Pitching and Pitchers Discussion Pitching parents, need advice Please!!

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My DD is a really young pitcher who has been in lessons for 6 months now. She has been doing extremely well with very accurate pitches. Her pitching coach told me she is above-average for her age and time pitching. She has pitched in a few games and has always done great. One game, she had 16 strikeouts and this was against a fairly decent hitting team.

Lately, she has just not been the same girl throwing. Last night she was hitting all of her targets at lessions. Tonight, she walked 9 batters STRAIGHT. I have noticed that she is trying different things, ways of moving her glove, bringing her hands together, et cetera. The only other thing that has changed is that she is throwing really hard every pitch now, which is what the coach says she wants to do. I would say she has gained 3-5 MPH on her pitches since starting this but GEESH, everything else seems to be gone now!!

Does anyone have any advice of how I can get her back on track?

 

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Let her work throught the tough times, and lots of practice on the basics. This will be and on going thing from here on out.

 

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She's progressing.It takes time the harder she throws the more eratic her pitching gets but once her body gets dialed in she'll be tough.It's just that painfull time your going through,nothing major.You just gotta be there to help her achieve her goals.Picking her up when she is down is just a part of it,trust me it'll get ugly now and again.Nothing major all pitchers go through it.

 

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I agree with them both. How old is your DD?? Pros have bad days and also get in slumps. You said your DD has be at pitching lessons for 6 mos.; We've been pitching for five years and DD will still need reminded of things from when they first started. I see this when we are pitching next to Seniors in High School; It's constant work and tweaking through out the year. As your DD gets stronger and throws even harder she will have to adjust (time) everthing else (wrist snap). I was told if the pitches are going too high or too low than your are on the right track.

Good Luck

 

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All she can go is keep working, it will work out. My dd went from sharing time with another to pitching a whole weekend, by herself. Some were high some rolled accross the plate. All and all she battled and worked through it and went 4-3 on the weekend with a second place award. It told her that the work will pay off. You need to just let her throw and throw it will come.

 

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Been there and going through it with a friends daughter now. Just keep reinforcing her mechanics when practicing at home. She'll get through it if she's working hard.

 

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Some coaches are more interested in having someone who throws hard than someone who throws strikes (I know it sounds silly, but have seen it). She needs to just relax, throw her game and listen to what her pitching coach tells her.
If that means she doesn't throw as hard, but hits her target, then that's what it is. Speed will come. Rather be a little slower and accurate than fast and wild.
If she is concentrating on throwing harder, then she is probably not doing some of the things properly her pitching coach has taught her to do.
The only problem with going back to doing things the right way technically and losing a little velocity is there are some coaches who will not throw her as much because she can't wow everyone with her speed.

 

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Regardless of what people say, it definitely takes a different mentality to be a successful pitcher. There is a mental side that is just as important as the physical. At the college level, nearly every single girl on the team has tried pitching when they were younger, but only a few make it through.

Pitchers MUST have short term memory. Every pitch is a NEW pitch, the previous ones are forgotten. Good pitchers make good poker players - no emotion when things are going wrong, but very supportive of their team mates. It saddens me when I see a young pitcher crying because she's struggling. If she's ever going to be a pitcher, she needs to find a way to do a 180 with her mental approach. No one said it's easy!

As a parent, encouragement is the key. If your DD is athletic and sticks to a quality practice regimen prescribed by a qualified pitching coach, she's on the correct path. If you think she's getting sub-par teaching, don't hesitate to change coaches! Getting poor instruction can be disastrous, so trust your parental instincts. Along the way she will occasionally regress - which is frustrating for her - AND you. But as the parent, you have to realize she is NOT going to be perfect every game.

An approach that worked for us was for DD to take EACH GAME as a learning experience. Her thought process: "Wow, my curve just wasn't working that game." Remedy: "I need to work on getting better spin next pitching lesson". Getting upset with her about game performance is nothing short of counterproductive! As a parent, you need to be a good listener, and help her improve (NOT criticize) by working on her weaknesses.

DD set a goal for herself in 7th grade to be a college pitcher. We did our best to keep her from straying. Learning to become a good pitcher is TOUGH, and we knew it. But we always reminded her of her goal, and pushed her somewhat when she didn't want to go to lessons, or go out and throw. We would challenge her to get better. I have video of the whole process, which will make for a great documentary for the grand kids!!

