Timing

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

Chris Delorit

Member
Apr 24, 2016
343
28
Green Bay, WI
Annesdad,

It sounds like you have your daughter with a respectable coach, and one that you both seem to like. That's a great start!

Hitting is really just a reactionary event, where you're reacting to the movement of a pitched ball. The ball has a level of velocity & movement & there is rarely ever duplication in an AB, or a game. Every pitch is just a fresh AB. Timing isn't a word I use much in a training vocabulary, as I find it can confuse more than it defines. Sure, the entire process of the swing could certainly be considered a process involving some timing.

Back to your daughter.

Two common mistakes that I see with kids is that they are being taught to hyper-focus much too hard on a common release point, and then to time every pitch relative to starting their swing. Every pitcher can have a different motion, multiple release points and different pitch speeds. So, hopefully you can see that timing by counting, etc., can be the cause of inconsistancy & performance anxiety. In your daughter's scenario, that could be causing her to get out on the front foot too early.

In addition to your hitting lessons, I would suggest some drills that help relax your daughter, relax & reposition her focal points & eliminate the need to time-to-swing. If your daughter has a static stance, she can also experiment with one that incorporates a more dynamic approach.

A couple easy drills that you can experiment with are walk-throughs & tee work off the three contact points (inside/middle/outside). Live pitching emulating a variety of motion styles & speeds. Very importantly is to train out any hints of counting, focal tension & performance anxiety.

It sounds simple, but can require alot of time & patience. She's just 10U.

Remember to relax, react & have fun!

Chris
 
Oct 4, 2016
176
18
Annesdad,

It sounds like you have your daughter with a respectable coach, and one that you both seem to like. That's a great start!

Hitting is really just a reactionary event, where you're reacting to the movement of a pitched ball. The ball has a level of velocity & movement & there is rarely ever duplication in an AB, or a game. Every pitch is just a fresh AB. Timing isn't a word I use much in a training vocabulary, as I find it can confuse more than it defines. Sure, the entire process of the swing could certainly be considered a process involving some timing.

Back to your daughter.

Two common mistakes that I see with kids is that they are being taught to hyper-focus much too hard on a common release point, and then to time every pitch relative to starting their swing. Every pitcher can have a different motion, multiple release points and different pitch speeds. So, hopefully you can see that timing by counting, etc., can be the cause of inconsistancy & performance anxiety. In your daughter's scenario, that could be causing her to get out on the front foot too early.

In addition to your hitting lessons, I would suggest some drills that help relax your daughter, relax & reposition her focal points & eliminate the need to time-to-swing. If your daughter has a static stance, she can also experiment with one that incorporates a more dynamic approach.

A couple easy drills that you can experiment with are walk-throughs & tee work off the three contact points (inside/middle/outside). Live pitching emulating a variety of motion styles & speeds. Very importantly is to train out any hints of counting, focal tension & performance anxiety.

It sounds simple, but can require alot of time & patience. She's just 10U.

Remember to relax, react & have fun!

Chris

Thanks Chris! I don't think she's counting - but mainly because she's never been taught that I'm aware of - but I could be wrong. I do like the idea of the relaxing part. I think, because she's the big fish (in our little pond), she may be pressing and I could be adding to that pressure - standing over there coaching first!

She's going to work out with a travel team tonight and has been invited to play for another - but we're going to wait until next season to make a move full time. The team that has invited her has also invited her to practice with them until next season and to play in some tournaments when she's available. Maybe she will see some good live pitching that will help her in addition to these drills and working with the instructor.

I'm wondering if it would be good for her for me to pitch to her in an open field near our house just to get her some extra cuts? I don't have an underhand pitching motion that gets much speed on it but I can at least get it moving up there as fast if not faster than the pitchers in our league - hopefully with more accuracy!

Thanks all - I know she's U10 but I just see her really soaking it in and getting even more excited about the sport over the past year and want to help her out as much as I can.
 
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
I'm wondering if it would be good for her for me to pitch to her in an open field near our house just to get her some extra cuts? I don't have an underhand pitching motion that gets much speed on it but I can at least get it moving up there as fast if not faster than the pitchers in our league - hopefully with more accuracy!

Front toss is a VERY GOOD thing to do with your DD. You don't need to pitch from full distance. Get a screen to stand behind, and set yourself up 15-20 feet from her. You will improve with practice, too.
 

Greenmonsters

Wannabe Duck Boat Owner
Feb 21, 2009
6,168
38
New England
AD - get your DD as many swings as possible off live arm or front toss at adjusted distance to replicate game or faster pitching. For that matter, even though it's a different motion, overhand pitching will help your DD with timing. IMO, Once they realize how little time they actually need to swing, a light goes on and they become more comfortable waiting longer to swing.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,477
Members
21,445
Latest member
Bmac81802
Top