First DFP post ever! DD is 12; 13 next March; pitching up here in the frozen hinterland in Manitoba. Actual softball season starts about May 1 and nationals are mid-August (league play and provincial (i.e. "state") championships wrap up by mid-July. Yes, painfully short season. We pitch year-round (indoors from say Oct-April) and team practice indoors Nov-April.
DD at 5'7" 135 is a big strong kid for 12. Great natural athlete, fast as all get-out on the bases and has been "kinda" pitching since she was about 8, but only really serious for the last year and a bit, her first TB season. She's first year 14U (we call it U14 up here; covers players born in 2003 and 2004 for the 2017 season) and this upcoming season playing for our province's best TB team (the organization won provincial championships at U12, U14, U16, U18 this season and the U14 team she is joining won silver at Canadian national). She hit 52.5 on my Stalker Sport 2 a few weeks ago and cruises at 49/50 with a good changeup (our pitching distance is 38 feet at this age!) She loves the PC on her new team and has a longtime relationship with him as her instructor (winter clinics for last 4 years). The team has 2x2003 pitchers and 2x2004 pitchers. She'll have the opportunity to compete for innings but the best pitchers will pitch and I am happy with that (she had an offer of #1 or #2 on the team that I expect to be #2 in the province this year) given I know she will have a good PC and get better development at other skills on this team.
The organization she is with is outstanding (top handful in Canada; more senior women's titles than any organization in the country) and places girls often in the northern states at D3 schools; sometimes D2 and very occasionally a D1 (for example her HC for this upcoming season is an alum who played D1 at a not-household-name college in Georgia about 12 years ago). Relative to other opportunities where we are, this organization has the best coaches and player development IMO.
So even though the organization is stellar, a lot of what I read here and elsewhere regarding pitching I don't think is filtering its way to the PCs where I live. DD's warmup includes "snaps", "T-position"; "K-position"; "side-circles"; etc. So in "T-position" the focus is on keeping the hand "square", leading with the thumb, then doing a wrist snap and finishing with "showing her muscle" and the elbow pointing at the plate.
I've read sooooo much about IR and BI that I am quite tempted to kind of "rebuild" her from a mechanical standpoint and try to get her delivery looking more what I see in the "model pitcher" thread, etc. As it stands, she spins the ball very well (not huge numbers on the Rev Fire but clean, straight spin which gives her a hard fastball witha tiny bit of tail/drop). We had her throwing a good hard slider early this season but she was having trouble turning it off and going back to a pure fastball so we abandoned it but it is in reserve.
Should I be looking at a rebuild on the principles of IR and BI? Will anything happen to her great, true spin on the ball? I am virtually certain that a rebuild will get her throwing harder (young pitchers I see throwing at USSSA nationals, PGF, etc on Youtube mostly have great IR and finish with a very low hand - I think she is as technically sound and physically powerful as any of these but lacks their speed). Am I overthinking this? Will it cause friction with the PC? Will the kid get discouraged? She's extremely coachable and will "buy into" a change if the long-term benefits will be clear.
Sorry for the long post but thanks for whatever advice you can offer!
DD at 5'7" 135 is a big strong kid for 12. Great natural athlete, fast as all get-out on the bases and has been "kinda" pitching since she was about 8, but only really serious for the last year and a bit, her first TB season. She's first year 14U (we call it U14 up here; covers players born in 2003 and 2004 for the 2017 season) and this upcoming season playing for our province's best TB team (the organization won provincial championships at U12, U14, U16, U18 this season and the U14 team she is joining won silver at Canadian national). She hit 52.5 on my Stalker Sport 2 a few weeks ago and cruises at 49/50 with a good changeup (our pitching distance is 38 feet at this age!) She loves the PC on her new team and has a longtime relationship with him as her instructor (winter clinics for last 4 years). The team has 2x2003 pitchers and 2x2004 pitchers. She'll have the opportunity to compete for innings but the best pitchers will pitch and I am happy with that (she had an offer of #1 or #2 on the team that I expect to be #2 in the province this year) given I know she will have a good PC and get better development at other skills on this team.
The organization she is with is outstanding (top handful in Canada; more senior women's titles than any organization in the country) and places girls often in the northern states at D3 schools; sometimes D2 and very occasionally a D1 (for example her HC for this upcoming season is an alum who played D1 at a not-household-name college in Georgia about 12 years ago). Relative to other opportunities where we are, this organization has the best coaches and player development IMO.
So even though the organization is stellar, a lot of what I read here and elsewhere regarding pitching I don't think is filtering its way to the PCs where I live. DD's warmup includes "snaps", "T-position"; "K-position"; "side-circles"; etc. So in "T-position" the focus is on keeping the hand "square", leading with the thumb, then doing a wrist snap and finishing with "showing her muscle" and the elbow pointing at the plate.
I've read sooooo much about IR and BI that I am quite tempted to kind of "rebuild" her from a mechanical standpoint and try to get her delivery looking more what I see in the "model pitcher" thread, etc. As it stands, she spins the ball very well (not huge numbers on the Rev Fire but clean, straight spin which gives her a hard fastball witha tiny bit of tail/drop). We had her throwing a good hard slider early this season but she was having trouble turning it off and going back to a pure fastball so we abandoned it but it is in reserve.
Should I be looking at a rebuild on the principles of IR and BI? Will anything happen to her great, true spin on the ball? I am virtually certain that a rebuild will get her throwing harder (young pitchers I see throwing at USSSA nationals, PGF, etc on Youtube mostly have great IR and finish with a very low hand - I think she is as technically sound and physically powerful as any of these but lacks their speed). Am I overthinking this? Will it cause friction with the PC? Will the kid get discouraged? She's extremely coachable and will "buy into" a change if the long-term benefits will be clear.
Sorry for the long post but thanks for whatever advice you can offer!
just stating the case for taking the plunge. The DFP community is great to help, don't be shy about posting he progress and asking questions. Hang a tarp and hammer down!
