Why are you laughing?

[Jojo]

I got a call last week from a parent that said she wanted to sign her DD up for a couple of pitching lessons to see if she was interested/had the ability. Then she went on to add that she was a sophomore, turns 16 in a couple of weeks, only played softball last year for the high school team and needs to be ready by the time high school games start.

Which was immediately followed by her saying, "Why are you laughing?"

Long story short, after some discussion, I found out that the HS has only 2 pitchers, one is a senior the other a junior. The junior is my student and is having to pitch all of JV and some of varsity and the coach wants some help on the JV team. The coach singled this kid out about pitching for several reasons, #1--probably the only one that has never pitched and decided they hated it or couldn't do it, #2, she is athletic,(she's an ex-in line speed skater) and #3, does well with instruction and picks up things quickly.

I agreed to work with her last night, I love a challenge! It went well, she is athletic and does accept instruction well, seems eager to learn, understood the importance of having to practice.
She didn't bring a catcher, so we just worked basic releases and form into the wall. She said she'd try to find one.

I don't know how many kids this green were able to pitch HS games in this short of time, but I'll let you know how this goes.

 

[starsnuffer]

Good luck Jojo!

I can tell you that last year I got roped into "teaching" a few kids how to pitch in order for the JV program at a highschool to have some pitchers. Not a single JV player had ever played travel ball, only 2 played rec ball, and most didn't even know what hand their glove went on. I had to teach 3 kids how to pitch. Only one was remotely athletic, she used to be a cheerleader.

The goal is different here. Teaching a 16 year old to pitch has a different standard then teaching a young kid. The goal was to have this kid "throw strikes" so that the JV team could play softball games. There are no mercy or run rules in HS softball so walking 7 kids an inning wasn't an option. She did learn enough to be able to throw strikes at about 45mph in the 2 months I had before the season started, and she was doing so with decent mechanics given how long she'd been pitching. Unfortunatly, in the fourth inning of our first game she took a comebacker to her throwing hand and it was broken, putting her out for the remainder of the season. The remaining two "pitchers" were not remotely athletic and struggled with even trying to simply step and throw the ball underhand towards the plate. The season was half over before a fourth kid, who stepped up to try to learn, was up to speed enough to pitch in a game. The team lost every single game they played, but put on a valiant effort in their final game loosing 8-7, which was the fewest amount of runs they gave up all season.

The good news is that every single player on that team returned for conditioning this year, and although they lost they clearly enjoyed their season and want to continue to improve. There are three freshman who pitched in rec ball this year, so that should no longer be an issue for them.

It can be done, and I hope you are more successful at it then I was. I felt miserable and I felt I let those kids down, but in the end there is only so much you can do.

-W

 

[Jojo]

Thanks Starsnuffer, it is going to be a little stressful for the both of us because in a sense they are counting on her.

I told her I did worry about when she was finally able to consistently get the ball over the plate, that right away we were going to have to learn a change-up and she was excited about that, she said she needed some pay back on all those times she struck out on one.

I gave her some hand outs of Scarboroughs release to study at home and she said she actually had studied that video before coming out and she didn't even know who Amanda Scarborough was.

 

[JJsqueeze]

motivated student + qualified instructor= good results. I'm predicting a good outcome here.

 

[Spartans21]

I am sure there isn't a cookie cutter approach and in most cases "it depends", but where do you begin in a situation like that? A kid who has never thrown or has very limited pitching experience wants to learn to pitch. What is a common sequence you experienced pitching coaches use?

 

[James Smith]

Good luck!

Hopefully the other Players on her team will support her.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I have one starting next Tues. Almost the same scenario - except that she wants to make her excellent HS team. In telling the dad, that I teach 75% pitching, he said "Well, her travel team only has 1 pitcher, maybe she can try that." We'll see. I would never say "No."

Last year a dad called and was wanting pitching lessons for his daughter. The day of the lesson, he called and said "Oh, someone showed her some drills, last night. So, we are just going to do those." "OK."

 

[Changeupmom]

Good for you guys. We were at Travel ball practice last week and a Dad with a 8 year old was watching my dd pitch. He asked me how do you learn to pitch like that and how long does it take. I admit I was stumped for a few minutes for a answer (doesn't happen to much for the counselor) but did recover and start discussing looking for a pitching coach.

 

[Doug Romrell]

It is absolutely amazing to me how in some areas, mainly where TB is weak, would-be pitcher types seem to think that all they have to do is start pitching a little around the time high school softball tryouts begin. There is one such program around here. One high school team around here, one where a few of my players play, has no real pitcher, and they currently don't yet have a coach and end of February tryouts are fast approaching. I told several of the players that play for me that they NEED to get someone working on pitching NOW! Nothing! The three pitchers I work with go to a different high school, one that has a pretty good high school softball program, and one that has several pitchers. It's amazing the contrast in mentality across the various high schools.

 

[slingnit]

Have seen some pc say they would rather start with a 14 or 15 year old that has control of their body and comprehends what they are being taught. And that student would be just as far along in a year or so as the one that started at 9 or 10. Obviously game experience would be outweighed by the seasoned pitcher but see the logic. GOOD LUCK!