Completely lost when it comes to pitching

[Crystol Owens Brown]

IMO, shortening the stride will cause her to be more over the toes and weight forward. This is what some pitchers are taught to do to throw a drop ball where they shorten the stride "to get on top of the ball more" for a slightly sharper/downward release angle.

That could explain why her drop ball is currently her best pitch. It drops drastically at the plate. Batters constantly swing over top of it.

 

[WaSpeed02]

I took some video of her pitching to her dad today from a different angle. I did find the drill where you pitch and take a step back. My hubby says since pitching requires her to go forward, it makes no sense to step back. He says it is not in pitching sequence, therefor she should not do it.

Maybe he doesn't understand what is trying to be accomplished. The point is not the "step back". The goal is front side resistance. It is impossible to be "nose over toes" if she is getting maximum leap and proper resistance in her stride leg. Please read the "front side resistance" thread.

 

[Crystol Owens Brown]

Why is dad so invested in the pitching workouts? Is he a pitcher? Some of the suggestions are counter productive. The main issue on the lean, however, is the lack of rocking the hands to the side (and I am not saying go back to a backswing). It really throws the rest of the weight transfer, getting open, and timing off so you will be forward until that is addressed..

He never played softball a day in his life. He knows she wants to be a pitcher and that she loves softball. Also, he is in the army and between deployment, training and late work nights, he didn't get much time with her. This is the first time, he gotten off of work at decent time since his 18 years being in the military. She asks him to go help her and play catch. Last year was the first year of fast pitch softball for her and she didn't make the team. She never pitched the windmill style until this year(always did slowpitch). She says she wanted to practice every day until tryouts for her school.

 

[Ken B]

I took some video of her pitching to her dad today from a different angle. I did find the drill where you pitch and take a step back. My hubby says since pitching requires her to go forward, it makes no sense to step back. He says it is not in pitching sequence, therefor she should not do it.
[video=youtube_share;tCFSfgUw17w]http://youtu.be/tCFSfgUw17w[/video]

D is a diamond in the rough. She can whip with the best of them and has drive power well above average. Learn to understand and refine her release posture and this kid will be lights out. Wow!

 

[Ken B]

Last year was the first year of fast pitch softball for her and she didn't make the team. She never pitched the windmill style until this year(always did slowpitch). She says she wanted to practice every day until tryouts for her school.

Double wow! You have a Diamond Diva. When this kid figures this out, she won't have any trouble making a team--her trouble will be deciding which team's offer to accept.

 

[SoGASoftball]

Crystol, send a big thank you to your hubby for his service! And, slip in the fact that he isn't a pitching coach, and he's focused on the wrong thing(s). Would he read some of the pitching forum here? May be a start, or simply allow the PC to make any "adjustments." It's easy for us dads to get tied up in strikes and balls because they are instant measures of success. To get around this, take the catcher out of the mix. Put up a tarp and pitch into it from a close distance. When doing this, there's no getting tied up on the result - just on her mechanics. Then, focus on the front side resistance thread that someone mentioned above. The major flaw I saw in the latest video was no deadstop on her front leg - she's still leaning over and walking through the pitch at and after release. Looked to be even worse when not facing a batter too. Best of luck!

 

[Rocketech1]

He never played softball a day in his life.

Don't let the fact that he never played softball stop him from trying to help your DD in her pitching. I never played or coached before my DD started playing softball but I learned by trial and error and trying to educate myself with lots of information. If dad takes the time to listen and learn he can be an asset to her softball progress. Nothing wrong with parents who are invested in their kids activities. They grow up so darn fast and will be out of the house in a blink of an eye. Enjoy the one-on-one uninterrupted time you all spend together, whether its sitting on a bucket catching your DD or pitching to your DS catcher. Maybe his advice isn't perfect but at least he wants to spend time with his kids.

 

[BuckeyeGuy]

Don't let the fact that he never played softball stop him from trying to help your DD in her pitching...Maybe his advice isn't perfect but at least he wants to spend time with his kids.

^ what Rocket said. I spent many years playing baseball and the past 6 years coaching softball like it was baseball. Found DFP and then discovered that I was an idiot. Introduce him to DFP, he'll thank you!

 

[josh]

I took some video of her pitching to her dad today from a different angle. I did find the drill where you pitch and take a step back. My hubby says since pitching requires her to go forward, it makes no sense to step back. He says it is not in pitching sequence, therefor she should not do it.

He probably means well, but doesn't understand the arm whip motion.

Have him snap a towel like he is trying to pop it. To do so he starts it going forward and pulls it back quickly. Like a whip. You can swing a towel around in one direction as fast as you like, it will never approach the speed it reaches when it is snapped.

Think of swinging a 6 foot whip, as fast as you can move your arm to swing it around is nothing compared to the velocity imparted when you crack the whip, which can be as much as twice the speed of sound.

 

[Crystol Owens Brown]

I don't know if this a step in the right direction, but here is a drill that she does at the end of practice. She will pitch the ball, step back and then go directly into her next pitch. Normally her dad would catch and throw it back but his chair is broke and could not catch for her. She just threw it into the fence. This is the only time she doesn't go forward after the pitch.
[video=youtube_share;3D6bMwWmwKo]http://youtu.be/3D6bMwWmwKo[/video]