pitching coach

I know that the best way most times is to have a pitching coach especially when they are young so they don't pick up bad habits. That being said I've sit in on pitching lessons for 3 years and I really pay attention to what's going on while there. I am very involved in her pitching I catch for her 3 times a week at home for at least 30 minutes at a time.My daughter pitches very well for her age "11" she can hit her spots,great 44mph fast ball,and a really good change up. She not scared to put in the work at home either,so my question is it necessary to have a weekly pitching coach to be successful. How many on here "diy" pitching instructions or do you recommend staying with a coach.

If you fell comfortable with it drop back to once a month and see how that works out.

DD will work more at home if she is going to an instructor but each kid is different.

(It is also nice to have a “bad guy” to tell her what she needs to work on so you are not the one criticizing her all the time)

I pitched back in the day and although it may help it is certainly not a requirement to be an instructor. Some of the worst instructors and coaches I have seen are former players riding on experience and possessing little knowledge. The way I pitched and what I teach are significantly different since techniques evolve over time. Some coaches embrace this evolution and strive to learn while others are so invested in their own dogma based on personal bias that they can't see the forest for the trees.

I have been heavily involved in all of my DD's (4) pitching careers and it has worked out pretty well. The youngest, now in college looks likely to move next season to what most would consider a very elite softball environment. IMO It would be very difficult for a young lady to develop into an elite pitcher without significant support and involvement from one or more parents. That may be as simple as being a bucket parent and receiving pitches to becoming well versed in the art of pitching and taking the lead in their DD's development. That said, I would take any advice to the contrary to "turn them over to someone else" or to "become less involved" with a great level of suspicion. That usually comes from coaches who have never developed a pitcher much less one that would be considered elite. These coaches often have different priorities which do not include the development of your DD as a pitcher. Often their biggest concern is the control of the team through the isolation of parents and private coaches to avoid any scrutiny of their own suspect coaching abilities.

As to your question regarding pitching lesson frequency, it need not be weekly. Once a sound mechanical foundation has been established, cutting back to every two weeks and eventually once a month is normal. A pitching lesson is not practice. As long as instruction is occurring and your DD is showing consistent improvement it is time and money well spent.

Like Quincy said…scale back and see how it goes. I have found out that seeing the issue and knowing how to help my DD fix it are two different things. For a while my DD was having issues with brush interference. She just couldn't seem to keep the arm close to the body. The cause was that her throwing arm shoulder was sliding forward and pushing her arm away from the body. Sitting on the bucket all I could see was the gap between her arm and her body. PC picked up on it in a few minutes…PC always sees things that I would never see. Once PC shows it to me I know what to watch for. She was the NCAA player of the year and I was not…case closed for me. There are some people that have been successful in being their DDs pitching coach…I just know I don't have the experience in softball pitching to do that.

It can be difficult to sit on the bucket, watch a ball coming at you, and watch what she is doing. I would say you need a target for her to throw to so you can watch sometimes from the back or sides, or have someone else catch her periodically, or get a good video camera so you can tape her practice. You may already have all of this in place.

quincy said:

If you fell comfortable with it drop back to once a month and see how that works out.

DD will work more at home if she is going to an instructor but each kid is different.

(It is also nice to have a “bad guy” to tell her what she needs to work on so you are not the one criticizing her all the time)

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When my DD first started she had a pitching coach, unfortunately it was a step-style coach and eventually I learned enough that I had to move her to another PC, she saw several that I was unhappy with. The only L&D coach I could find was quite a distance away so we made once to twice a month trips to him. At this point I was scouring for every bit of information I could get to help my DD.
Once I was confident that I knew enough to coach her on her own, I still relied on her PC for those "touch up" days, when I could call him up, tell him what she was doing and not listening to me and then when she heard it from him as well, she would then accept it.

I did not teach my own daughter very much. We did play long toss a lot. But, in all honesty, she did not want to hear advice from me. We drove 90 minutes every Sunday, to another pitching coach. At 11, I am introducing the drop and screw ball to my students and explaining that the fastball will eventually take a back seat, to their movement pitches. So, if your DD isn't rolling her eyes at you now, she may be soon.

Eye rolling is one of the constants in the pitcher/bucket parent dynamic. You have been battling with DD for a week regarding a mechanical issue and finally get time schedule with the PC. The PC then tells DD the exact same thing you have been telling her for weeks. Massive eye roll and attitude ensues.

My DD is a pitcher and when she first started we went to her pitching coach once a week, because I had no idea what to look for or what I was doing, once my daughter got her mechanics down, and I watched enough to learn how to correct her or what cues to use we scaled back to once every two weeks. I pitch with her three times a week, and can now give her insturction. Now there are times when I see something I cant correct, or she has a bad weekend, I will call her coach and say we are coming in becuase something was off, and usually her coach can pick up the problem immediately, and tell me what to do when I see it. Going Once every two weeks or as needed seems to work for us.

The pickings are slim out there. Putting exclusion criteria on a PC prior to meeting them is - IMO - absolutely foolish. There is no magical formula. Finding the perfect resume and the perfect PC is absolutely close-minded, and IMO, a waste of time. As a parent, our job is to allow our DD's the best opportunity for success; not limit their potential because we can't get over ourselves... or what we believe makes the best coach. I have experience in all facets of this game, but NONE of the that matters if I can't improve the student I'm working with.

As far as the OP... I've met a ton of parents in the time I've been doing this... and some have it, some don't. Frequency of PC visits has so many variables, it's ridiculous. I prefer to have clinic time be about preparing the parent and athlete for their practice sessions together (when applicable)... because it's the quality of practice time at home that really matters.

Some parents need the reassurance, some have no clue. Either way, your roll is vital. Kudos to you for educating yourself and being an active part in this journey WITH your daughter.

If your relationship with the PC is not entirely based on their financial wellness, you might ask them their opinion for session frequency. I ask for video updates in-between sessions as a requisite... as I've no interest in spending an hour or two with someone that hasn't put in the work on items we covered in the last session.

^ I agree about the quality of practices. I tell the girls that it is like piano, if you don't practice it correctly, you'll never get passed Twinkle. (Although Twinkle is going to sound really good. )