Three years ago, she finally achieved her goal. Now, as she's nearing the end of her college playing days, () it's interesting to reflect on the whole trip and how her "pitching education" got her to where she is today.

 

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Everyone has different opinions - I listened to the OSU pitching coach instruct at a clinic. She made a point to tell the young pitchers that their development should be technique, speed then accuracy. She specifically pointed out that if accuracy comes before speed, then speed is harder to develop. Muscle development and muscle memory...

That all being said, that philosophy is a lot easier to take when you are pitching in the backyard vs. in the middle of the game. I agree with the advice that she just needs to throwing and working through it. You can use these times to work on the mental aspects of being a pitcher (thick skinned, non-emotional, ability to overcome adversity) - trust me it is just as important - sometimes more.

 

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Regardless of what people say, it definitely takes a different mentality to be a successful pitcher. There is a mental side that is just as important as the physical. At the college level, nearly every single girl on the team has tried pitching when they were younger, but only a few make it through.

Pitchers MUST have short term memory. Every pitch is a NEW pitch, the previous ones are forgotten. Good pitchers make good poker players - no emotion when things are going wrong, but very supportive of their team mates. It saddens me when I see a young pitcher crying because she's struggling. If she's ever going to be a pitcher, she needs to find a way to do a 180 with her mental approach. No one said it's easy!

As a parent, encouragement is the key. If your DD is athletic and sticks to a quality practice regimen prescribed by a qualified pitching coach, she's on the correct path. If you think she's getting sub-par teaching, don't hesitate to change coaches! Getting poor instruction can be disastrous, so trust your parental instincts. Along the way she will occasionally regress - which is frustrating for her - AND you. But as the parent, you have to realize she is NOT going to be perfect every game.

An approach that worked for us was for DD to take EACH GAME as a learning experience. Her thought process: "Wow, my curve just wasn't working that game." Remedy: "I need to work on getting better spin next pitching lesson". Getting upset with her about game performance is nothing short of counterproductive! As a parent, you need to be a good listener, and help her improve (NOT criticize) by working on her weaknesses.

DD set a goal for herself in 7th grade to be a college pitcher. We did our best to keep her from straying. Learning to become a good pitcher is TOUGH, and we knew it. But we always reminded her of her goal, and pushed her somewhat when she didn't want to go to lessons, or go out and throw. We would challenge her to get better. I have video of the whole process, which will make for a great documentary for the grand kids!!

Three years ago, she finally achieved her goal. Now, as she's nearing the end of her college playing days, () it's interesting to reflect on the whole trip and how her "pitching education" got her to where she is today.

Sammy - great post.

 

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Sammy - great post.

Agree---can't do any better than advice from Sammy.

 

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Sammy hit the nail on the head....

 

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My DD is a really young pitcher who has been in lessons for 6 months now. She has been doing extremely well with very accurate pitches. Her pitching coach told me she is above-average for her age and time pitching. She has pitched in a few games and has always done great. One game, she had 16 strikeouts and this was against a fairly decent hitting team.

Lately, she has just not been the same girl throwing. Last night she was hitting all of her targets at lessions. Tonight, she walked 9 batters STRAIGHT. I have noticed that she is trying different things, ways of moving her glove, bringing her hands together, et cetera. The only other thing that has changed is that she is throwing really hard every pitch now, which is what the coach says she wants to do. I would say she has gained 3-5 MPH on her pitches since starting this but GEESH, everything else seems to be gone now!!

Does anyone have any advice of how I can get her back on track?

Questions...I know 9 straight walks are alot, but were they 4 pitch at-bats? or were the hitters battling her, How did she look???
The reason I ask is if a pitcher is walking hitters by just missing or ump not giving her corners doesn`t necsesarily mean she is pitching bad. If she looks like she has her mechanics and looks comfortable I let her work through it, JMHO
Also was this a leauge game, tourney, champ game what was situation for her and team....

 

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check out the book The Talent Code... you will learn that she is creating Myelin... through deep practice... and that's a great thing!!!

