Thread: My 8-yr old video-feedback please

Her PC is good, we will focus on that drag. She did develop a hole in her right shoe from dragging, so perhaps she just needs to get back to doing it consistently.

She just started pointing on her own, holding up her left arm. The coach asked where that came from, then said it seemed to work for her so did not try to change. She also started her doing little sprint push offs on non pitching days to get used to the feeling off the rubber.

Again, thanks very much for the feedback.

She must be pretty good. The right fielder in the 3rd picture clearly has no worries that there is any chance that the ball will come to her.

mlrhino - she looks very good for her age. A couple of things:

- make sure she is pitching from a pitching plate every, single time she practices;
- make sure to measure off the distance to home plate (30 feet for 8U?);
- make sure she hides the grip and ball in her glove so the batter can't see it before she goes into her motion;
- yes, to an earlier question, she should have a big & explosive drive off the plate and should work on it for the rest of her pitching "career";
- IMO, she is in too much of a hurry to get into a closed (i.e. fielding position) and brings her right side around too quickly at and through release of the ball. I would have her stay open more and resist her left side (stride leg) more;
- agree with Amy, if an adult is catching have her/him sit on a low bucket that will simulate the position of 8U catchers and the strike zone for 8U batters;
- it sounds like she has pretty decent control, make sure to have her pitch to the black edges of home plate and shy away from down the middle pitches unless she is behind in the count;
- I like doing pitch sequences and pretend there is a batter at home plate. Mix up the pitches and locations and see how many batters she can "strikeout".
- lastly, as she faces better hitting as she move up to 10U and beyond, you might consider having her wear a pitching mask for safety.

Good luck!

SoCAL: Thanks for the feedback. I will get her a pitching plate, she does throw from 30 feet, and yes I think she will get a mask. When we practice (every other day), she warms up and then pitches three "innings". This has really helped her confidence in games to throw strikes. On off days she does the mini sprints and Finch windmill, that takes 15 minutes total. She was playing basketball in the off-season, but didn't like the contact so we are going to try volleyball when she's 10 since she is interested and fairly tall.

We do need to focus more on her hiding the ball in practice. I do see her closing too quickly, sometimes her hip gets in the way. All great points and more for her to work on, thank God she is enjoying herself.