The Yips

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

Candice Beards

Forever a terp!
Jul 13, 2014
19
0
Has anyone experienced their daughters going through this? Mental or mechanical issues? Your thoughts?
 
Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
If yips means the player knows the ball is going somewhere, who knows where, except where she is throwing it DD went through it. No one sitting beyond 1st base was safe, I was thinking of handing out face mask to the crowd before the game.

I had her concentrate on her back foot. Don’t worry about where the ball goes, how was your back foot? I am not sure she was positioning her back foot any better but she stopped worrying about where the ball was going. It disappeared as quickly as is appeared. One day it was gone.

Knoblauch Disease.
 

Candice Beards

Forever a terp!
Jul 13, 2014
19
0
I experienced it for 4 years! it was awful... I really had to mentally train myself to block it out and it took me 4 years to do so!
 

Greenmonsters

Wannabe Duck Boat Owner
Feb 21, 2009
6,168
38
New England
If yips means the player knows the ball is going somewhere, who knows where, except where she is throwing it DD went through it. No one sitting beyond 1st base was safe, I was thinking of handing out face mask to the crowd before the game.

I had her concentrate on her back foot. Don’t worry about where the ball goes, how was your back foot? I am not sure she was positioning her back foot any better but she stopped worrying about where the ball was going. It disappeared as quickly as is appeared. One day it was gone.

Knoblauch Disease.

100% mental. Other MLBers of note who quickly come to mind - Steve Sax (another NYY - 2B) had it before Chuck. Mackey Sasser (NYM - C) couldn't throw back to the pitcher. Jon Lester (as of this minute BOS - P) can't throw to 1B. Some get over it, some slowly, some don't before its too late.
 
Apr 23, 2014
389
43
East Jabib
As a first baseman, I had pitchers in college who had to windmill the ball to me at first when they fielded a ground ball. If they threw overhand it went 10 feet above my head, in the dirt at my feet, or at full speed from 5 feet away. The severity of their erraticness correlated to the severity of their being a head case on the mound. Thank goodness for mouth guards.
 
Aug 29, 2011
2,581
83
NorCal
100% mental. Other MLBers of note who quickly come to mind - Steve Sax (another NYY - 2B) had it before Chuck. Mackey Sasser (NYM - C) couldn't throw back to the pitcher. Jon Lester (as of this minute BOS - P) can't throw to 1B. Some get over it, some slowly, some don't before its too late.

Rick Ankiel's playoffs with the Cardinals was brutal to watch.
 

JJsqueeze

Dad, Husband....legend
Jul 5, 2013
5,436
38
safe in an undisclosed location
As a first baseman, I had pitchers in college who had to windmill the ball to me at first when they fielded a ground ball. If they threw overhand it went 10 feet above my head, in the dirt at my feet, or at full speed from 5 feet away. The severity of their erraticness correlated to the severity of their being a head case on the mound. Thank goodness for mouth guards.

that is so funny. My dd is 100X more accurate with a windmill than overhand. I thought about just telling her to K drill to first but decided maybe we should just work on the overhand throw...

I am genuinely afraid that some of the mechanics work I have done with my girls is going to give them the yips when they get back in games later in August. I see them thinking way too much right now as they learn better mechanics. I keep telling them to not think but I can see them aiming and thinking and that is the kiss of death. Better to just look and throw. We'll see.
 
Jun 27, 2011
5,089
0
North Carolina
100% mental. Other MLBers of note who quickly come to mind - Steve Sax (another NYY - 2B) had it before Chuck. Mackey Sasser (NYM - C) couldn't throw back to the pitcher. Jon Lester (as of this minute BOS - P) can't throw to 1B. Some get over it, some slowly, some don't before its too late.

Steve Blass. Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Mark Wohlers. Rick Ankiel. Not uncommon.
 
Jun 11, 2013
2,619
113
My DD has the same issue. Here mechanics were always a little odd, but always had a strong and very accurate throw. I think it's nerves, but has been afraid to let it fly. If she doesn't have time to think it's still a good throw. It's improving, but I can almost see her tense up when she is about to throw it.
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,481
Members
21,445
Latest member
Bmac81802
Top