10U speed vs accuracy vs experiece

[electric72002]

Two parents stepped in as first time coaches in 10U fall ball. After our first 4 games, I wanted to focus on pitching more.

We had two experienced pitchers who need improvement in control. I tried to crack down on accuracy and asked players to demonstrate some commitment to accuracy and they pretty much quit.

So, now i have all brand new players pitching for the first time.

Questions are...

Should the new players be asked to pitch for accurately or pitch for speed?

If the quitters return, what can I do to improve there accuracy if they have already gotten lessons? Do I just let them pitch until some day where it becomes a strike?

Should I just give up on accuracy all together?

 

[bsbs]

I would guess the right answer is, focus on mechanics. My daughter is a pitcher and we focused on speed over accurace for sure at that age. My goals for my daughter and the coach's goals for the team definitely didn't always align.

 

[Northball]

Learning proper mechanics should be their focus. Improved accuracy is result of good mechanics. Increased velocity is a result of good mechanics.
It all starts in the Softball Pitching Forum, I/R in the Classroom. Hopefully that's the kind of training they're getting in lessons.

 

[canyonjoe]

Until you can throw strikes you can't pitch. You need good mechanics but need to throw strikes or there really is no game.

 

[electric72002]

How do I help them with mechanics without changing what they already have learned?

Also, where is a good source of 10u mechanics that is somewhat universal?

 

[eagle6]

Can be a tough spot. coaches are all different. The kid that throws hard will always get more opportunities to pitch. Kid that throws strikes will keep coming into a mess for the hard thrower with no control. My kid wasn't the hardest thrower or the most accurate at 10u. Didn't get nearly as many opportunities to pitch as another kid. My kid was working on mechanics. By 14u, DD passed the other kid. Keep pushing mechanics. May not pay off this year, but it will pay off.

 

[PharmerBrown]

How do I help them with mechanics without changing what they already have learned?

Also, where is a good source of 10u mechanics that is somewhat universal?

You don't. What I think you can do, is make sure they get plenty of pitching reps in. Even pitchers with bad mechanics can learn to throw strikes with plenty of practice. Maybe pitchers and catchers come one hour before practice.

 

[Caredeocr]

Is there a local HS varsity or jv coach that might be able to come for a practice or two?

Dad of a pitcher and even after a few years, the mechanics are still tough for me to grasp (luckily DD is light years ahead of me). Her experience as a 10u travel pitcher, she threw strikes (mid 30s so not fast) but go plenty of outs and was a very reliable pitcher. 10u batters are still learning a lot too and plenty of swing and miss in their game so slower strikes still lead to plenty of outs.

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[CoachCeetar]

Almost without a doubt, 10u pitchers can't throw strikes. imo, telling them to throw strikes is detrimental, because they don't know how.

That's where the mechanics come in. The mechanics keep them around the strike zone, on target, etc. They're probably not capable of throwing a pitch a foot outside and making a minute adjustment to mechanics they're still learning to get it a foot closer to the plate. Mechanics. Accuracy has to mean that they're releasing the ball the same way/spot, timing is the same, etc.

I'm not enough of a pitching coach (3rd/4th i.e. 10u for me too.) to have much more than rencency bias/experience here, but one thing I've noticed watching all these new pitchers is that as they grow and get more comfortable with the motion and their bodies, and their strength increases, their arm seems to get ahead of their body, so the release is off and it sails high or low. The adrenaline of the game probably exacerbates this in a way that's not as obvious in lessons too. Some of them just need to focus on really exploding off the mound.

Where are they missing? is it a high/low thing or a way outside thing?

Video would be helpful, if you could provide the parents a few pitches to show the pitching coach inbetween games. There are like a zillion things to look for and the pitch happens so fast it's no even always that easy to spot, especially if you're not only focusing on the pitcher.

 

[cvsoftball]

mechanics ( a good pitching coach), the inner space between the ears ( a good pitching teacher), and at least 1 inning pitching per game for each pitcher.