Dropball

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May 15, 2008
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Cape Cod Mass.
She needs to be able to connect the spin of the ball with her release/pitch. The spin has to be visible, so take a marker and put a large black dot in each 'horseshoe' of the ball or mark the seams (I prefer 50 cent piece size dots). Then have her pay attention to the spin as the ball crosses the plate. She should be able to figure it out. The most common fastball spin that I see is half bullet-half top.
 
Jul 31, 2015
761
93
The problem is that she’s worked on a dropball and struggles to throw it at practice, but then she starts randomly throwing her FB as a drop at games. That’s all fine and good, but she needs to be able to do it on command.

Since she does it in game naturally, she can do it, but there is a disconnect when trying to get her to do it on purpose. So the question is has anyone dealt with this before, and how did you get your pitcher to learn to do something when they want vs it just happening.

Got it.

Does she take pitching lessons regularly?

I ask because she has a significant lean at release and her front side resistance is weak, which makes her throws mostly all-arm, although she's very athletic and her leg drive is great.

My guess is that right now small variations in whether or not she stays back at the end of the pitch is causing the ball to drop/not drop. She also looks like she also isn't brushing against her hip, which makes for an inconsistent release point. These two things are probably why she can't throw the drop on command.

She will see a significant jump in speed and command if she can learn brush, how to stay upright and how to lean back at release. In fact, I'll go so far as to say she looks like she has the makings of an elite pitcher, but she needs better instruction on her mechanics.
 
Last edited:
Jan 6, 2018
221
43
I see plenty of brush, but yes, her FSR is lacking a bit. Work on stability to gain consistency. You can also double check her grip. My DD suddenly started bouncing between bullet spin and 6-12 and found out her grip was changed because her hand got bigger! Now we start every season reviewing the fundamentals LOL. (In-season too, but more so in the off season)
 
Nov 22, 2019
297
43
Got it.

Does she take pitching lessons regularly?

I ask because she has a significant lean at release and her front side resistance is weak, which makes her throws mostly all-arm, although she's very athletic and her leg drive is great.

My guess is that right now small variations in whether or not she stays back at the end of the pitch is causing the ball to drop/not drop. She also looks like she also isn't brushing against her hip, which makes for an inconsistent release point. These two things are probably why she can't throw the drop on command.

She will see a significant jump in speed and command if she can learn brush, how to stay upright and how to lean back at release. In fact, I'll go so far as to say she looks like she has the makings of an elite pitcher, but she needs better instruction on her mechanics.
She travels to go to the best PC around by far. We don’t get a ton of Power 5 players from our area, but her PC does produce some. Her PC will have one of the top pitching recruits for the class of 2025.

That tilt is being worked on (#1 priority) but not sure if it ever fully goes away. She actually isn’t very athletic, but she can pitch. I told her moving up to 12-u she’d get hit - she held opponents to a .151 BA and had nearly 2Ks per inning vs some of best teams in the area . Still trying to figure out why exactly: as no pinpoint location, no elite speed.

She’s never been the shortstop, #4 hitter athlete. She needs to get stronger (might be part of the reason for the tilt, lack of core strength) and we’re working on that while on a month break from pitching. But she grew 2 inches during the summer and put on zero weight.

I think she does brush, as she wraps the ball around her hip. You can see it from a front angle.

But in the end, just looking for a way to throw that drop on command. Early success can be a double-edged sword, especially if you’re doing something well, but not intentionally or despite mechanical flaws. Can actually be one of the worst things for development, but she does want to fix the tilt, just hasn’t been able to yet.
 
Jun 7, 2016
275
43
"throw that drop on command"
This sums up being a pitcher, whatever pitches they have, eventually that is the goal. Remember it is a process. She is 12. Riseball posted a great story of his DD doing warmups as an SEC pitcher and he was so impressed that she kept hitting a knot tied in a dangling rope. However his DD snarled (i can only imagine), "Dad, Im supposed to just graze the rope!" Point being, as they continue, they strive to be more (in control, more speed, spin etc). It never ends. So have her keep working, it will come, as she has much road to travel.
 
Jan 6, 2018
221
43
She travels to go to the best PC around by far. We don’t get a ton of Power 5 players from our area, but her PC does produce some. Her PC will have one of the top pitching recruits for the class of 2025.

