What is one thing politics and pitching have in common? Spin.
I had my second lesson with a new student (12U). She had just finished a 4X1 hr pitching clinic on the rise and drop. at a D1 school. Her dad wanted to work a little on the change up and spin pitches. He told me that she had just learned the peel drop at the clinic and it worked great. I got out my ball on a stick and demonstrated the basics of spin. Drop, curve, rise and bullet spin, (no screwball) and the various combinations of each. I then got out my favorite tool for teaching spin, a brand new ball with nickle size black spots on it. Black spots on the new, yellow leather make it really easy to see the spin. So she throws a few fastballs to her dad, what kind of spin? Bullet, it's easy to see. I then ask her to throw a few peel drops, and what kind of spin, (drum roll please), bullet!!!!!! The dad is disappointed and I am surprised but not shocked. How does a D1 college clinic teach a spin pitch and not explain the nature of spin to the pitchers and dads?
But this is not new to me. I coached on a 14U team with a lefty who had a great curveball. Perfect side spin with good velocity and RPM, the ball broke a good 10-12 inches. Her pitching coach was a former mid-major D1 pitcher who held the school's career strike out record for several years. One day I had to warm up the lefty and after she threw me a dozen pitches with a lot of break on them I asked her if she had any other pitches. She said yes, she also threw a curve ball. Okay,,,,, So she throws me her curve and it's bullet spin!! When I saw her dad I asked him about it because I knew that he caught her regularly. He readily agreed with me. I asked him if he had told her pitching coach and what did she have to say about it. He said he had and she told him 'thanks', that was it, business as usual. When I asked the lefty how she knew the difference between the two pitches she said "I hold the curve like this and throw it like this, and I hold the fastball like this and throw it like this" demonstrating grips and hand/wrist motions.
I have a similar story involving another student and her pitching coach, a former DII pitcher who was now the pitching coach at her alma mater.
I don't understand how a pitching instructor can teach spin pitches without explaining how each pitch should spin and what the spin should look like.
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I had my second lesson with a new student (12U). She had just finished a 4X1 hr pitching clinic on the rise and drop. at a D1 school. Her dad wanted to work a little on the change up and spin pitches. He told me that she had just learned the peel drop at the clinic and it worked great. I got out my ball on a stick and demonstrated the basics of spin. Drop, curve, rise and bullet spin, (no screwball) and the various combinations of each. I then got out my favorite tool for teaching spin, a brand new ball with nickle size black spots on it. Black spots on the new, yellow leather make it really easy to see the spin. So she throws a few fastballs to her dad, what kind of spin? Bullet, it's easy to see. I then ask her to throw a few peel drops, and what kind of spin, (drum roll please), bullet!!!!!! The dad is disappointed and I am surprised but not shocked. How does a D1 college clinic teach a spin pitch and not explain the nature of spin to the pitchers and dads?
But this is not new to me. I coached on a 14U team with a lefty who had a great curveball. Perfect side spin with good velocity and RPM, the ball broke a good 10-12 inches. Her pitching coach was a former mid-major D1 pitcher who held the school's career strike out record for several years. One day I had to warm up the lefty and after she threw me a dozen pitches with a lot of break on them I asked her if she had any other pitches. She said yes, she also threw a curve ball. Okay,,,,, So she throws me her curve and it's bullet spin!! When I saw her dad I asked him about it because I knew that he caught her regularly. He readily agreed with me. I asked him if he had told her pitching coach and what did she have to say about it. He said he had and she told him 'thanks', that was it, business as usual. When I asked the lefty how she knew the difference between the two pitches she said "I hold the curve like this and throw it like this, and I hold the fastball like this and throw it like this" demonstrating grips and hand/wrist motions.
I have a similar story involving another student and her pitching coach, a former DII pitcher who was now the pitching coach at her alma mater.
I don't understand how a pitching instructor can teach spin pitches without explaining how each pitch should spin and what the spin should look like.
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