Where to begin?

[Jesse]

9 YO Pitcher: Where to begin?

My 9 year old DD is going into her first year of kid pitch and wants to learn how to pitch. I have no idea where to begin. I feel like there are enough resources out there to figure everything out (currently looking into the Hillhouse DVD), but what should we start with first? What's the "sequence"?

My son also pitches, and a lot of overhand pitching instructors recommend the ground up approach. Should we start with footwork? Any good youtube videos that you can recommend?

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

My 9 year old DD is going into her first year of kid pitch and wants to learn how to pitch. I have no idea where to begin. I feel like there are enough resources out there to figure everything out (currently looking into the Hillhouse DVD), but what should we start with first? What's the "sequence"?

My son also pitches, and a lot of overhand pitching instructors recommend the ground up approach. Should we start with footwork? Any good youtube videos that you can recommend?

Unless you know how to windmill pitch, find yourself a good pitching coach so that your DD gets off to a solid start. Hillhouses DVD is very good but should not be a subsititute for a PC.

 

[Jesse]

That is something I’m considering. Regardless, I need to be as educated as possible, and I was hoping you guys could point me in the right direction.

 

[sluggers]

My son also pitches, and a lot of overhand pitching instructors recommend the ground up approach. Should we start with footwork?

In baseball pitching, your son already knew how to throw the ball overhand pretty well before he started learning how to pitch. So, learning how to pitch is a matter of refining and improving a motion he already knows.

On the other hand, your DD has probably never thrown a ball underhand in her life. So, she is basically starting from zero. Footwork is important, but it comes in more or less after she can throw with some degree of confidence.

Generally, a child will do a series of drills to learn parts of the pitching motion.

The starting point in learning the pitching motion is "the circle". The circle is simply the movement of the right arm in throwing the ball. The way you teach the circle is to have your DD get open (i.e., facing 3B). Have her feet spread wider than her shoulders. Point her glove and ball hand at the catcher, and then have make a revolution with her right arm and then throw the ball. The focus is on her learning how to throw the ball underhanded.

The circle should be in a single plane and the plane should be vertical. Think of the arm as part of a clock. So, when the arm is at 12, the ball is over her head. When the ball is at 6, then she is releasing the ball. (We call that "at release".)

By single plane, I mean that the circle should be in the plane defined by where the ball is at 12 and 6.

You want her to stretch her arm upward as much as possible at 12, and then to bend her elbow, and throw.

You can break the arm motion down further by simply working on the motion of the arm from 12 to 6. Here is a simple drill called "the pop and drop":

<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pTn7uMQsZW0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Jesse]

Thanks, that is something we can start doing right away. I've been obsessively watching Hillhouse videos online for the last several days and I'm getting a pretty good handle on "the circle". I like his explanation/comparison that it's basically an overhand pitch turned upside down. As a baseball guy, that's something I can relate to.

I have noticed that Jennie Finch follows through on the right side of her body (as opposed to across the body per Hillhouse) and she kicks her drag foot to the left (which Hillhouse doesn't recommend). Is she doing it wrong? Are these "style choices" or is she just so talented that she can get away with imperfect technique? I feel like the follow through is something we should get right early on.

Edit: This video shows what I'm talking about, although she follows through differently on different types of pitches. He basic warmup pitch (which I assume is a fastball) has her following through on the right side of her body.

 

[sluggers]

I have noticed that Jennie Finch follows through on the right side of her body (as opposed to across the body per Hillhouse) and she kicks her drag foot to the left (which Hillhouse doesn't recommend). Is she doing it wrong? Are these "style choices" or is she just so talented that she can get away with imperfect technique? I feel like the follow through is something we should get right early on.

First, if you watch more videos of Finch, you'll see that her follow through is not consistent. It goes all over the place. To criticize one of the best pitchers in the world because her follow through isn't perfect would be pretty silly. It would be like saying "Stan Musial's batting stance was wrong" or "Albert Pujols' feet should be closer together."

Finch pitches. She doesn't teach. She has never really focused on how to teach 9YOA girls to pitch. Hillhouse pitches, but he is also a very good instructor. He models the "ideal" pitching motion better than Finch. He has an entire system for teaching pitching.

If you really want to hear from someone who know about teaching 9YOA girls, talk to "Amy of Arizona" on this forum.

 

[Jesse]

What do you guys think of this drill?

<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8D3Pqmh_RvY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

That is something I’m considering. Regardless, I need to be as educated as possible, and I was hoping you guys could point me in the right direction.

