Pitching and Pitchers Discussion dialing it in

I have a question for the pitchers, coaches, or parents that have raised pitchers. My DD is 9 yrs
old and has been very dedicated so far. I am told she is doing well, and seems to be advanced for her age. She's throwing in the low 40's. Accuracy was there, then we lost it after pitching coach changed machanics a little. We hit a big wall but didn't give up (thought about it though) and it all clicked and we were back. We were introduced the change up. After trying different ways to throw it, found one that worked. Things were still on track. Was introduced the peel drop, she picked up on that really well. When she misses with that pitch at least it is a stike. The problem we are having now is when we are throwing and bouncing between pitches it takes a few pitches to dial back in. She will throw a fastball for a strike, go to a drop or change and they miss, throw it again it's better, throw it again and it's money. Back to fastball, its wild, next one better, next one money. Has anyone expierenced this? Does anyone know any drills that would
help? I was thinking it was a concentration thing. Maybe it's another one of those walls. I don't
know? But she is getting frustrated. Just throwing she would look great. Throwing a simulated type game not so good. Any help or comments?

She's only 9 so I would just keep encouraging her and let her know how well she's doing. Most girls her age are just working on their fastball and accuracy.

Being a pitcher's dad is one of the most frustrating and rewarding jobs in the world. Patience and persistence is the key, especially at this age.

There is only one drill I know of to work on "switching gears" between pitches and that is alternating between pitches during practice. You can vary the number of reps between switching pitches, but that is the only way to do it. Start off with 5 fastballs, switch to 5 change-ups, 5 drops, etc. then start over, this time switching to 4 of the same pitch, then 3-2-1.

Also, don't expect perfect results when trying something new, just expect her to use the proper mechanics. Most pitchers are lucky to be near the strike zone at this age so don't worry too much about that while working on this. It will come together in time. Make sure that you don't get frustrated with her as she'll pick up on that and get frustrated herself.

"Missing" on pitches never really goes away completely either, even in games. The thing I do when calling her games is if she misses on a pitch I usually call that same pitch again. It isn't like the batter will know what is coming, after all, it didn't go where it was supposed to the first time.

Just reafirming what the other parents said - patience is the key @ this age. The drill mentioned seemed to help my DD - switching pitches in a 5-4-3-2-1 rotation. A 9 year old still has many changed to go thru - just keep working. Stay positive and keep it fun - don't put too much pressure on her. The college coaches aren't scouting her yet.

I would advise you to master fastball 7-8 out of ten for a strike then same with change up before moving on to drop. Most 10U will not handle those pitches even at 12U. JMO

If you are new at this I would read the web site www.pitchsoftball.com/page.html Go to the section on first and second year pitchers . Good advice from above. My dd started at 8. Keep in mind if you are working with a pitching coach, which I highly recommend, you are going to go thru this for a few years. You should only be working on basics at this age. Bill Hillhouse teaches the drop as the first pitch to master. If you go to fast she will not master each pitch . Be careful, at this age some can injure her arm if not taught correctly. Good example is the drop ball. Many dfferent ways to throw this pitch. That is why I suggest a good pitching coach.

go 2, my daughter is 11 and has been pitching just over a year now, we have been thru some of the same things. she might practice good everyday for 2 weeks then forget how to throw the ball the next day. i chalk it up to patience and maturity. don't let her get down on a bad day, thats why its called 'practice'.
besides its only a game.... (yeah right) .... lol pdad7

thanks sbfamily. I am new to this but have been to that site more than once. It is a very good site. As for the pitching coach. We are seeing one. We are going every 2-3 weeks $$. Working hard on things in between visits. We have talked about arm injuries, and i would say these 3 pitches are as far as we will go for quite a while. The coach said the peel drop should be ok as a safe pitch for arm injuries. I guess the snap over drop is where that comes into play. Coach said
that if the snap over is not thrown right it could really mess an arm up. Fastball/ change/ drop thats it! Don't get the wrong idea I'm no slave driver i always ask her if she wants to practice if she doesn't want to we don't. I try to come away with something good each time, but have caught myself getting frustrated along with her.

Being a pitiching parent takes time and patience and like you stated lots of $$$$. ?I agree on the three pitches. The snap over should be avoided at this age. ?I would suggest you teach her two types of change ups. ? We use the shove and the knuckle. ?My dd is 13 and we are just now learing to throw the rise and I'm being told it will take lots of work this year. ?Bill Hillhouse has a web page that you can read about different pitches and he has two DVD that are excellent. ?At her age most batters will still swing at anything close. What I do as a coach is film my pitchers throwing different pitches. Then watch them together to see if they do anything different when they throw the change or drop. ? ?Correct it now, as you get older we teach hitters to watch for this. ?I have found out you can tell a change up is coming on more than 75% of the pitchers we watch. Watch for little things like putting the hand deeper in the glove when they throw off speed. Young kids do this to get a better grip, but its a dead give away to the hitter. ?

Keep it fun! Devise little "games" to give her a reasonable challenge, but not too much pressure - fun is the key. A good pitching coach will be able to help with this. The very good coaches not only know pitching, but are also experts at making learning pitching fun for young kids.

Becoming proficient as a pitcher takes LOTS of HARD work - if you don't keep it fun, she'll get frustrated and want to give it up for something else. It's a long path, but there are lots of smiles and rewards down the road - payoff from all the hard work. It's your job as a parent to keep her focused and interested, but also to watch her for signs of burn out. Sometimes it's just a good idea to take a short break - maybe a week off now and then - it won't hurt her a bit, because I think the mental break is very important.

In terms of types of pitches, you're asking a LOT for the typical 10 - 12 yr. old to throw more than a fastball, change-up and a peel drop - ACCURATELY. I've said before, hitting her spots with those three pitches will take her well into high school. What good is ANY pitch if she can't throw it where she wants - WHEN she wants? She needs success with those pitches first before moving on.