How do I find a good pitching coach?

My DD and I have had the dreaded talk and she really wants to focus on catching, so we are going to spend the majority of our efforts on that, but she knows that she has some pitching ability and has asked if we could at least work on it a little. I am willing to help her in any way that I can, and I figure at 11 years old she is still young enough to keep her options open. Plus, I believe that if she wants to be a truly great catcher then she needs to understand what it takes to be a truly great pitcher too so going through some of the work that her battery mates go through will only benefit her either way.

That said, I thought I had located a pitching coach that I could take her to that would not teach her bad habits and would help her develop according to what I have read here. I was wrong. One of the other girls that I have coached has been taking lessons for a few months from this coach and she has looked good this season and is throwing with good form. We sat in on her lesson Sunday so my DD could catch for her and I could get a first hand feel for how his lessons go. He did zero teaching at all. The lesson was nothing more than a supervised session of catch where he actually had two pitchers going at the same time and all he did was tell them what pitch to throw and bark instruction about where to point their elbows. I was agitated and shocked by the time we left. Surely, it can't be normal practice for a pitching coach to run sessions with multiple people at the same time. This coach always has two pitcher going for every session that he runs.

He was working to correct my former players natural I/R delivery into a HE delivery for her fastball. After watching her session and talking with her dad I made the startling discovery that the reason she has improved so much is that in addition to her weekly 30 minute lesson she has been pitching at least 3 times a week for the last year. Most weeks that is 4 or 5 times. I think we can safely attribute her improvement to work ethic and not amazing coaching. She is throwing 45 at 11 years old. That impressed me.

Anyway, all of that said, how do I go about finding a pitching coach that will not try to force my DD into changing her natural delivery? I have talked to or watched 3 different pitching coaches around my area now and they all want to immediately force HE on their students. I am getting very frustrated. I am in far Northwest Alabama if that helps any. If anybody knows of a pitching coach in the area I would be glad to look them up.

My DD takes pitching le$$ons. She started with an older girl within our Travel organization. The older player was a pitcher and she, along with her bucket dad, had already gone through numerous pitching lessons from a respected local coach. This helped get us started and luckily not too many bad habits were ingrained into DD.

The one thing where I think you are ahead of the curve is you already know, or have a sense of, is a natural pitching motion. Basically, you are educated enough to make a determination on evaluating a coach. My DD being young, I didn't know between good form, bad form, and form in the ground. I do now, or at least I think I do.

To get my daughter to the next level, we asked numerous people within our travel organization who they take lessons from. We also watched these girls practice to see their motion. (One through HE, so we scratched that coach from our list.) Eventually, we researched pitching coaches on-line, and paid to have my daughter evaluated. I don't know if the PC knew it, but he was being evaluated as well. The fact that my daughter responded well AND I agreed with the teaching methods, we decided to go with him. The deal was sealed when he expected me to learn everything my daughter was taught and ask questions. He is very open, honest, and enthusiastic (a biggie for DD). After a couple of months we saw relatively dramatic improvements in DD pitching, so we've stuck with him.

Ask around, ask other pitchers who they use, and research on-line. If at a tournament you see a pitcher with good form, ask them who their coach is. Just keep asking and try different ones until you find the fit.

After the marked improvement in my DD, I was asked more than once if we were seeing a pitching coach. The response was low key and often generic, but if pushed I would divulge the information. For one, it's frustrating to do all the work and have someone think the PC can create a monster of their DD. My daughter works very hard at pitching so she'll have to put in her time. And for two, each coach is unique and I know it's not a one size fits all situation. What's right for my daughter may not be right for yours.

And yes, our PC often has two students at a time. Other times, it's just one on one.

Sorry for the self-promotional shortcut, but here's a guest post I wrote for the Softball is for Girls website about a year ago on this very topic: 9 Tips for Choosing a Great Softball Private Instructor - Softball is for Girls

You've actually done a few of them so that helps. In particular is #1. An informed parent is the best protection against poor instruction.

I've done double lessons before but it's not my preference. I like working one-on-one because I feel it's the best value. I'd rather give 30 minutes to one player than 15 apiece to two. But others seem to do it just fine.

And yeah, be suspicious of anyone who claims to be the sole reason a pitcher is great. The PC needs to know what he/she is doing, but ultimately it's the player and her work ethic that determine how well she does. That and genetics, of course.

