How to Organize Pitching Practice

I was wondering how everyone sets up their daughters pitching practice at home, in the off-season. My daughter wants to focus on several key areas: locating spots, mixing speeds, and to hone her dropball (we always work on speed & mechanics). Would you work on all areas at each practice or work on each area at a different practice? We will be pitching 4-5 days per week. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

We try to mix it up each time. The variety keeps it fresh and interesting. My DD is 11 so I don't let her set the whole plan. She will pick something(s) she likes to work on and I will pick something(s) her coach recommended in the last few sessions.

The most important thing is to get your DD out there and throwing 4 or 5 days a week in the off-season. You want her to throw 100 "game quality" pitches each practice. You have to do this consistently.

So:

1) Don't be a stickler about anything other than the 100 pitches. Band concert tonight? Had to work late? No problem...we'll just do the hundred pitches and move on.
2) If you have time, then you do something at the beginning of the session...long throws, walk throughs, breaking pitches, etc.
3) Each practice session ends with quadrants...low and inside, low outside, high inside, high outside. Control, control, control.
4) This is a marathon, not a sprint.
5) It is very important that she practices today *AND* tomorrow. There will be frustrations, and some days she will suck. Just acknowledge it..."Wow, you were off tonight. It happens. You'll do better tomorrow. Let's eat."

briang said:

I was wondering how everyone sets up their daughters pitching practice at home, in the off-season. My daughter wants to focus on several key areas: locating spots, mixing speeds, and to hone her dropball (we always work on speed & mechanics). Would you work on all areas at each practice or work on each area at a different practice? We will be pitching 4-5 days per week. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

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You don't mention your DD's age. A lot of what you work on is dependent on that. If your DD is younger you may want to work on speed one day, location the next and learning to change speeds the following day. Work on her weaknesses till they are not. Don't be results oriented. Be process oriented. Don't worry about the result of the pitch. Worry about what's happening in the circle and work on getting those things correct. The end results will take care of themselves when the other end its correct.

If your DD is older, work on specific movement pitches. One day make it Rise & Curve. The next Drop & Screw. Work CU's with the other pitches. Other days work nothing but speed. Work on the mechanics of the pitches till they are good and then work on control and placement. If she's learning a pitch take a day and concentrate on that till she feels good with the pitch. One of the things working during the winter can help with is the mental portion of the position. Learning how to practice correctly through the boredom of multiple reps.

Another thing to do is to lengthen the time of the workouts. Add a few minutes each week so she can be in "pitching shape" when the spring arrives. It's different than being "In shape" She needs to be able to practice for an hour or longer and still be strong at the end. I see too many pitchers run out of gas near the end of a game because they hit-the-wall physically and can't battle through it because they only work for 30 minutes at a time. Also, get her to recognize when she is tiring and learn how to power through it. Other days do simulated games with a team that beats the heck out of any mistake she throws. Her teammates make 3 errors in row. Frustrate her in practice so she learns how to handle it in a game without falling apart. These are all skills that need to be learned as much as the actual pitching.

Do a YouTube search for "Clear the Mechanism" from the movie For the Love of The Game. Have her watch the clip. It's a great visual representation aid to help a player's understanding about what happens when they are in the "Zone" and blocking everything out. Again, it's a learned skill for some and other do it naturally. I know my DD learned how to do it on her own.

One final thing. Ask her what practice makes. Most likely she'll answer "Perfect." Tell her that's wrong. Practice makes permanent. So work on practicing correctly, every pitch. Be sure she understands she is the only player on the field who can't take a pitch off during a game.

Have a plan. Don't be in a hurry you have all winter. If something is not going right don't be afraid to change. Patience, patience, patience..... If it was easy everyone would do it. The difference in hitting or missing a spot is only a couple of hundreth's of a second at the release.