Players, Parents & Coaches pay attention!

[daboss]

This time of the year is a golden time in fastpitch softball as high school teams play for State Championships, travel ball goes into high gear, local Rec programs are normally up and running, and the College World Series is in full swing. With many families dreaming to make it to the D1 World Series level, ESPN offers us some wonderful coverage of our game at the highest level. My plea is to all those coaches, parents, and more importantly players to take advantage of this golden opportunity. I'm not speaking in terms of the entertainment value displayed by the greatest college players and coaches in the game. I'm referring the basic skills, mechanics, and game strategy.

While there is so much to point out I will refrain myself to comment on pitching since that is what many associate me with while others can share their notes on other parts of the game. Many parents and organizations out there spend a LOT of money for professional instruction. Now is a good time to study pitchers that are actively playing at the highest level and see if your money is being spent wisely. You've sat thru enough practices, lessons, and clinics with your daughter to notice the finer points being taught. Are these same technics and mechanics noticable in the pitchers on TV this weekend? If not, perhaps you should take a good look at changing how your money is spent or get an opinion from others that are held in a high regard. While I've always said there's more than 1 way to skin a cat, I also have maintained that teaching girls how to pitch incorrectly does not change just because they have done it for years. Time never makes it right. Of the teams competing in this year's World Series, all appear to have multiple pitchers (pitching staffs) that are very well trained in the art of windmill pitching.

Do yourself a favor and study these ladies' forms. Not the wind up which normally is an extension of their personal or instructor's style, but the points of interest in the mechanics of their pitch. Watch when they make a mistake. A great time to compare and see similarities. I'll bet you've seen your pitcher do it like that before! Guess what, the best are still human. Watch the spin pitches. Especially watch the angle and positioning of the body and the force being put into the wrist to spin the ball. Notice the balance needed by the pitcher to accurately throw these pitches. For all you beginning and novice pitching instructors out there thinking a girl needs to leep or thrust herself forward from her legs on delivery with such force they practically fall down, realize these girls are in control and the leg drive is relative to the pitcher's ability to execute properly. Sorry, a pet peeve of mine is the coach that thinks she should fire off the pitching plate so hard she can hand the ball to the catcher on the follow thru. lol. What idiots!!!

I'll quit rambling but I think you get my point. One of the things I'm most happy about is seeing teams now have enough quality pitchers they can mix and match at will without burning out a kid, needing to live or die by the sword. Quality instruction is out there developing star talent. For the first time in a very long time, coaches can now use the pitching staff as it should. The stategy of switching up, changing out, rotating girls both left and right handed is being practiced everywhere. I hope coaches in travel ball and Rec instruction level teams finally see the need to give those up and coming stars more circle time-------especially in pool play. Give those girls some game time to develop confidence so they are available when you need them.

Finally, support TV softball and go the extra mile to send your provider a note stating your appreciation of the softball coverage. This has been a long battle and we want to keep ourselves at this level or beyond. It takes you to maintain this level so some day I can watch your daughter on TV.

 

[Hilliarddad3]

Well stated, adding also that pitching is more than just that....learn how to field and throw properly, too many times the ladies spend so much time on the pitching art, they can't field or throw worth a lick...... They end up with the Steve Sax syndrome and can't throw to first. Steve had a stretch he couldn't throw to first from second.........

Make yourself well rounded ladies......

 

[bucketime]

I agree with watching the game to pick up pointers. But I have to say there are many different styles of pitching and in most cases they are right or/and it works for them. We all do not have the same bodies so players may not have the same exact movement. This is like hitting...many different ways to do it and in most cases they all are not wrong. Just my opinion

 

[FastBat]

This time of the year is a golden time in fastpitch softball as high school teams play for State Championships, travel ball goes into high gear, local Rec programs are normally up and running, and the College World Series is in full swing. With many families dreaming to make it to the D1 World Series level, ESPN offers us some wonderful coverage of our game at the highest level. My plea is to all those coaches, parents, and more importantly players to take advantage of this golden opportunity. I'm not speaking in terms of the entertainment value displayed by the greatest college players and coaches in the game. I'm referring the basic skills, mechanics, and game strategy.....

I agree with taking notes and studying strong player's skills. But I also believe, with players 14u and younger, having a positive softball experience and player's developing a love for the game is very important. I enjoy watching the teams and witnessing these advanced player's being; good teammates, working hard together, and staying coachable. The reality is about 1.6% of HS softball players will go on to play D1 in college, even less at this advanced level. Overall, I wish ESPN would show more softball on T.V., I've really enjoyed watching the games.