Improving location

EmToTheDee · Oct 2, 2017

Bob516 said:
DD2 started pitching 11 weeks ago.

Others may feel differently, but 11 weeks into learning to pitch... I wouldn't really worry too much about accuracy. Throw 'em all down the middle and let her innate in-accuracy put them on the corners.

When throwing down the middle starts turning into actual "down the middle" pitches due to consistent good form and habits, then start putting the glove in other quadrants.

That said, aiming for targets keeps practice more interesting so is definitely of value! Just don't judge her too harshly on accuracy since she's only 11 weeks into learning something new. Girls overly concerned about placing the ball often develop really bad form from what I've seen.

quincy · Oct 2, 2017

Also not a bad idea to put something up to simulate a batter in the box.

Bob516 · Oct 2, 2017

Thanks for you suggestions.

EmToTheDee said:
Others may feel differently, but 11 weeks into learning to pitch... I wouldn't really worry too much about accuracy.

I don't know how I could get her to go back to only down the middle after her first PC had her pitching inside and outside at the end of August.

EmToTheDee said:
That said, aiming for targets keeps practice more interesting so is definitely of value!

She loves working on location. I doubt she would be willing to spend most of a practice session working only down the middle. She is willing to throw a few down the middle after warm-ups, and follow what her PC had her do at the end, 5 down the middle, as fast as she can.

EmToTheDee said:
Just don't judge her too harshly on accuracy since she's only 11 weeks into learning something new.

Judge her? Just the opposite, I am regularly telling her that I am amazed with how well she is doing.

Bob516 · Oct 2, 2017

quincy said:
Also not a bad idea to put something up to simulate a batter in the box.

Excellent idea. Unfortunately not in my budget right now and I don't see how I could drag it out to the school field for each practice,

Thanks.

sluggers · Oct 2, 2017

So, let's be clear on what "control" is and is not.

Throwing the ball to a specific location is not control. Pitching is not darts, where every target is exactly the same.

For example:

If your DD can consistently throw a pitch 16 inches off the ground and on the river is that a... strike? a ball? The same can be said for a pitch 16 inches off the ground and down the middle of the plate. What is it? Who knows?

At her age, the strike zone is going to vary wildly from batter to batter.

Every batter has a different strike zone. Every umpire has a different strike zone.

So, learning to throw the ball to a specific point is really a waste of time.

What is control? Control is the ability to change the location of each pitch.

Teach her is how to move the ball up, down, left and right around the plate. Do *NOT* teach her to throw the ball to a specific spot.

How do you do that?

For up and down, ask her to throw the next pitch up. You want the pitch way up...as in 3 feet or so off the ground. The next pitch, you want the ball down...as in way down, as in just off the dirt. Rotate these two pitches until she can feel the difference.

When she gets "stuck" and can't seem to move the pitch, tell her to throw the next pitch "way up", as in over your head, or way down, as in bouncing the ball on the ground.

The same thing with left and right...start with her throwing the ball way left, and then way right. Have her rotate between the two.

When she gets the hang of it, then start throwing to the four corners. Rotating them.

Bob516 · Oct 2, 2017

sluggers said:
So, let's be clear on what "control" is and is not.

Throwing the ball to a specific location is not control. Pitching is not darts, where every target is exactly the same.

For example:

If your DD can consistently throw a pitch 16 inches off the ground and on the river is that a... strike? a ball? The same can be said for a pitch 16 inches off the ground and down the middle of the plate. What is it? Who knows?

At her age, the strike zone is going to vary wildly from batter to batter.

Every batter has a different strike zone. Every umpire has a different strike zone.

So, learning to throw the ball to a specific point is really a waste of time.

What is control? Control is the ability to change the location of each pitch.

Teach her is how to move the ball up, down, left and right around the plate. Do *NOT* teach her to throw the ball to a specific spot.

How do you do that?

For up and down, ask her to throw the next pitch up. You want the pitch way up...as in 3 feet or so off the ground. The next pitch, you want the ball down...as in way down, as in just off the dirt. Rotate these two pitches until she can feel the difference.

When she gets "stuck" and can't seem to move the pitch, tell her to throw the next pitch "way up", as in over your head, or way down, as in bouncing the ball on the ground.

The same thing with left and right...start with her throwing the ball way left, and then way right. Have her rotate between the two.

