Learning to Pitch LH Due to Injury

[wafastpitch]

Does anyone have tips for teaching a 14yo girl who desperately wants to pitch to switch to LH? She's been pitching for 4 years, the last 1.5 at 16u. Aside from needing strength and a little increased consistency she's already doing well throwing and fielding LH. According to her coach and my dad who watched she kept up at practice pretty well, and she just switched to LH at Christmas. She's determined to play.

I'm hoping that eventually she'll be able to go back to pitching right if she wants, but for now the right hand cannot throw at all.

I'm having her work on basic motions broken down without the ball currently. Does anyone have a good workout progression so she can try to learn? Any tips and tricks would be much appreciated. Idk if she'll ever get good enough to throw our even play LH in a game, but she's wanting to give it a try.

 

[JJsqueeze]

I don't want to poo poo this because I think it would be awesome if it worked, but I tried to teach myself to throw overhand left handed last year and gave it up after a few days. I think if a kid were really young then the brain wiring could be flexible enough, but by 14 I think it would be a huge effort to rewire and pitch with the non dominant hand. I can't help but think that the time would be better spent on becoming a better overall softball player.

 

[wafastpitch]

I have no delusions and know that it may not work, and she knows that too. We bought her the glove so she could try to play LH if she wanted to. Honestly, I want even sure she'd be able to catch with her right hand due to the injury, but she can. She has been working really hard and does far better LH than I ever would have. She's anxious to try to pitch, that's why I ask. Actually, she joked a few years ago about learning to pitch LH since she hits left and she had already realized the advantage of pitching left. We stuck with right for pitching, but she wants to try left now that she can't use the right. If it doesn't work, oh well. If it does, cool. For her trying is better than sitting around watching everyone else play. She's the only one pushing her to play right now

 

[JAD]

Learning to throw effectively left handed is going to be very difficult unless she was ambidextrous to start with. Is softball the only activity she is trying to learn to do left handed? If she is converting from right handed to left handed for everything - writing, eating, ect, this transition will be much easier.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I tried this at age 17. I had a a torn tendon in my right hand, that was repaired. I can't fully close my right hand. I did not stick with it, but I think that it can be done.

In IL. there is a top coach and pitching instructor, Denny Throneburg, who pitched left and changed to right - to be a better instructor. Good luck to this young lady.

 

[wafastpitch]

She's using her left hand more now than she ever has. The right hand hurts all the time so she does try not to use it more than necessary. She can currently throw overhand up to about 60ft on target 80% of the time after about a week of work. She has a long ways to go, but she does better than even she expected. We're focused on overhand throwing and fielding currently, but she'd love to start some pitching drills as she gains strength and gets more fluid.

 

[dmaeganx2]

I believe the pitching will be an easier convert then the overhand throwing.

the IR does not have a left or right preference it happens naturally the same on both sides.

the body will be much harder to train lefty then the arm it self . She will lack some speed for a while though good luck and by the way what happened to cause your daughters injuries if you do not mind me asking.

 

[wafastpitch]

We don't know exactly what happened and she's still being evaluated. Basically her hand always hurts, her fingers all tingle, and her hand spams. She's done hand therapy, stopped throwing at all with that hand, and stopped playing her clarinet, and after 3 months hasn't improved. She has a nerve test at the end of this month, but the orthopedist didn't seem convinced that we'll know any more after the test than we do now.

 

[guero_gordo]

Time to take up French Horn. Chick brass players are cooler anyway. ;-)

 

[WaSpeed02]

I'm convinced any human being with the desire and will to accomplish something can do it. The problem for 99% of us is we have neither the desire nor the will to accomplish things that seem nearly impossible. Sounds like your kid is in the 1%. Good luck to her.