Controlling Pitchers Emotions.

[SyndreSoftball]

She doesnt do anything as far as rolling her eyes, or giving looks, I just can read her and tell she is upset, and when she is upset it affects her pitching. If I saw eyes rolling or anything disrespectful you better beleive she would be pulled, she is just to hard on herself.

She was recently clocked at 50, I a one of the most modest guys you would meet when it comes to my kids and softball, but she throws HARD.

 

[Sweet Lou]

50 at that age and distance is indeed bringing the heat.

As for emotion everyone is built a little different even as adults, let alone kids or teens.

Just look at MLB there are very successful pitcher who wear their emotion on their sleeves and equally successful pitchers who look like they barely have a pulse.

As long as her emotions aren't effecting future pitches and she isn't directing blame towards teammates I wouldn't worry about it too much.

 

[SoAZDad]

She doesnt do anything as far as rolling her eyes, or giving looks, I just can read her and tell she is upset, and when she is upset it affects her pitching. If I saw eyes rolling or anything disrespectful you better beleive she would be pulled, she is just to hard on herself.

She was recently clocked at 50, I a one of the most modest guys you would meet when it comes to my kids and softball, but she throws HARD.

Something I forgot to mention when I started talking to DD about composure in the circle: always breathe. And I told her when she starts to get flustered, take a breath and slow down a just a bit. It sank in and it helps her.

I'm a parent, not a coach. I usually don't say anything during games. But every once in a while when I sense things might be starting to fall apart, I'll just holler "breathe." It almost always helps.

 

[Doug Romrell]

The claim of a 9-year-old throwing 50 mph aside........ I'm not sure you can "control" a pitchers emotions. You might be able to persuade her.

 

[guero_gordo]

DD is a C, not a pitcher, so here's what I have learned. Hope this helps...
Frustration is natural, getting control of it is part of growing as a P and growing in general. That process typically is non-linear.

Ideally, you let the battery handle this themselves, let your C and P figure out what works as the "reset button" and get her head back to where it needs to be. C keeps the emotional detachment, plays the eternal optimist. Whatever works: stupid jokes, singing "let it go" badly, telling her there's a bugger in her hair, telling her that was the worst pitch she's ever seen, etc.

If that's not an option, you might think about having an AC manage her when she's in the circle. It might help keep some of that emotion out of the equation.

Trust her to grow through this. Good luck.

 

[SoAZDad]

The claim of a 9-year-old throwing 50 mph aside........ I'm not sure you can "control" a pitchers emotions. You might be able to persuade her.

Doug, I think it's important to note that I believe that parents and coaches can help young ladies learn how to control or manage their own emotions. That's what I've been planting seeds with my DD.

 

[Eric F]

DD is a C, not a pitcher, so here's what I have learned. Hope this helps...
Frustration is natural, getting control of it is part of growing as a P and growing in general. That process typically is non-linear.

Ideally, you let the battery handle this themselves, let your C and P figure out what works as the "reset button" and get her head back to where it needs to be. C keeps the emotional detachment, plays the eternal optimist. Whatever works: stupid jokes, singing "let it go" badly, telling her there's a bugger in her hair, telling her that was the worst pitch she's ever seen, etc.

If that's not an option, you might think about having an AC manage her when she's in the circle. It might help keep some of that emotion out of the equation.

Trust her to grow through this. Good luck.

Good stuff, GG.

Syndre - How about a sign to use to get our catchers out to the circle? Let's get them involved with keeping our pitchers focused on the next pitch or next batter.

 

[1bucketmom]

Controlling emotions is a hard thing to do - even for adults. Channeling emotions give her something to do with what she's feeling in a more real way. For example, when I feel X, I think about Y and it triggers me to do Z.
The key is training her to recognize the emotion and what it causes her to think and build in a new "trigger" action.

"When I hit a batter, I think I not doing well and it causes me to throw slower to hit my spot." Reframe what hitting a batter means so you can rewire the causes part.
Like..... Hitting a batter means she's was crowding the plate so it should cause you to bring the heat on the next pitch.

The other element: "once you've made that pitch- let it go." Say this once a practice on a random good pitch as well as random bad pitch. They will hear it without it seeming like you are trying. I've also asked things like: did the world stop with that pitch? Did anyone die on that pitch? Is the world gonna end on that pitch?

It's hard for me at times to separate emotion from my drive..... Can't even imagine being in the circle at 9 trying!

 

[SyndreSoftball]

Good stuff, GG.

Syndre - How about a sign to use to get our catchers out to the circle? Let's get them involved with keeping our pitchers focused on the next pitch or next batter.

They already know

 

[Eric F]

They already know

Excellent. I will reinforce the issue from my end, too.