stepping out. Make sure you teach the kid how to bail out the right way. One other thing throw some tennis balls at his body too show him that it doesnt hurt when you get hit. That will help him get over the fear. Just be patient.

Start with the simple and keep on till something works.
1. You can just put bats behind and in back of him so he has to step or stumble on them and keep batting him until he gets over it.
OR
2. We started with a hot box and tennis balls. Get him to block all. Start soft and work up. Then change to baseballs but have he put on the catcher's gear. Start soft and work up but never to crazy hard. Throw them in the dirt and get him to stop them all, all this with no glove. Work up until he is tired and just reacting. Let him bat with the gear on hitting him ever 2,3rd or 4th ball until he has no fear and start taking it off. Somewhere from the start to finish it should work. Anytime in between if he says hes ready let him try it. You can't teach him the ball won't hurt him because it can but he's not to be afraid of it. You can teach him to dodge it and teach him how quick he can move out of its way so he can keep from getting hit and not at the mercy of the pitcher. Never throw it hard enough to hurt him.