Beginning Pitcher Help

[doublesteal]

We started from this in the fall (https://youtu.be/2Hvn-PyGrVY), we didn't get to do much over the winter because of the crazy weather here.

She is 9 pitching rec and has been working hard to improve. This was last night pitching, I noticed her drag foot is leaving the ground on the push off we need to fix that. We recorded a side, front and back view. Any advice is appreciated.

Side
https://youtu.be/ledON3EdJJQ
Front
https://youtu.be/YexVJInlXWI
Back
https://youtu.be/gYOKRAhAaaM

 

[JJsqueeze]

doublesteal-

I'm a blunt guy so take this in the spirit it is meant, which is to help her get to be a good pitcher as fast as possible. She is not pitching, she is bowling. She is doing everything she can to just get a pitch over the plate. If she continues to go down this road she will never be good and her pitching career will be over when she turns 11 and has to move up to 12U.

The good news is that she is so young she can change course quickly and become a good pitcher. The first thing you should do is stop pitching with a full motion and just have her do this drill into a tarp or a fence or a wall. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMYcFyur5qI. This is an old clip of my then 8 year old (9 year old?) daughter doing the drill. The idea here is to remove any desire she has to control the location of the pitch and to let her just focus on mechanics. If you look at the two clips you will see that my DD is pulling down the circle with her palm up and your is pushing with her palm down. You do not need to do this drill without shoes either


Now look at one of the best in the world for confirmation that this mechanic is fundamental to good pitching

The worst thing a coach or parent can do for a developing pitcher is to encourage them to throw strikes. The best thing they can do is to try to instill an understanding of what good pitching mechanics are and let them naturally develop accuracy once they get the basic mechanics right. I know I started off teaching my daughter to bowl and had to change course once I found this site and found information that made a lot more sense to me than what my girl was being taught at clinics and by her coaches. many more have experienced the same thing.

All of this is detailed in the I/R in the classroom thread. At the top of this forum. Good luck, with some regular practice you will find she makes great strides quickly.

 

[AUtiger98]

I’m in a similar situation as you and I agree with the post above. Focus on the I/R in the Classroom drills. With my 9 year old DD we spend about 20 mins per session on these drills. Then we spend about 10 minutes doing the double tap drill in Drive Mechanics (http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-pitching/18135-drive-mechanics-8.html). Since my DD is just learning, I always stay short so she doesn't have worry about distance and she can focus on form. We gradually increase the distance during our session.

Here is a thread from last week where a dad put together the "I/R in the Classroom" drills in a training plan. http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-pitching/23679-order-training-new-pitcher-2.html

 

[DNeeld]

To reinforce what JJ said, pitching for strikes or balls is a detriment to a new pitcher who is still developing solid mechanics because it provides instant and often erroneous feedback on her pitch. The focus becomes on strikes and balls and not on the mechanics of the pitch. A strike becomes a "good" pitch and a ball becomes a "bad" pitch regardless of what the mechanics look like.

For your DD, you stated you noticed her drag foot is leaving the ground. To be honest, that is the least of your worries as she has basic mechanical flaws in her arm circle. I second the advice to step back and start with the lock-it and 9:00 drills and progress from there.