I would get her a good CATCHING coach. At 12U and older, its not wise to be both a catcher and pitcher IMO. The catcher position is very physically demanding (i.e. hurt fingers, tired legs from squatting, etc.) and then trying to pitch is a difficult proposition. Secondly, it's hard to be really good at both. There is only so much time in the week and to be an effective pitcher you need to practice 2 to 3x a week, every week for all long as you are a pitcher. IME, you cannot dabble in pitching. You either are commited to it 100% or you find another position. I know its not what you wanted to hear.

rocketech1 said:

i would get her a good catching coach. At 12u and older, its not wise to be both a catcher and pitcher imo. The catcher position is very physically demanding (i.e. Hurt fingers, tired legs from squatting, etc.) and then trying to pitch is a difficult proposition. Secondly, it's hard to be really good at both. There is only so much time in the week and to be an effective pitcher you need to practice 2 to 3x a week, every week for all long as you are a pitcher. Ime, you cannot dabble in pitching. You either are commited to it 100% or you find another position. I know its not what you wanted to hear.

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yuuuuuuuup^^^^^^ (imho).

We found ours on the local High School board where folks can post tryout info for teams, or anything fast pitch. We were also able to see some lessons where she was using some Hillhouse references and no HE. First lesson is free. She evaluates us and we her.

She is very affordable, enthusiastic, not too far removed from being a college pitcher and having gone through the travel ball scene, from girl through high school. Her coaching style suits DD perfectly and she leaves the lesson MORE excited about pitching than when she showed up - and she really LOVES to pitch.

Rocketech1 said:

I would get her a good CATCHING coach. At 12U and older, its not wise to be both a catcher and pitcher IMO. The catcher position is very physically demanding (i.e. hurt fingers, tired legs from squatting, etc.) and then trying to pitch is a difficult proposition. Secondly, it's hard to be really good at both. There is only so much time in the week and to be an effective pitcher you need to practice 2 to 3x a week, every week for all long as you are a pitcher. IME, you cannot dabble in pitching. You either are commited to it 100% or you find another position. I know its not what you wanted to hear.

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I completely agree actually. I am doing the same amount of diligence in finding a catching coach right now. She is meeting tonight with the starting catcher for our High School varsity team before their game. My wife is friends with the coach and set up the meeting so that my DD can talk to her. We have not had any luck finding a catching coach at all. We are going through the NECC DVD together and working on the fundamentals there. She knows that she is going to have to pick one soon, but I want her to be able to make an informed and properly coached decision that isn't completely influenced by a mildly educated dad. I would prefer it to be influenced by coaches that can help us see which direction she has the most potential. Work ethic and desire are not issues, but I want to point her energy in the right direction.

quandofloo said:

My DD and I have had the dreaded talk and she really wants to focus on catching.

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^^This is how you started the first post of the thread and it is VERY telling.

Daughter says she wants to focus on catching and Daddy is asking how to find a good pitching coach. Um...

Your DD wants to catch.

Daddy wants her to pitch, but knows that she really wants to catch. Why else would the conversation be 'dreaded' if you didn't already realize this?


Come to terms with the fact that your DD wants to catch and she may play ball for a long time.

Best wishes.

vdubya said:

^^This is how you started the first post of the thread and it is VERY telling.

Daughter says she wants to focus on catching and Daddy is asking how to find a good pitching coach. Um...

Your DD wants to catch.

Daddy wants her to pitch, but knows that she really wants to catch. Why else would the conversation be 'dreaded' if you didn't already realize this?


Come to terms with the fact that your DD wants to catch and she may play ball for a long time.

Best wishes.

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Nah, I understand the confusion. It is dreaded because my DD is hyper-competitive and wants to do everything. I don't want to let her regret any decisions. I got talked into walking away from baseball and football at 14 years old to focus on basketball by a coach and started all through high school and was good enough to get an offer from a very small private college but 6'2" power forwards are not in high demand. Now, 6'2" linebackers are a different story. I am trying to make sure she doesn't make a similar mistake. She legitimately loves pitching and I don't make any decisions without first having my wife have a private conversation with my DD completely separate from me to make sure that we get the same answer so that there is no pressure from me. I have even said in another thread on the issue that I would honestly prefer for her to catch because I personally think it is where her talent lies. I am just trying to do right by my daughter. Believe me, I understand why the first impulse most people would have is to think that I am just another dad trying to push their kid to pitch with visions of stardom in his eyes. I just have visions of a happy daughter in my eyes, and I am willing to do whatever I have to in order to make sure that she gets there. If that means that she pitches then I get comfortable on a bucket. If that means she catches then I get comfortable throwing pitches to her. If that means she plays third base then I wear out bats hitting ground balls.

I understand your position ^^^. If she's 11 now, it's fine to explore, but in a year or two if she still wants to pitch AND catch, I strongly recommend she chooses one of the two.