Is your lefty really a lefty??

default · Feb 15, 2010

Been working with my grade school girls (3-6) about 2-3 times a month since September. One little girl I have been working with over this time came to me throwing and hitting left. She is eight years old, first year of coach pitch, and her fourth year of ball. She doesn't catch very well, and doesn't throw much better. Which after 4 years I thought would have been better.

Right before the Christmas Holidays I really started watching her a little more closely and something in her throwing mechanics just looked un-natural and awkward looking. Tried to make some corrections, that just didn't help. So I asked her to try catching and throwing right handed to have something to compare it to. Personally, she appeared to see and catch the ball better, not shying away from it, and her throws looked more natural and harder. I thought right then and there we should switch her to a right hand thrower, but never got the chance to mention it to her parents before they got away.

Two months have passed and I got the chance to work with this little girl again this past weekend and I'm still noticing this awkward lefty. So I asked her mom if we could switch her and have some other coaches evaluate. After three coaches watching her, one who is a lefty, we all agreed she seemed more confident and had better success catching and throwing the ball after just five minutes.

Now I'm in a delimma as to try and switch her or leave it alone???

My question is to any of you "Have you ever dealt with this situation and what did you do??" Or is there any sort of test or drills you used to better help you decide??

She has a beautiful lefty swing that I really don't want to switch, but I haven't even tried to let her swing righty.

Thanks!!
Shayne

default · Feb 15, 2010

My last DD is a natural lefty, but I couldn't teach her how to throw lefty. She throws righty, bowls righty, bats and writes lefty....

I call her squirrel handed....

default · Feb 15, 2010

Hilliarddad3 said:
My last DD is a natural lefty, but I couldn't teach her how to throw lefty. She throws righty, bowls righty, bats and writes lefty....

I call her squirrel handed....

Even though she was a natural lefty did it appear awkward to see her throw and catch left handed?? This girl of mine it just doesn't look right.

default · Feb 15, 2010

My DD is all lefty all the way. I am a lefty myself when it it comes to writing , eating and every day activity stuff, but with sports always played softball batting right, and using a RHT glove, could not use a left hand glove even to this day to throw with my DD.

default · Feb 15, 2010

touchy situation if you think it is right possibly.she is young enough would be ok but i coach 8u as well as 12u travel and almost all 8u look a little awkward my dd does but she is a righty.very hard to comment on doesnt look right unless you see it yourself i say if 3 knowledgable coaches looked at her as well as yourself maybe its the right thing to do

default · Feb 15, 2010

Never gave her the chance to throw or catch lefty. If she tries it now at 17, she's spastic if she does. But throws real hard righty like it's natural. When the throw goes astray, I say it's her left tendancy coming out to play....

default · Feb 15, 2010

LADY_KNIGHTS said:
Even though she was a natural lefty did it appear awkward to see her throw and catch left handed?? This girl of mine it just doesn't look right.

My son throws left handed, switch bats, and golfs right handed. What I have heard from coaches is that the more you throw, the more natural and correct the throwing motion will become. Without having seen the girl, it is hard to tell for certain but my advice would be just to continue; if she is dedicated and throws enough it will correct itself.

A good analogy would be the old saying "throws like a girl" and all of us middle aged guys can envision that from seeing your girls try to throw when we were young. I am sure none of our daughters who play look like that, simply because they have thrown so much that their motions have naturally become better.

default · Feb 15, 2010

My daughter is a natural righty but she hits lefty. Even when she was a little thing I'd have her swing lefty. Just for fun last year she turned around righty on the tee and it was just as dorky looking as if she had stayed natural and switched over to lefty for a few swings.

default · Feb 15, 2010

Her throwing resembles what it would look like if I tried to throw left handed being right handed. Just wondered if anyone can reflect upon there experiences.

Don't want to make a hasty decision and really mess her up. Looking for some solid evidence or research.

Thanks for you input HD3 by the way!!

default · Feb 15, 2010

My oldest is a natural lefty. When she was in 2nd grade she started playing slow pitch, My wife and I both had to work late most days back then so my brother in-law who was also a coach on the team took her to practice. One day my wife got off early and took her to practice, she came home and said she cant throw the ball at all, she needs a lot of work. I couldnt understand, we played catch all the time and she was pretty good for her age I thought. So I took her outside and played catch with her in the dark, had my wife come out to watch, and she said well ya she is not throwing or catching like that at practice. This went on for a few weeks, after every practice my wife was reporting she wasnt getting any better. So I left work early and showed up at practice to find her throwing with her left hand, although she does everything lefty, I figured out when she was younger she threw right handed. My brother in-law who is also left handed bought her a left handed mitt, because when he was a kid he was told to throw right handed, he thought I was doing the samething to my kid and told her not to tell me he bought her a new mitt. I called the head coach over and said, dude she throws right handed not left handed...he said I was going to say she didnt look like she was throwing with the correct hand but I didnt want to get into the middle of a family thing lol.

default · Feb 15, 2010

When you put the ball on the ground in front of her, what hand does she pick it up with? 50/50 chance, but most people pick it up with the hand they'd throw with.

default · Feb 15, 2010

I will say that when my son was little I tried to have him swing lefty but it didn't work out. He was either too dominant righty or not "whatever" lefty. I moved him back to righty and just worked on making him the best righty he can be.

default · Feb 15, 2010

LADY_KNIGHTS said:
Her throwing resembles what it would look like if I tried to throw left handed being right handed. Just wondered if anyone can reflect upon there experiences.