When she gets the hang of it, then start throwing to the four corners. Rotating them.

That is an interesting approach. I wonder how she will take to it, after working the four corners during practice with me for more than a month.

sluggers · Oct 2, 2017

That is an interesting approach. I wonder how she will take to it, after working the four corners during practice with me for more than a month.

If your DD is this good after 11 weeks of pitching, she must be something...anyway:

For each corner, there are three spots she should be able to hit.

1) On the river (meaning the ball goes over the black part of the plate).
2) One ball over the plate (meaning the ball is one ball diameter off the river toward the middle of the plate).
3) One ball outside (or inside)--the ball is one ball diameter away from the plate.

Make sure she understands that she has to change the location of the pitches based on (1) the umpire and (2) the batter.

Talk to her about what to do when a pitch is called a ball. She needs to think, "Which way do I need to move the pitch? How much do I need to move the pitch?"

When my DD was 13YOA, I had her draw umpire strike zones in the dirt between innings. (there are few umpires in softball with rectangular umpires.)

Bob516 · Oct 2, 2017

sluggers said:
If your DD is this good after 11 weeks of pitching, she must be something...anyway:

I am not in a position to say she is something, besides my bias, I have little knowledge to judge. What I do is see how her coaches respond to her. In her first 14u tournament she started the first game of pool play, and the first game of bracket play. Seems like they have confidence in her.

sluggers said:
For each corner, there are three spots she should be able to hit.

1) On the river (meaning the ball goes over the black part of the plate).
2) One ball over the plate (meaning the ball is one ball diameter off the river toward the middle of the plate).
3) One ball outside (or inside)--the ball is one ball diameter away from the plate.

Make sure she understands that she has to change the location of the pitches based on (1) the umpire and (2) the batter.

Talk to her about what to do when a pitch is called a ball. She needs to think, "Which way do I need to move the pitch? How much do I need to move the pitch?"

Thanks for all that info, I never knew what 'on the river' meant. I had figured I should let her team coaches and pitching coach talk to her about what to after a ball. You think I should talk to her about it?
After a scrimmage three weeks ago she said she realized some batters were swinging at pitches outside of the strike zone, and she did not always have to get the ball over the plate to get a strike. I was impressed she was teaching herself these things.

sluggers said:
When my DD was 13YOA, I had her draw umpire strike zones in the dirt between innings. (there are few umpires in softball with rectangular umpires.)

That is a riot, and such a good suggestion.

Thanks.

Sparky Guy · Oct 2, 2017

Bob516 said:
DD2 started pitching 11 weeks ago. She has been working on location with me. She asks me to call a corner for her fastball. She will get the ball within the general area I am calling, her high and outside pitch looks high and outside, and not any other corner, though she is not consistently hitting the strike zone. No surprise there. She will probably not get her next pitching lesson for two weeks. Is there any skill or drill I can suggest for her to do to improve her accuracy, other than just keep on practicing?

The best thing to do is to concentrate on what is happening at the pitching rubber. Once she gets things squared away at that end the other end will take care of itself. The number of missed pitches will decrease as her mastery of her mechanics improves. So focus on the mechanics first and foremost. Don't get caught up on the balls and strikes results right now. Learning to pitch is best if it's process driven instead of results driven.

Remember. It's a marathon, not a sprint. She will have to put the time in. There are no shortcuts. Also, it's not the number of pitches she throws. It's the number of pitches she throws with good mechanics. Even if she misses. All that is, is a matter of getting her timing down. She is dealing with adjustments that are only small fractions of a second in size.

sluggers · Oct 2, 2017

You think I should talk to her about it?

Don't take anything for granted. Ask her, "What did the coach tell you about adjustments during the game?" and then let the conversation flow a little.

E.g., the coach calls for a pitch low and outside. What does that really mean? The meaning changes based on the count. On a 2-0 count, that means she is throwing the pitch one ball on the plate (one ball toward the middle). On an 0-2 count, she is throwing the pitch one ball off the river.

The MLB playoffs are coming up...get her to sit down and watch a couple of innings and study the way the MLB pitchers throw. (After watching a lot of softball, watching baseball is like watching paint dry.)

That is a riot, and such a good suggestion.

This will force her to watch the umpire when her team is batting.

She'll find that the umpire's strike zone will change over the course of a game.

Improving location

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