Critique her pitch please

[grcsftbll]

When I watch her she looks like a lot of beginner pitchers I have worked with in that she bends at the waist when she releases the ball which causes her to bend her elbow or short arm the release. She also takes a step after she releases the ball. Tell her to be tall and proud when she gets to release, that should lengthen her arm at release to a slightly bent position. Have also work towards being able to be balanced at release to the point where she can finish on her front leg balanced and actually be able to put her weight back on her pivot foot when she finishes. Use a little negative posture at release to transfer the energy from the ground back up through her body and into the arm. Hope it helps.

Love this idea, thanks!

Also very stiff in the release ( a little HE in there too). Probably also a result of trying to throw strikes. Winter is a good time to learn to be long and loose in that finish and not worry so much about throwing strikes. Throw into a tarp 20 feet away and focus on mechanics and speed without the feedback of having to throw strikes. Remember that this age they are pleasers. They want to make you or dad happy by throwing strikes and will do whatever they think is necessary to throw strikes.

I have her throwing into a net that's about that far away here. I can't catch for her in the basement, it's not long enough. I know you're exactly right, because her location is really good. Whatever the coach tells her to throw (inside, outside, high, low) she can pretty much hit and she knows that's her edge right now. I think she's probably worried about losing that. We'll be sure to reassure her that working on fixing her mechanics will actually INCREASE her accuracy once she adjusts. And we've got over 2 months til our first spring tournament so plenty of time for that. Hopefully that'll set her mind at ease.

Axe I've noticed that stiffness too. She has a tendency to really snap her arm back after release instead of being relaxed. I have so far not found anything that gets through to her on this. I even told her all that tension and the whipping back her arm like that could make her elbow pain worse and if she keeps it up she might have to not pitch at all. I think she's trying but like you said, is so focused on location I think it's hard for her to just let go and be loose with it. I'm hoping doing some easy/loose IR drills might help plus continuing to emphasize mechanics over throwing strikes right now.

Can't tell you guys how much I appreciate all the input. We do have a pitching coach we see weekly (though we don't see her again til early Jan) and we really like her. But it's half an hour once a week and there's so much to work on and so much that comes up in between. I want to be able to help her also. Really appreciate everyone taking the time to respond

 

[Axe]

Can't tell you guys how much I appreciate all the input. We do have a pitching coach we see weekly (though we don't see her again til early Jan) and we really like her. But it's half an hour once a week and there's so much to work on and so much that comes up in between. I want to be able to help her also. Really appreciate everyone taking the time to respond

You're doing the right thing. Pitching coaches are essential but they can't "make" pitchers. Pitchers make themselves by digging out of the dirt between lessons on their own. You are her cheerleader and guide through that process.

 

[grcsftbll]

Today all we did for pitching was the very first of BoardMember's drills from the I/R thread. I told her what the progression would be, first the elbow kind of locked at the side, then 9:00, then 12:00, then to an easy full pitch. We just stood in the foyer and did a bunch of tosses with the elbow at the side. I have shown her so many slow motion videos of pitchers, and where their release is (heavy focus on Jennie Finch since that's her hero). So today I showed her how she's releasing too far out, and hey, look, when your elbow is at your side, your release is naturally in the right spot. I showed her how it will look in full pitch, with her elbow stopping in that same spot so her forearm can kind of lever in and whip the ball on release. I saw a lightbulb go off over her head. I so wish I'd shown her this like 6 months ago. It really seemed to click with her. I mean, we've talked about these things a ton, watched videos, but this really brought it together for her. And then went beyond just intellectually knowing where the release should be, to showing her how to actually do that. It was a good day

 

[grcsftbll]

A little update. I was going to video today but her dad is sick and couldn't come to practice, so I had to catch. Hopefully I can post an updated video soon and y'all can tell me if you see the improvement. Anyway, I've had her pitching into a net for the past few weeks. I wanted her to be focused on her mechanics and not worry so much about accuracy. Today was the first time she's had a catcher in about 3 weeks, and I expected it to be a little wild since she's been learning new things. Her location was not quite as good - some of her intended inside pitches went outside, for example, but in half an hour or so she only threw 2 or 3 wild pitches. She still threw mostly strikes and they were hurting my hand. I have to wonder if she's picked up a little speed in getting better with the brush & whip. We have our first pitching lesson in almost 2 months tomorrow. I'm looking forward to getting some feedback from her PC, and a few pointers for getting her change up back where it needs to be.

 

[Tio1]

My DD, who is a first yr 12u, says keep it up. You look like I did not that long ago and that's pretty good.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[grcsftbll]

My DD, who is a first yr 12u, says keep it up. You look like I did not that long ago and that's pretty good.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Tell her we said thanks for the encouragement!

 

[Vertigo]

She's doing a great job! I would say that having her bring her drag leg through instead of leaving it lagging behind will help her to stay more upright. It seems like it is almost acting like an anchor, causing her to bend at the waist.

 

[Northern Dad]

Couple of thoughts, it looks like her hips are not really opening enough and are closing prematurely the bit they are opening. When girls are young and built like sticks this is a small problem that becomes bigger once they mature and the hips widen. You'll end up having them hooking the arm around to clear the hips if you don't get the hips open. Pitching sideways from one knee with the front leg extended straight out is a good drill as it forces the hips open.
Long toss would be a good way of trying to get her to stand more upright at release; it's pretty hard to throw long without tilting back….and long toss is always a good drill albeit tough to do in the basement.
Having said the above, she looks very promising and best of all looks to be really enjoying herself.

 

[grcsftbll]

The open hips is one of the things we've been working on since this video. It hasn't been our main focus but seems to come almost naturally when you're working on BI. We're using a Perfect Circle (windmill trainer) which definitely seems to have helped. We were finally able to do the long toss yesterday. No way we can in our basement or even our yard, which is very small. But that's how we started out at the field yesterday. She thought it was fun I've also had her pitch some where she just lands on her front leg and keeps her back leg off the ground, which makes it pretty much impossible to lean forward without falling over.