New to I/R—ball going to the left consistently

heman1202 said:

By no means am I even close to an expert but my daughter is also learning IR and I found when she is throwing left she is closing her body (even just slightly) to the catcher instead of remaining in the open (45) position. I may have no idea what I am talking about but when she focuses on staying open it helps.

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This is most certainly something to check.

My DD has been taking weekly lessons for a year and still sometimes closes too soon and that yanks the arm across her body, leading to pitching going outside (to a right-handed batter).

Stay open through release.

Mike-Coach-Q said:

Pitch on a power line. Have her pitch the ball in a straight line on the ground. As she completes her IR snap, have her point at the ball rolling on the ground to the catcher.

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Can you share a video or explain this more please?

instead of trying to pitch a strike to a catcher your pitching it on the ground like if you were working with an infielder on ground balls. I'll look for a video

like rolling a bowling ball.....really fast

Honestly the best anyone can do is throw out a wild guess. We all understand the hesitation to post videos online but it really is the only way to give an accurate assessment. Feel free to go to other pitching threads that people have posted and see how the poster is treated. You get HONEST but CONSTRUCTIVE feedback. We all understand these are kids and no need to be harsh but we all also understand the benefits of proper mechanics and the big difference it makes and there is also no value in encouraging someone to continue doing something wrong, and yes there is a right and a wrong way to pitch, some things are style but somethings are required for a pitcher to reach their full potential.

my daughter switched a couple of years ago from HE to IR when she threw to the outside of a right handed batter it was usually because she was hooking the ball at release Meaning the ball wasn't close to her body on release. its going to be a very fustrating process for both of you making the change. don't have high expectations 2 years later and we are always still working on the basics. its very hard to get rid of the HE once learned. what helped us was to use slow motion video on a cell phone and keep watching it together. good luck

Ken2 said:

I know HE isn’t the best way, but I fear because of her age, switching to IR will be a battle that we don’t have time for.

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Oh please don’t make that mistake. This is a marathon and not a sprint.

dj is right a wild guess at best specific to your situation. I shared this drill because in my experience it has helped kids I've worked with transitioning to IR. Try is and decide for yourself

Mike-Coach-Q said:

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Could doing this from one knee be effective as well? Thinking of 9 year olds so they just concentrate/isolate their release and not the rest of their body