Pitching Breakthrough--almost in tears!

[GatorGirl]

So we had our final lesson of the year last night. We are taking the two weeks off completely for the holidays and we have backed off the last couple of weeks for rest and regrouping. I had been pushing way too hard and really had no understanding that the level of comprehension of a 9 year old. It just isn't the same as a 12 year old or an adult. So I have been taking the time to educate myself on how little kids think and understand and it has made a world of difference.

So when we do practice it is mostly just underhand long toss while we are joking around and fun things like knocking over cans and I made a "Fruit Ninja" set up with some plastic fruit and our Big Mouth net. Needless to say, we have been having fun and she seems a whole lot more into it.

So last night I saw a transformation and I had to hold back a tear. She has really struggled to understand "whipping the ball" and has been muscling the ball around--left overs from our HE instructor. Well I think just doing the long toss underhand really help her understand and "feel" it. He had her throwing into a backstop from about 10 feet for part of the lesson and every throw I could see palm up, ir and the whip and it was in the strike zone. And it looked so natural.

Once he pulled her back to 35', some of our old issues were still there, but I could still see the whip 50-60% of the time vs. almost never.

So I wanted to share a bit of joy I had and TBH it was the best Christmas present I could have gotten. It is hard to look back and say "hey, I am doing this wrong and I need to do something else." Well I did and it has paid off. The personal growth I have gotten from admitting my mistakes and taking a second look is overwhelming.

Thanks to all on here for your advice and support along this journey. Merry Whatever You Celebrate and Happy New Year!

GG

 

[knightsb]

GG, congratulations. I'll share this, one of the best pieces of pitching advice I first received on this forum was from Sluggers who suggested a lot of underhanded catch with DD. Just me and DD playing underhand catch, talking, laughing, enjoying the time together. We have both benefited significantly from the hours we have spent together just playing catch... underhanded...

 

[HOF86]

xoxoxoxoxoxox

 

[corlay]

Happy Holidays to you too!
What a nice post....

I've grown to similar understandings w my own DD.

Two things seem key for her to sustain enthusiasm

a.) keep off-season workouts short, but frequent
We throw almost every day, but mostly for only 15-20min after a brief "warm-up" with stretching/stretch bands.
Sometimes our sessions are just about "maintaining",
sometimes about working on something addressing something specific.
Never about "throwing strikes".

b.) maintain a dialogue that is not about pitching
we've grown used to our workouts together as "our time" - meaning we use it to stay connected while we practice pitching.
Conversation about School, friends, family, vacation planning, etc. passes the time, while we concentrate on and practice the physical aspects of pitching.

Your Fruit ninja game sounds like good fun.
This is what it takes w young beginning pitchers.
Keep it light, and never grow impatient w progress - it'll come.

My DD is a Yankees fan (and therefore not a BoSox fan),
so I printed out a pic of a bearded Dustin Pedroia (a real Yankee killer!)
and pinned it to her close-range "throwing blanket" down in the basement,
for her to fire fastballs at.
She thought that was pretty hysterical.

 

[CoachFP]

Never about throwing strikes? You'd be better off doing nothing than throwing without the need for good location. That fosters bad habits.

 

[Madsdad]

Great Advice CoachFP,
If I had to do over with a youngster that is one thing that I would change. Way to much thinking going on

 

[Sparky Guy]

Never about throwing strikes? You'd be better off doing nothing than throwing without the need for good location. That fosters bad habits.

Really??? What I've found works best with young pitchers to focus on the process of the pitch. Help them find their way into the correct mechanics without the worry of the result. Once they start getting the mechanics correct the results take care of themselves. As the mechanics improve the number of strikes increases along with the velocity and consistency.

I tell the kids to not worry about the results that once they have things correct at the rubber the rest of the pitch will take care of itself. I explain it to the parents as well so they understand.

Wanting a prefect result all the time while learning how to pitch is like asking a student to have the correct answer to a complicated math problem as your teaching them the steps on how to solve the problem.

 

[FP26]

GG - Awesome story!! And I for one know what it is like to push too hard. Everybody learns at different speeds and competes to different levels. And just because "I" want it to be faster or quicker does not mean it is going to happen. Sometimes DD needs to grow at her own pace.

As far as "process" vs. "results"; I think they are both important, but there are times we focus strictly on the process and not worry about the result. Depends what we are working on and how far along that particular journey she is.

 

[corlay]

Never about throwing strikes? You'd be better off doing nothing than throwing without the need for good location. That fosters bad habits.

I wholeheartedly disagree.
The mere presence of a strike-zone and feeling the pressure to stay within it;
are exactly what fosters "bad habits" in beginning, young (8u, 10u) pitchers.
At the end of this summer, my 10U was deadly accurate, and throwing 45mph -
with "straight-arm" "pushing the ball down the circle" mechanics.
We had the foresight to understand that we needed to "evolve" and would not
enjoy the same success playing up this year in 12U travel if we remained the same.

We're working on getting comfortable with proper mechanics,
and doing a lot of close-range work, taking the strike-zone/results-oriented factors out of the picture - on purpose.

We are still focused upon speed and proper spin,
but are taking the time this winter to really break her motion down,
and get her on a good path to success.

so far, so good.

 

[JJsqueeze]

congrats GG. I know she's worked hard to make progress.