11yo DD can't throw strikes consistently

I have been working with my DD since spring, first time pitching, and can't get her to throw strikes consistently. We have been looking for a PC in the Ogden, UT area, but have not been able to find one. I'm not sure what I need to fix or how to fix it to make her more consistent. She throws about 100 pitches every night too me, so quantity of practice is not a problem, just quality.

Video is one pitch, full speed followed by slow motion of same pitch.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/24171136/1080p.mov

tjbaasn said:

I have been working with my DD since spring, first time pitching, and can't get her to throw strikes consistently. We have been looking for a PC in the Ogden, UT area, but have not been able to find one. I'm not sure what I need to fix or how to fix it to make her more consistent. She throws about 100 pitches every night too me, so quantity of practice is not a problem, just quality.

Video is one pitch, full speed followed by slow motion of same pitch.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/24171136/1080p.mov

Click to expand...

I am not a pitching coach just a crazy pitcher dad so I will not attempt to analyze your video but I am sure others will have good input. But one of the things that helped my DD when she was starting out is her PC explained what caused missing in various spots. Releasing too early/late, arm circle off, etc. and after she would miss he would ask "Why? and what is the adjustment?" He pounded home every lesson ... it is all about making adjustments. And he was right those adjustments change as they get older but it is all about making the right adjustment. Hope that helps.

Good morning. I have a current 11 yo student that can't throw strikes either. And generally beginners have the very same problems. Your DD (darling daughter) needs to firm up her front side, so that she has a resistance to throw against. At this point she is bending her front knee and bending at the waist.

Also, look at the back foot. She is dragging the whole side of her foot. She needs to only drag her big toe.

Then, I would talk to her about staying open longer and not twisting her shoulders towards you. That is probably what is making the ball fly around. Throw a lot from the 12 o'clock position, straighten the shoulders and firm up the front side. Then, come to Tucson for a long weekend. We'll fix her right up.

tjbaasn said:

I have been working with my DD since spring, first time pitching, and can't get her to throw strikes consistently. We have been looking for a PC in the Ogden, UT area, but have not been able to find one. I'm not sure what I need to fix or how to fix it to make her more consistent. She throws about 100 pitches every night too me, so quantity of practice is not a problem, just quality.

Video is one pitch, full speed followed by slow motion of same pitch.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/24171136/1080p.mov

Click to expand...

It took my daughter just about 10 months before the control came consistently. Up until then we focused just on mechanics. I think you will find that the general feedback is to not worry about strikes, just worry about teaching her correct mechanics.

Also, practicing every night might seem like a good idea but it is not necessary and without the correct mechanics can lead to overuse injuries. 100 pitches is roughly equivalent to what a college pitcher pitches in a game.

Lastly, her mechanics. She looks athletic, but you will notice that she is pushing the ball down the circle and then finishing with her elbow bent and pointing to the catcher. See how her arm is moving right down the line like she is painting a line from the pitcher to the catcher? That is what we around here call "Hello Elbow" this is a term coined by Jennie Finch in her instruction to young girls and it is absolutely, positively, the worst possible thing to teach a kid in teaching them how to pitch.

The general instruction given to new pitchers around here is to read the sticky threads in this forum about I/R. This is a general term called Internal Rotation, it is used to describe any motion where the motion is rotating a body part towards the centerline of the body. It is the term we use around here to describe the release of ALL high level pitchers. The I/R in the classroom thread will give you enough information to understand it and to start training her the right way. good luck.

here is one gif to show you what I am talking about. Notice how cats hand is under the ball as she goes down the circle and then she whips the ball into release (forearm rotating towards her body)..

Your daughter is using "happy elbow" 'get-on-top-of-the-ball' and 'pull-down' mechanics.

Folks here can help with that.

At the 9 o'clock position Amanda (below) has her palm facing more upwards (... as in towards the sky).



Your daughter does the opposite ... she gets 'on top of the ball'. Her palm is facing 'downward' at the 9 o'clock position.




Be more like Amanda.

tjbaasn- There is a little bit of a "Matrix" effect sometimes when a bucket dad comes to the realization that so much of the stuff he though was right is actually completely wrong. Trust me when I say that if you do not have access to a quality PC then you are in the next best place to try to help her out. Do not resist, just take the blue pill (I/R), drink the cool aid and watch the results come. You are dad #4584947 who started out teaching his daughter to pitch by pushing the ball down the circle with a stiff arm, I am one of them. You will find that the transition is not that hard and the results range from good to "holy crap I didn't know she had it in her".

Be forewarned though...speed will come before strikes and focusing on strikes takes away from the focus on mechanics. But if you build good mechanics then the strikes will come eventually.

I see that I have several things to have her work on….

Stiff front leg, and standing up tall
Palm up (IR)

What are the best drills to teach these concepts?. I have to admit that I have not really taught her anything it is all just natural ability. Any time I try to fix things like Opening too soon, keeping arm close to body, etc… It seams to get into her head, and everything falls apart.

I have googled also, and have tried to get in contact with some "Jacqueline" in Ogden as an example, but have gotten no response from them. If anyone can help find one I would appreciate the help.

Googling PCs and then trying to find out how they teach is a dicey proposition at best. You can spend a lot of time weeding out the riff raff. it is better if you can contact some local travel ball clubs and see who the best pitchers in the area use as a PC.