Pitching and Pitchers Discussion Crossover Symmetry

Farmdad

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Has anyone used this system? My DD is 12 and her pitching instructor wants her to do some work to improve her posture and over all strength. We are considering personal trainers at her pitching facility, purchasing a "system" like CS, or going the "bands from Walmart and youtube" route. We are looking for any input or recommendations.
 

jt7663

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DD has been Pitching for 5 + years now Currently 14U & Has dedicated 4 Hours weekly on average with a Personal Fitness Trainer as part of her Softball Program. Vastly improved Strength & Conditioning is A+. Has also translated directly to her pitching has increased speed Currently average 60+ mph.
 

daboss

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Just my 2 cents. Any kind of physical training is a bonus to ANY human being or any animal. Specific training to target certain muscle groups will help. However, it should not be the mainstay for an adolescent young lady's physical routine. Overall physical training in a generalized form would be just as beneficial to a young body. Some trainers may argue it's never too soon to start. Physical fitness should be a life long goal. Trying to overdevelop targeted core groups of muscles while the body is in the developing stages of life could present issues later. I guess the intensity of the training would be a determining factor.

A couple of things to remember; you don't have to throw money at everything. Running around the park or lifting clothes baskets or firewood is free. Girls are going to get stronger thus throw harder with maturity. Every year older she gets, the more you'll see from her. Many instructors and trainers take credit for the kid simply growing into her beautiful self. Confidence will help your star shine brighter each day. It's almost as important as talent in many cases. Lastly, I encourage young ladies to condition but the last thing I want is they get burnt out on the overall experience and decide they don't want to do it anymore. There's no fun in it for anyone if it becomes a wedge in your relationship with your child. It's a fine line to walk when being supportive and encouraging crosses over into a world where it is no longer enjoyable. I hope you can see where I'm going with this
 

Farmdad

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I admit, I would love to send her to a personal trainer, but I think it would be more stressful for the two of us to add more driving to our schedule. Given her age, I'm also hesitant to push her into something too intense. I'm thinking we will hold off on the trainer.

Daboss...I agree with your post. I understand the need for practice/training, etc, but I'm always on the lookout for burnout. I was so happy that DD decided to go out for basketball this winter. It actually forced us to take a break from softball and DD is getting a lot out of it physically. Of course she just sees it as a fun way to hang out with her friends from school.

I'm thinking that some kind of workout plan we can do at home would be the best fit. If anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know.
 

Xrayaries

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You cannot anticiapate when any child may become burnt out so to speak. You may have that one particular coach that ruins the sport for them. Or a new special someone that starts to receive more attention than the sport you thought she loved.

As a parent of a talented 15yo I provide her the tools and reminders of the benefits training will provide. She comes to me to to take her to the cages or the training facility to get her work in. She knows I will never push her, but will never say no when she wants to put the extra time in. I wish you luck in finding the balance with extra training. I don't think anyone will have an exact science for what works and what doesn't.
 

FK Vudmaska

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Hello, I have been coaching my 12u DD for 6 years, and my 8u DD for 2 years now in Rec League and All Stars. Both pitch. The past 9 months or so I have been asking myself the same question regarding fitness and strength training. There are many free options out there, things you can do at your home, but it takes time to find and also takes time to put together an idea and plan that works.

I agree with one previous posted that you don't want to over do it. But strength and fitness training isn't just that. You can use this time and these exercises and motions to reinforce correct form, body movements, bat path, arm path, etc. for not just pitching, but for all aspects of the game. I have been working to put together a program for my DD and for my teams that I coach that adds fitness and strength training to practices.

For pitchers there are 2 things that I am going to focus on at the beginning of this season. One is core strength and stability. For this; Planks & side resistant weight drills are perfect. Don't do crunches, do things that forces the core to resist movement or create stability.

Here are some examples, plus more things you can so here: http://www.saptstrength.com/blog/2015/8/13/anti-lateral-flexion-core-exercises

Also, foundational drive & stride mechanics. Work on movements from the ground to the waist that build flexibility and strength. Flexibility in the ankles, hips, and legs. And strength in the Glutes especially and anything that helps get more ground force reaction on your drive foot, and strength on the resistant ground force reaction on her stride foot. And flexibility that reinforces getting her stride leg up to close to a 90 degree angle and a good reach to maximize her stride distance in a safe and effective manner.

Lean into a wall to reinforce the angle she gets to in her stride. The title of this is for running, but I think this directly translates to the pitching motion: http://www.fastpitchpower.com/improve-speed-running-technique/

Also do some drills and exercises that are like sprinter starts. That 'quick twitch' movement mirrors their drive and stride.

Various Crawls are great workouts you can do at home with no equipment that help strengthen and get flexibility in your core and legs: https://redefiningstrength.com/crawling-exercises-21-fun-crawls-to-include-in-your-workouts/

This guy here is doing some good leg workouts: https://www.wassermanstrength.com/baseball-softball-training-lunge-w-band-rotation/

In general here is a lot of free info on all sorts of strength training and fitness workouts: http://www.fastpitchpower.com/category/free-workouts/

If you poke around these various websites I linked, you can find a wealth of info if you want to spend the time to find stuff, try them out yourself and with your DD.

And if you want to get realy deep into the weeds, check out this thread: https://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-pitching/18135-drive-mechanics.html

Hope that helps!
 

Farmdad

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FK...thanks a lot for these links. I've been going through them and we have learned a lot. I've tried to read that drive-mechanics thread in the past and I always come away with a headache and feeling a bit lost. Strange, since I really do consider myself an intelligent person! Oh well, I'm sure one day it will make sense to me! Thanks, again.
 
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