I think it's great that you want to educate yourself and do it the right way. The book "The Windmill Pitcher" (Sammons), while a little dated, is very good on teaching and showing the basics mechanics of the pitch. As mentioned before, order Hillhouse's pitching DVD today (it explains everything to get started and you can see him performing the motion). I also highly encourage you to learn and DO the motions with your DD so that you can also practice pitching.
A couple of first things are:

1) grip - find the "C" on the ball and have your daughter grip the ball correctly. When she is watching TV or riding in the car, have her try to find the proper grip on the ball without looking. See website link below. You would be amazed at how many new pitchers are still fumbling around trying to find the correct grip. It should be automatic for her after a few weeks.

2) wrist snaps - while there is some disagreement whether or not one should do wrist snaps, for the newbie it cannot hurt and IMO it helps them learn how the ball comes off the fingers with correct 12-6 spin.

3) K position - I'm not going to go into a lot of detail but learn the K drill and have her just focus on getting a good arm whip. (a few months from now, read Boardmembers thread "Internal Rotation" several times. I think it is a must read for every pitcher and parent of a pitcher.

4) 45 degree - have your DD line her body up 45 degrees to home plate and have her do one revolution of the pitching arm, releasing the ball as she reaches 6 o'clock. Work on getting a good and straight arm position.

5) Work at the Pitching Plate. In the dirt, draw a line from the middle of the plate towards home plate. This is the powerline and she will use it as a reference to make sure all of her momentum on the pitch goes towards home. Learn the foot placement on the plate (pivot foot forward, stride foot back, however both feet must be on the plate. Have her swing her arms back (either split or same side). As she comes forward with the hands, have her push off the plate with her pivot foot and open up her body as she leaps towards home plate, dragging the pivot foot laces down. Her arm should be almost straight but slightly bent throughout the arm circle and she will release the ball with good arm whip just after her stride foot plants at a 45 degree angle to home plate. Her follow though with her arm should be somewhere out in front of her body in a natural (not forced) position up and/or across the body. No elbow pointed to the catcher though!

Again, if you can get her to a professional or an experienced pitcher (even for a few lessons) that would be ideal. Pitching is tough enough without some help. Remember, SHE has to want to put in the hard work to get better. Encourage, but don't push her. Good luck!

Fast-Pitch Softball Windmill Pitching

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Buy her a pitching rubber or grab a board that is 24 X 6. Home Depot cuts them for me, so I end up with 3. Then, either buy a home plate or draw one on cardboard or on the back of an old bath mat. Buy yourself a face mask and some shin guards and a decent leather glove or preferably a mitt. Get something low to sit on. A big ball bucket is too tall. And purchase at least 6 11 inch balls with raised seems.

Then, review how to throw a 4 seem fastball, overhand. Each of my lessons starts with warming up overhand. We do not move on to pitching until the girl can throw and catch. Show her that everything in softball is sideways, overhand throw, batting and pitching. Insist that she catch the ball with her glove up, not a basket catch.

Do you need more instruction on the overhand throw? If not, I will describe the rest of lesson #1.

 

[Jesse]

Buy her a pitching rubber or grab a board that is 24 X 6. Home Depot cuts them for me, so I end up with 3. Then, either buy a home plate or draw one on cardboard or on the back of an old bath mat. Buy yourself a face mask and some shin guards and a decent leather glove or preferably a mitt. Get something low to sit on. A big ball bucket is too tall. And purchase at least 6 11 inch balls with raised seems.

Then, review how to throw a 4 seem fastball, overhand. Each of my lessons starts with warming up overhand. We do not move on to pitching until the girl can throw and catch. Show her that everything in softball is sideways, overhand throw, batting and pitching. Insist that she catch the ball with her glove up, not a basket catch.

Do you need more instruction on the overhand throw? If not, I will describe the rest of lesson #1.

No, she actually catches and throws great. She played SS and first base on her 8U rec team. I would have happily started her at SS or 2B on my son's 10U team this year, she's that good of an infielder. Thing is, she's never indicated any interest in pitching or I probably would have started her sooner. Now that you mention it, I've never worked with her on the four-seam either, but I can do that. I can do the board and the plate too. I think I have the bottom part of an old Fisher Price tee out in the shed that would do just fine.

When I'm catching my son, I use a plastic step stool just like this one. It's about half the height of a ball bucket and works really well.