9 yr old pitcher - advice

Lsjames · Aug 8, 2014

22.

23.

24

25

26

I slowed this one down so that you could see what is happening with her hand and arm.

Lsjames · Aug 8, 2014

27

28

29

All done. Sorry for the number of posts. I wanted to give you a good look. (apparently 29 of them)
Thanks again

Lsjames · Aug 9, 2014

I was reading back through the comments that were posted on this thread. I went over each one with my DD so she understands that she is a student of the game also. We chose to address posture issue before moving on to hand motion and timing. As you can see, her release point has moved significantly more close to her body. We are not quite yet to the brush position yet. That's next after she no longer needs to focus so much on standing tall. The "brush" is next.
We have nearly completely abandoned accuracy and speed for posture. She has to evaluate her posture each pitch calling her posture as a "ball" or "strike" not the position of the pitch in my glove. I think having her evaluate the posture is helpful. I correct as needed. We do the same for calling balls and strikes in a normal pitching session
Since the brush will also affect her timing, we wont be focusing on balls and strikes for a little while. But I promised her that it will come. She can't stand not getting affirmation on a good pitch.
I have read more of Ken's posts on the brush. I saw good photos on the young mans pitch being discussed now. Dont know if the paw on your avatar is for the Clemson tigers. Don't want you to abandon me because of the Gamecock on mine

. Thanks Ken.
And JS, I hope you see the work she has done and get a chance to tell her if she's headed i the right direction. We implemented the drill on a column rather than a wall so she had freedom of motion after the pitch. I have build the pitch from the back forward building toward the complete motion. We do the flip first then the T position then the K. I have taken the walking analogy to a more literal degree by telling her to try to take one forward step after the pitch if she is standing tall on her left leg. Just a drill not something she will do on every pitch. I was surprised how much this showed her about her balance. More often than not, she took a backward step or off to the left. Just trying to get her to stay upright and moving in the direction of the pitch.
I appreciate everyone's comments. Keep em coming and i will continue to share mine with others she i feel it can help

javasource · Aug 9, 2014

Looks like she's making great progress!. Much less bend toward third... and that rear leg isn't pinning. When you get to it... I'd also recommend BM's 3/4 drill he posted for Boomers daughter.

Keep up the great work, Lily! Really like the mindset of one thing at a time. Keep enforcing a release in drill off the rear leg... and you'll start to see that front lean go away.

Sorry for the short response... at the airport!

Lsjames · Aug 9, 2014

Out in Left Field said:
A word of caution: I coach HS and have not seen one brush pitcher since I started. It is an outdated technique that we do not teach 9 year olds at any of our clinics. If a kid wants to throw her curve that way later, it is up to her. Also, kids do not respond to learning the same way as adults. If you fill her mind with ideas at 9 years old, it is not actually the "mindset" you want at that age, because they are more carefree than later. Use results (ie, speed, comfortable, strikes, won a game, pitch 3Ks, etc) to gauge whether technique is coming along, not just form or technical cues and you will get a lot farther. Keep the technical cues large and not miniscule. (The ramblings of adults do not mean squat to kids and on the other side, could make them think they need to please us, which is not true.)

The brush is a quick fix that is for consistency. There are better ways to gain consistency, that will last while she grows and adds muscle over the years. And it is not a release point, it is a release zone.

First of all, thanks for the reply. I agree with your thoughts here. I don't know what is outdated and what isn't. I think that technology and learning advances but we can't abandon fundamentals. Which is which? I don't know.
I decided to focus on the posture. I shared the adult lingo with her for two reasons: I wanted her to hear that there are people that she has never met who think good things about her pitching. She was impressed. (Confidence). The second reason is to show her that there is a lot going on in her pitch that is right and things that she can improve on.
I believe that an athlete can focus on one ... Maybe two thoughts at a time when in play. Her one thought was: "stand tall and move toward the target."
That was it. This upright motion moved her hand inward naturally. I didn't teach her the brush yet. That's in things to come.
As for IR. I see signs that indicted she was doing this all on her own. I have not addressed this with her yet look at the four images before release from behind. You can see her thumb pointed toward third and moving toward home. Is this IR? I don't know but it seems like she is getting some whip.
Thanks again for the comments. I hope that I keep the ideas and lingo to a level that she can understand but I don't want her to be like every other 9 year old. I want her to be elite. So she will have expectations that others may not have. Am I wrong... We will see.

Lsjames · Aug 9, 2014

javasource said:
Looks like she's making great progress!. Much less bend toward third... and that rear leg isn't pinning. When you get to it... I'd also recommend BM's 3/4 drill he posted for Boomers daughter.

Keep up the great work, Lily! Really like the mindset of one thing at a time. Keep enforcing a release in drill off the rear leg... and you'll start to see that front lean go away.

Sorry for the short response... at the airport!

I was glad to see that you responded. Thanks for the encouragement and recommendations. Your opinions have consoladated many of the other opinions shared here. I will implement the drill tomorrow. It's raining here all day today.

Hope your trip is going well safe travels.

It is also very interesting to hear many perspectives and similarities and differences in the ideas. Please keep them coming. Knowledge is power in this case. We have the work ethic. We need the expertise that I have found many here have. I am still looking for a great PC in northeastern SC or southeastern NC.

Thanks to everyone. James.

drc9805 · Aug 11, 2014

I know you are taking it one step at a time but you've mentioned whip and IR so I just want to mention what I see. In frame 11 it looks like she has a decent bend in her elbow but in frame 12 her arm looks locked and her hand is behind the ball causing more of a push rather than a whip. If she can get her palm up facing the sky in frame 11 this will help her elbow lead her hand to her side/hip and set her up for an IR release.

I'm not a pitching coach and I'm still learning myself so definitely confirm with the great coaches we have here.

Lsjames · Oct 26, 2014

Update

I promised an update so here goes.
Thanks to this site, I was connected with a great pitching coach. I hope that you can see the progress made. Like all things, old habits creep up... It's not perfect, but getting there.
Comments?
1)