 

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My daughter's first pitching coach said "Throw hard every pitch, the accuracy will come." And that has stuck with us. She is 15 and still learning with each pitch. I personally think it takes REALLY tough skin to be a pitcher! My daughter is one of the most laid back kids you'll ever meet; there isn't much that rattles her. One coach even joked about her working for the anti-terrorism task force because she could surely bring about world peace! The thick skin comes in handy when the opposing teams tries to psych her out, her Coach chews her out, her teammates are forgetting there is no "I" in team, when she screws up on her own, etc. Also, I let T-Bone tell me how she did, not the other way around. Sounds like your daughter is on the right track, so just stay in her corner. I leave no doubt in my daughter's mind that I'm her biggest fan, win or lose!

 

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My daughter's first pitching coach said "Throw hard every pitch, the accuracy will come." And that has stuck with us. She is 15 and still learning with each pitch. I personally think it takes REALLY tough skin to be a pitcher! My daughter is one of the most laid back kids you'll ever meet; there isn't much that rattles her. One coach even joked about her working for the anti-terrorism task force because she could surely bring about world peace! The thick skin comes in handy when the opposing teams tries to psych her out, her Coach chews her out, her teammates are forgetting there is no "I" in team, when she screws up on her own, etc. Also, I let T-Bone tell me how she did, not the other way around. Sounds like your daughter is on the right track, so just stay in her corner. I leave no doubt in my daughter's mind that I'm her biggest fan, win or lose!

Well put also. Especially the part about making sure she knows you are her biggest fan.

 

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We have gone from ok to great to good to terrible to good to great to faster to slower
that is the life of a young pitcher. They pick up one little habbit and boom - they are in trouble. Sticking with it and just working it out we can become much more consistant and these phases are shorter and less often.

 

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We have learned to let DD talk it out by herself...she is very good @ self correcting and the previous posters are absolutely right...your job is to be her biggest fan...Our DD just finished her first year of college ball...has been pitcher since age 9.....we were fortunate to have worked with Dave Leffew since she was 11 and also many hours with Ron Poole of Ohio ICE....these gentlemen have been able to teach her exactly what is going on mechanically with each pitch so now when she is having problems she is able to figure out what is going wrong and correct it...We have learned to just let her and the pitching coaches work through any problem......She still work with Mr Leffew and Mr Poole when she is home from college....the college pitching coach is also very good at getting the most out of her by letting her figure out the best way for her to pitch....the Old saying there is more than one way to skin a cat is very true for pitchers....my 5'3" pitcher will not use the same mechanics as a 6 ' Tess Sito , but she is equally effective. Also a thick skin and a good sense of humor are a must on the mound, LOL, DD frequently comes off giggling over what she overhears from the dug outs....yes there will be ups and downs and as long as your DD wants to continue to "battle from the mound" I say go for it....

 

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I want to thank EVERYONE for all of the advice. I already knew that this was going to be a long process but as all of you know, not every one is cut out to be a pitcher.

As I stated before, she is very young in age and in pitching. She is a perfectionist though with everything she does. She was born watching her older sister play fastpitch and picked up pitching around the age of 5 by watching the games. I decided in the fall to put her into pitching lessons before she started in travel ball and she has done very, very well. She played rec ball and now has found a team to play with this summer in the travel ball arena. She's not pitching much but that's okay. She needs time to work on it and I like the fact that right now she is a player first.

I have noticed that her mentality is strong. She has NEVER cried when having a bad game and always has a smile on her face no matter how much pressure she is under. She actually handles it better than me!!! She is stubborn in her own way though and when told she is doing something wrong, she always questions it. I have told her that if pitching is not what she wants to do, she doesn't have to but if it is what she wants then she is going to have to work hard. She insists it's what she wants.

I have a lot of confidence in her pitching coach as she has produced several top-knotch pitchers from our area. She is a former D1 coach and D1 pitcher herself.

Again, thanks to all for your reassurance that what she is going through is normal for a young pitcher.

 

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Try to keep that thought. Everyone wants a ball player that can pitch, dont let her get the mindset that she is only a pitcher. I always tell my DD when she is off in her pitching, she can still do the work at third, and with her bat. The bonus is she can pitch when she and her team needs her to.