Don't want to make a hasty decision and really mess her up. Looking for some solid evidence or research.

Thanks for you input HD3 by the way!!

My personal experience is just the experiment with having my son swing lefty. After a while it was just obvious that his brain/body wasn't going to take to it easily so I put him back to what appeared to be his natural dominance.

I'd say that you have already convinced yourself that she is not using her dominant side and I'd say you are correct. However if you suggest that she switch hands and she doesn't do that well down the road, no matter what the real reason may be, will you be blamed?

I don't suggest you back off what you think is right for the player but just consider how much "responsibility" you may or may not be assuming.

default · Feb 15, 2010

Play a game of opposite at practice, just play some made up game with softies where everybody throws with their opposite hands and watch her carefully LOL, saying "maybe your right handed" might not go over well

default · Feb 15, 2010

I have one lefty, one righty and one that's "confused"! The thing I noticed about my lefty was she did everything lefty. Threw, batted, wrote, kicked, you name it she wanted to do it with her left whatever. My youngest was the kid that wrote with her left, then right, same with throwing, hitting and kicking. I think if they are a "true" lefty, you will notice they do everything left...at least that's how it is with my lefty.

default · Feb 16, 2010

A couple of things to note. I don't think you mentioned the physical size of the girl. If she is a smaller girl, the size of the ball may make her push it a little. I think you mentioned that she had a sweet "left handed swing", I would consider that a strong indication because there is no mistaking that great looking swing that true left handers seem to possess. I agree with the previous poster about seeing what hand she favors when chosing to pick up a ball on the ground. Having a true LH DD, the thing they will always display a favor for is their spoon hand. Have you ever tried sit between a couple of LHers in a restaurant? I would rather have takeout.:lmao:

default · Feb 16, 2010

If she is truly more natural after 5 minutes it may be in her best interest to switch to throwing right handed. Many times coaches will limit what position they play left handed players, so making a move now may open more doors for her down the road. Keep her hitting left handed though! Look at college rosters, they're full of lineups that says, "throws right, bats left".

default · Feb 16, 2010

In t-ball, we had both a right handed glove and a left handed glove for my oldest. She would pick (it just depended on the day). Now she throws right, bats left and writes left handed. Just depends on what this girl is comfortable with--sounds like a righty. Check to see which hand she writes with just to give yourself more information to suggest the change.

default · Feb 16, 2010

Back during my rec days, I had a girl named Megan. Megan was not very good. I inherited her because of her older sister. She was left handed and could barely throw the ball. Her sister was right handed and was a great ball player. Megan's last year at 12u was when the magic happened.

I was pitching B.P. to her and I threw a couple bad pitches to her. After the third one, she went back to the fence, picked up the ball. She had the bat in her left hand and threw the ball back to me with her right hand. I did not think much, then I threw another bad pitch. She went back to the fence, put the bat in her left arm and threw it back with her right hand. Only this time she was a little mad and she threw it harder. I thought wow that had something on it. I noticed she threw it with her right hand.

So I purposely threw the next pitch high and to the back stop. She went back, picked up the ball, even madder this time and she threw a seed back to me with her right hand. I stopped and said Megan, you threw that with your right hand. I got her a glove and put her out in center field and had her throw the ball to home. She threw a straight line throw all the way to home. The ball was rising as it got to me. She could not even throw on a line from 3rd to home left handed.

When her dad came to pick her up, We showed him, he could not believe it. It was amazing. I think it was a case of a dad wanting his daughter to be left handed.

Megan went on to play all stars that year. (her first time ever) And then she went on to play high school ball making all league 3 out of her 4 years.

default · Feb 16, 2010

My son is a lefty - he throws left, bats right, writes left, eat right - when he was little I just let him go with the side that felt right to him.

I coach Vball too and last year I had this girl that could not serve the ball, she looked very awkward (like someone trying to use their non-dominant hand). I asked if she was a righty or lefty - got the idk look - so I had her try it with her other hand - no luck, it was the same. Asked if she could throw a softball....nope....both hands are awkward and has no control at all......she was 12 at the time. I really don't know if she will ever figure out which way she should serve or throw!

But with the girl you're describing, I would have her try the one that is the most comfortable for her and work with it.

Is your lefty really a lefty??

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