Help (with video) please

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Oct 16, 2014
333
0
DD is doing some weird stuff. At some point this Fall we stared really concentrating on IR and spin. Then her mechanics started to get a little sloppy. I see things. I try to get her to tweak stuff and she just gets frustrated with me. She will
Say she doesn't understand what I'm asking her to do. Or she will make the adjustment but then be frustrated that her pitches "don't feel right". She stuck right now with not gaining much speed. She's on the small side. Not quite 5'. Just turned 11. Started in Fall throwing 41-42 when adjusting to the bigger ball and 40'. Now she's at like 44-45. She's the smallest / slowest pitcher on her team and that frustrates her. Her forte is deceptive pitches and placement since she's not blowing past batters. So basically she needs to change some stuff. But her lack of being receptive to my advice at her practices coupled with her frustration level when dealing with change have us at an impasse. Did I mention she's 11 and hitting that oh so fun age of extreme growth spurt and attitude? https://vimeo.com/189319142.
Would love any advice you've got


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Jun 19, 2014
846
43
Raleigh,NC
I have learned the hard way, at this age, they seem to listen to someone else better….PAY a knowledgable instructor. It will save you a lot of headaches.
 
Oct 16, 2014
333
0
I have learned the hard way, at this age, they seem to listen to someone else better….PAY a knowledgable instructor. It will save you a lot of headaches.

Totally agree!! She has a pitching coach. It's just been really hard to get in to see him lately. I have a second kid that plays 14u travel as well...and my hubby travels a lot so I am doing a lot of shuffling around on my own every day. I just feel like each pitch she throws "not quite right" is a step further in the wrong direction. So when I'm there to see it I try to remind her and keep her on track, hope that makes sense :)
 
Sep 29, 2014
2,421
113
OK I am a terrible spin and pitch person but that looks like a flip change (but a could be 100% wrong) it just does not look like a normal follow through. If that is her normal follow through it is way too abbreviated without whip through to the end. She does have a little lean forward at release instead of being upright but it is not really bad, her push off actually looks pretty good could be a little more powerful but mechanically OK.

Biggest thing for her to get speed is going to be whip which is going to involve her unlocking her arm...it says locked 12 thru 6 which mean she is not getting whip; then front side resistance which mean while landing with the front leg with some flex in it the leg need to straighten out and offer resistance for the whip that is coming.

but I do feel for you once kids stop listening it does not matter what you say...but in most cases they are very attentive to outside instructors you just have to find one that knows what they are doing which is never easy.
 
Last edited:
Jun 19, 2014
846
43
Raleigh,NC
Totally agree!! She has a pitching coach. It's just been really hard to get in to see him lately. I have a second kid that plays 14u travel as well...and my hubby travels a lot so I am doing a lot of shuffling around on my own every day. I just feel like each pitch she throws "not quite right" is a step further in the wrong direction. So when I'm there to see it I try to remind her and keep her on track, hope that makes sense :)

One step forward and two step back is how it seems. Any substantial changes will take time. I would suggest picking one thing to focus on and in your daughters case, maybe looking back at the I/R thread and work on the lock it in drill and progress from there. If you work on too many things at one time, at this age, kids can get overwhelmed. Good luck. :)
 
Oct 16, 2014
333
0
OK I am a terrible spin and pitch person but that looks like a flip change (but a could be 100% wrong) it just does not look like a normal follow through. If that is her normal follow through it is way too abbreviated without whip through to the end. She does have a little lean forward at release instead of being upright but it is not really bad, her push off actually looks pretty good could be a little more powerful but mechanically OK.

Biggest thing for her to get speed is going to be whip which is going to involve her unlocking her arm...it says locked 12 thru 6 which mean she is not getting whip; then front side resistance which mean while landing with the front leg with some flex in it the leg need to straighten out and offer resistance for the whip that is coming.

but I do feel for you once kids stop listening it does not matter what you say...but in most cases they are very attentive to outside instructors you just have to find one that knows what they are doing which is never easy.


I am by no means a pitching expert. But I have spent a lot of time on here and researching all of the stickies. I feel like I have a pretty good understanding of it all. I agree with all you have mentioned

locking the arm. Check. I have been trying to get her to stop this and can't find a cue that helps her.

front side resistance. check. Last night I told her to JUST work on her landing leg and getting it straighter and keeping her weight/shoulders back. She slowed WAY down trying to be methodical. her fastballs looked like change ups. She was getting super Pi**ed at me and told me to stop talking to her:p what can I do , sit there and watch her lean with a bent leg at every release? Ugh so hard

she has a PC. I just can't always get her in regularly. And it kills me inside to watch her pitch like this over and over without intervening as well
 

SB45

Dad, Coach, Chauffeur
Sep 2, 2016
150
28
Western NY
Coaching your own kid is tough!
But, there are volumes of comments on here to suggest that you not put all your faith in the pitching coach. she needs to make some improvements in her mechanics, but changes are very difficult to make at full speed, if you are pitching for real...if there is too much emphasis on the results. Put up a net, put up a tarp...have her throw into that and focus on the drills and techniques available in the brush/IR & drive mechanics threads. Slow it down...feel it. Understand that in the middle of making changes the end result of any particular pitch will probably be bad...and frustrating...it cannot be about balls and strikes and speed. Put her in front of a net and learn to do it right...over and over...3 or 4 months from now you can start to worry about controlling things better. Trying to change her motion on Thursday and having her pitch in a game on Saturday will just not work.
 

Ken Krause

Administrator
Admin
May 7, 2008
3,911
113
Mundelein, IL
From what I can see, she looks pretty good through 12:00. When she gets to about 11:00, however, her arm seems to straighten out. From that point it all acts as a single piece coming down so that by the time she gets to release there's no ability to whip. There should be a bend in the elbow all the way through the back side of the circle, with the ball trailing. Once the upper arm decelerates (when it is pointed straight down) the lower half of the arm should go whipping by. Because the arm is already straight she ends up pushing the ball through the release zone.

Have her work on some of Boardmember's drills, starting with the one where the upper arm is pressed against her side and she just takes the lower arm back and then throws. I believe it's called "Lock it in." She needs to get the feel for what whip is like. Have her work her way back to 12:00, and then to a full arm circle so she can feel the loose elbow and whip.

The other technical thing I see is that the back leg pretty much stops moving by the time she gets to 11:00. So she's likely just stretching her front leg out rather than driving her whole body forward. She's basically leaving her back side behind as she throws. She needs to get her torso moving forward as part of the push off so it's not dragging her down.

As for things feeling different, by definition that's what happens when you make a change. She's out of her comfort zone most likely. You need to tell her things will feel a little odd until she replaces old habits with new ones. More practice on her own might help with that.

If you have a pitching coach, and he/she is teaching the right things, then let the PC do the teaching. You just sit back on the bucket and offer encouragement. I can't tell you how many times parents have told me they've told their daughters the same things I'm saying and gotten nothing but grief. But I say it and they're all over it. Most of the time it's easier to hear corrections from someone who isn't a parent. No matter how carefully you try to say things, it often gets interpreted as criticism rather than help. From an outsider it sounds like help. One of the joys of parenthood.
 
Mar 18, 2013
105
16
MN
I'm no expert either but from one mom to the next I feel like she looks really good up until 9:00 - then she starts to get behind the ball and pushes it down the circle into release. The bend forward and collapse of the landing leg I feel is due to the pushing/bowling motion. If it were my dd I'd work on upper body whip with the IR drills. Lots of repetition leading with elbow. I like her drive. When my dd was her age we used a pool noodle held at forehead height to get her to keep her weight back - it helped a ton with the bend. Good luck!
 
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