That tilt is being worked on (#1 priority) but not sure if it ever fully goes away. She actually isn’t very athletic, but she can pitch. I told her moving up to 12-u she’d get hit - she held opponents to a .151 BA and had nearly 2Ks per inning vs some of best teams in the area . Still trying to figure out why exactly: as no pinpoint location, no elite speed.

She’s never been the shortstop, #4 hitter athlete. She needs to get stronger (might be part of the reason for the tilt, lack of core strength) and we’re working on that while on a month break from pitching. But she grew 2 inches during the summer and put on zero weight.

I think she does brush, as she wraps the ball around her hip. You can see it from a front angle.

But in the end, just looking for a way to throw that drop on command. Early success can be a double-edged sword, especially if you’re doing something well, but not intentionally or despite mechanical flaws. Can actually be one of the worst things for development, but she does want to fix the tilt, just hasn’t been able to yet.
First year with the 12" ball throwing 47-50 and getting 2K per inning...I'm laughing at your "not elite speed." Maybe not ready for team USA or the little league world series, but compared to her peers she doing great! Keep it up...keep working, and when she's ready, hit the weight room!
 
Nov 22, 2019
297
43
"throw that drop on command"
This sums up being a pitcher, whatever pitches they have, eventually that is the goal. Remember it is a process. She is 12. Riseball posted a great story of his DD doing warmups as an SEC pitcher and he was so impressed that she kept hitting a knot tied in a dangling rope. However his DD snarled (i can only imagine), "Dad, Im supposed to just graze the rope!" Point being, as they continue, they strive to be more (in control, more speed, spin etc). It never ends. So have her keep working, it will come, as she has much road to travel.

Our practice conversations go like this.
Me - okay let's work dropball.
DD - 5 pitches in, okay, I'm never going to throw a dropball.
Me - But 20% of your pitchers last game were dropballs.

I know some people see, she's only xx year's old. I see, only 3 1/2 years till Freshman season, not enough time to work on everything.
 
Jul 31, 2015
761
93
She travels to go to the best PC around by far. We don’t get a ton of Power 5 players from our area, but her PC does produce some. Her PC will have one of the top pitching recruits for the class of 2025.

That tilt is being worked on (#1 priority) but not sure if it ever fully goes away. She actually isn’t very athletic, but she can pitch. I told her moving up to 12-u she’d get hit - she held opponents to a .151 BA and had nearly 2Ks per inning vs some of best teams in the area . Still trying to figure out why exactly: as no pinpoint location, no elite speed.

She’s never been the shortstop, #4 hitter athlete. She needs to get stronger (might be part of the reason for the tilt, lack of core strength) and we’re working on that while on a month break from pitching. But she grew 2 inches during the summer and put on zero weight.

I think she does brush, as she wraps the ball around her hip. You can see it from a front angle.

But in the end, just looking for a way to throw that drop on command. Early success can be a double-edged sword, especially if you’re doing something well, but not intentionally or despite mechanical flaws. Can actually be one of the worst things for development, but she does want to fix the tilt, just hasn’t been able to yet.

She's all arm but with a strong drive off her dominant leg.
Fix the upper half and she could be elite...mid-major D1 or better.
 
Nov 22, 2019
297
43
First year with the 12" ball throwing 47-50 and getting 2K per inning...I'm laughing at your "not elite speed." Maybe not ready for team USA or the little league world series, but compared to her peers she doing great! Keep it up...keep working, and when she's ready, hit the weight room!
Well, we did face a 11 year old girl throwing 57mph in the fall. Although she did get hit pretty hard a couple games, so I think she must not have had a lot of movement. But that is what I'd call elite speed. Supposedly there is a 12-year old girl in the area throwing 60 as well. We didn't face them, but that team was dominant.
 
Jan 6, 2018
221
43
Well, we did face a 11 year old girl throwing 57mph in the fall. Although she did get hit pretty hard a couple games, so I think she must not have had a lot of movement. But that is what I'd call elite speed. Supposedly there is a 12-year old girl in the area throwing 60 as well. We didn't face them, but that team was dominant.
Yes - but they're usually the genetic freaks at that age. She's doing great..so much good stuff there. How much growing does she have left? Plenty of time to get to 60.
 

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