14 year old starting over

[CycloneSoftball22]

14 year old being asked to pitch out of necessity. Hasn't pitched since she was 10. Where would you start?

 

[sluggers]

(1) Shoot a video of her from directly behind her and a video of her from the 3B side (assuming she is a rightie). Post the videos here and ask for comments and drills.

(2) Get Bill Hillhouse's DVD...Bill Hillhouse: House of Pitching Softball Academy.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I would take her to the best pitching coach within 2 hours from my home and have them help her come up with a plan. And if you don't have a face mask and shin guards, I would stop and get some. I guess maybe you have a bucket of ball, but you could get her a couple of new balls. Those always make a pitcher feel good. Be patient and offer to sit on the bucket, every day.

 

[Carly]

Definitely get her with a coach. It won't be easy, especially because she'll likely be behind her competition in development, but as a 14 year old she'll be able to grasp and execute concepts more quickly and easily than a 10 year old. Hillhouse's technique is great, but you seem to be short on time and I think you'd be doing her a disservice if you had her try to figure it out herself from a video. A good pitching coach is the way to go.

 

[JAD]

14 year old being asked to pitch out of necessity. Hasn't pitched since she was 10. Where would you start?

The amount of time/effort/$$$ I would put into it would depend on the short term and long term goals. Will she continue pitching for years to come, or is she just going to pitch until another pitcher joins the team? What level ball is she playing? How good is the team? How much mound time does she expect to see? Does she just need to learn to throw strikes and "burn innings" or are you trying to make her into a long term starter?