DD Getting Frustrated with Speed

I have a 15 year old dd which is struggling. She is discouraged with her speed .She is very small for her age 5 feet 2 and 100 pounds. She has never went to pitching coach as I have taught her and has only been pitching for about a year she maxes out speed wise at about 49 throws but throws consistently at 46-47. With a girl her size what could be the realistic max speed she would be able to obtain any how. She is an IR pitcher and is very consistent on the plate. Is there anything in her IR or mechanics that could be tweaked that I do not know about I can upload videos if needed.

Thanks for any response.

Here is a link to the videos watch in hd you tube has bad conversion

http://youtu.be/A0nnSA7ChOY

Many people upload the video on youtube, and then post a link here.

There is no reason a girl her height can't get to the mid fifties or higher. Katie Sutherland-Finch is not much taller and throws mid 60s for Cal. You might have to get some meat on her bones though.

dmaeganx2 said:

I have a 15 year old dd which is struggling. She is discouraged with her speed .She is very small for her age 5 feet 2 and 100 pounds. She has never went to pitching coach as I have taught her and has only been pitching for about a year she maxes out speed wise at about 49 throws but throws consistently at 46-47. With a girl her size what could be the realistic max speed she would be able to obtain any how. She is an IR pitcher and is very consistent on the plate. Is there anything in her IR or mechanics that could be tweaked that I do not know about I can upload videos if needed.

Thanks for any response.

Here is a link to the videos watch in hd you tube has bad conversion

maegan pitching nsa 3 - YouTube

Click to expand...

what is the distance on that spot she is pitching from? is it 40 or 43? if that is 43 feet then she is not pitching 46-47, more like 50-51.

dmaeganx2 said:

I have a 15 year old dd which is struggling. She is discouraged with her speed .She is very small for her age 5 feet 2 and 100 pounds. She has never went to pitching coach as I have taught her and has only been pitching for about a year she maxes out speed wise at about 49 throws but throws consistently at 46-47. With a girl her size what could be the realistic max speed she would be able to obtain any how. She is an IR pitcher and is very consistent on the plate. Is there anything in her IR or mechanics that could be tweaked that I do not know about I can upload videos if needed.

Thanks for any response.

Here is a link to the videos watch in hd you tube has bad conversion

maegan pitching nsa 3 - YouTube

Click to expand...

No front side resistance. By that I mean she front leg lands really bent - like a shock absorber. Instead of pushing against this leg, she just loses a bunch of energy forward. She is basically falling through her pitch.

She is trying to use her shoulder to generate power. I see this in smaller girls looking for more speed all the time. It 'feels' strong, but she is better off with a better arm whip - which this soulder move messes with. Instead of strong legs and strong whip she is using her shoulders.

I hate the straight arm, hard take back. Shorten, relax the arm through the whole pitch. Lot of wasted energy going back which is never going to add to the speed but can throw her timing off.

Yeah she is chicken winging it, but then she is going to with her shoulder use - get the elbow closer to the body and get better arm whip. Read the numerous 'brush resistance' threads and what it is. I have found good technique brings this rather than trying to teach it. Either way she is not letting her arm just 'go' and whip through.

Apart from the takeaway - which she can get away with because everything else is so good - there is nothing better on the internet than watching Amanda Scarborough in slow motion. Look at the power in the legs and the arm whip (and where the arm is at release) Put these side by side with your video and you will see the differences in power transfer.

[video=youtube_share;avcEmdxuc30]http://youtu.be/avcEmdxuc30[/video]

For reference my DD is currently 5'0 and 100lbs and is at 51mph at 12 and showing speed improvements month after month. I have seen several 5'0" pitchers over 60mph - they all maximize technique and have lightning fast arm whips. They can't get away with relying on high torque arm circles the long limbed can.

that's 40 feet in the video

it might be the video angle but she brushes so bad her arm almost bruises actually has a couple of times and chicken winging do you mean elbow out before release or after? her elbow does come out after release.

dmaeganx2 said:

it might be the video angle but she brushes so bad her arm almost bruises actually has a couple of times and chicken winging do you mean elbow out before release or after? her elbow does come out after release.

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Looks sometimes she does it before or even during her release. A lot of this is her trying to use her shoulders for power and spin so it looks like she jerks her whole arm rather than the relaxed almost flow-like motion you would like to see (watch Amanda's arm motion through her pitch and compare using Coaches Eye or other similar tool).

Most of IR is generated with the turning/rotating of the forearm. She is skipping this by using her shoulders to rotate her whole arm and in doing so the arm and elbow tend to fly out.

Thank you marriard I understand what your saying.
I sit on a bucket can catch her, from my view and knowledge it appears to be after release but I do see what your saying now it looks like almost trying to force a rotation on the ball maybe. Her brush she gets is on the upper inner forearm. So in reality instead of the lower arm brushing her hip she is actually turning her forearm into her hip by rotating her upper arm. I did not notice that my eye is not good enough. But I do not really worry about strikes with her she has only pitched for a year. I do and am working on her weak front side. she has a bad habit of pulling her front leg back and placing it on the ground instead of letting it land to get the right resistance. she did it when she had a stride hitting also. Any help for me to help her is greatly appreciated I would love to take her to a pitching coach but there are none around here that teach IR except one and he has a huge waiting list to get into

thank you for your help

Out in Left Field said:

There is no reason to brush your hip. That went out decades ago with the slam the door method. Do you brush your ear when you through overhand? It is simply a trick for consistency, makes the bucket parent happy quick, and has nothing to do with FB speed. There is no reason to injure yourself for pitching. How much motivation does a pitcher have if she is in pain?

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Unbelievable... Bizarre... How can someone be so blind to the obvious? Have you never, ever, taken even a minute to consider that coaching is about learning, growing, studying, testing, trying, listening, asking, trying some more, being open minded, or realizing that everything someone once told you might not be correct?