Hitting

Bobby B said:

Recruit a former Fastpitch pitcher

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I'm in the biggest softball talent pool in the country, and finding former players who are willing to do that kind of work on a consistent basis is still pretty rare. Unless that person is a DD of the HC, or a team AC, it's going to cost money. In TB, that means money that isn't available for tournament/showcase entry fees.

You asked a question in your OP. You have been given the reasons why it's a challenge for most coaches.

Coaches need to learn how to throw competent underhand bp. It’s not that hard, but it does require some work on the coaches part. If we can’t do it, how can we expect young kids too?

While it can be tough to find a pitcher to throw BP, it is not impossible. When DD was in 12U we were lucky to have a former pitcher mom who threw BP once a week during our offensive practice. We ran stations to work on a couple different pitches and she would throw those pitches to the girls.

I always see posts about pitchers wanting time to develop and work on their craft. Have any of you reached out to other teams in your organization or, if a smaller team maybe trade number two pitchers once a week with another local travel team? Most legit showcase teams and A teams are carrying 3 or more pitchers. What’s wrong with having your own girls throw BP?

While I admit it may not be easy, there are plenty of pitchers looking for time. I’m just not sure it is as impossible as some may believe.

Towny9 said:

Coaches need to learn how to throw competent underhand bp. It’s not that hard, but it does require some work on the coaches part. If we can’t do it, how can we expect young kids too?

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Can you post a video of your underhand BP? I'm serious, I wonder how good a grown man can get at windmill pitching when they start at 40 years old never having done it before. I honestly have never seen a coach in that situation pitch from full distance and throw at 55 mph and with different pitches, per the OP question. I'd love to see it or meet someone that did it.

RichK said:

Can you post a video of your underhand BP? I'm serious, I wonder how good a grown man can get at windmill pitching when they start at 40 years old never having done it before. I honestly have never seen a coach in that situation pitch from full distance and throw at 55 mph and with different pitches, per the OP question. I'd love to see it or meet someone that did it.

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I used the term “competent” because I definitely don’t throw as well as a high school pitcher who has grown up pitching. However, I do feel like I throw well enough with the windmill to give the girls a better than front toss look that is more game realistic. I don’t know many baseball teams that get 60ft looks in bp at 85mph from a coach either and we all grew up throwing overhand.

RichK said:

Do people have the same issue with a hack attack they have with a jugs re: lack of timing mechanism, etc? I've never used a machine that pitched with movement, at least on purpose lol

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U don’t want the hitters to cheat the machine which means moving to a spot before the ball comes out. That’s why machines get a bad rap because a lot of coaches let the hitters cheat the machine

Jdaddy said:

While it can be tough to find a pitcher to throw BP, it is not impossible. When DD was in 12U we were lucky to have a former pitcher mom who threw BP once a week during our offensive practice. We ran stations to work on a couple different pitches and she would throw those pitches to the girls.

I always see posts about pitchers wanting time to develop and work on their craft. Have any of you reached out to other teams in your organization or, if a smaller team maybe trade number two pitchers once a week with another local travel team? Most legit showcase teams and A teams are carrying 3 or more pitchers. What’s wrong with having your own girls throw BP?

While I admit it may not be easy, there are plenty of pitchers looking for time. I’m just not sure it is as impossible as some may believe.

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It’s not as hard as people think, u don’t have to pitch from 40 or 43ft 30 or 35 ft is good enough, just start throwing underhand from a short distance everytime u practice with your team it’s a lot easier throwing underhand BP than overhand

I think far too many people get focused on full distance BP. Even most MLB teams rarely work full distance BP off of movement pitches. The vast majority of their BP work is half distance or less front toss. The easiest way to simulate higher velocity is to simply give the full motion for timing but move closer to the batter. Movement is certainly tougher to replicate but it may be more important to try and teach spin recognition, which is much easier to do.

In HS, we bring in a former All State and college pitcher who throws about once a week. All 3 of us coaches throw front toss and I try to throw some "stuff" in there as well but not from game distance. We do just fine. What I really care about with the hitters I work with is having a ball in flight and the ability to film some of that when working with my hitters to see how they react to that.

As some of you have seen, I had my dd hit off of machines as well. She hit off of the Jugs single wheel at its top speed from 37 feet. She also hit a lot of baseballs from a two wheel jugs machine. I don't like for my hitters to hit a lot off of machines when we get the HS season going.

I just read some comments about coaches learning how to pitch later on in life. I get the feeling some think that this is easy. It is not. First, if you have a coach learning how to throw underhanded during your BP sessions, you will end up with sloppy BP that takes additional time where the hitter is not getting in the quality work that they need. Also, if you wait until later, you had better make sure that you know how to get behind that screen. Many don't have the correct nets and so, if you mess up and leave one over the middle, you might be missing some work. In the last 3 years, I have been hit in the face, in the right ear, in the chest and several times in the arm. I am throwing from about 30 feet. I have the correct screens at our diamond but when we go on the road, I have to throw before games. I don't recommend throwing full BP for those who want to learn on the run if you have a job where you can't miss once in a while after getting tagged.

RichK said:

Do people have the same issue with a hack attack they have with a jugs re: lack of timing mechanism, etc? I've never used a machine that pitched with movement, at least on purpose lol

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If you simulate the windmill action with your arm they have something to time. Its not perfect but better than just dropping the ball in the hole.