Expectations for 8 yr old beginner

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Jun 27, 2017
5
1
My 8yr old dd has recently started taking pitching lessons. As this is my first time going through this, I would greatly appreciate some advice on what to expect out of her instructor as far as how she teaches. The instructors close to me are your typical former college players that now give lessons at the local batting cages. The ones I've talked with seem to be genuinely interested in teaching the girls, and quite a few girls from our rec are taking lessons from them. They seem to teach basically the same, starting them out with the strong finish (HE) stuff. Her instructor at my request does not teach that to my dd, she did not pitch that way so no big deal for her. She does not stress arm whip, but does stress pinky to the catcher at the bottom of the arm circle and not being behind the ball pushing. My question is what should the lesson consist of? They start out with snaps, which I have told dd to incorporate arm whip into to keep from locking her elbow, then back up and do t's, then back up and full pitch. It's just pitch after pitch with mostly verbal and very little hands on instruction. DD looks forward to lessons, really likes her coach and I do too, but if I'm investing the money I want to make sure it's well spent. There's a very reputable coach on my side of town, but if (and that's a big if) I can get weekly lessons with him, it's a 45 minute drive one way and a Tincher instructor over an hour away on the other side of Atlanta from us. Those do not seem like good options to me as I feel that an 8yr old will tire quickly of those weekly drives on top of team practices and games. I've spent hours watching Hillhouse, Rick Pauly, Scarburough, Java, and countless other pitching videos on youtube. I know how she needs to pitch and can help her with some basics, but don't want to be a bucket dad that thinks he's a pitching coach. There's too many of them already. I'm not expecting her to be a #1 pitcher on an 10u A travel team this time next year, or have five pitches, but as long as she's wanting to pitch I want to give her the best resources to learn, improve and succeed. Sorry for the long post and again, any advice will be greatly appreciated!
 
Nov 29, 2009
2,975
83
Take the time to get into the Tincher instructor. Your DD will be better off in the long run. You can do bi-weekly lessons. Be sure to listen, learn and ask questions so you know exactly what your DD needs to be doing and make sure you understand the WHY behind what is being taught. THE best instructor for your DD is YOU. You are there multiple times a week working with her. You are the one reinforcing the things covered in the lessons.

Remember.... It's a marathon and the starting pistol has just gone off for your DD.

My DD has a student who drives 2 hours one way during the week for lessons because everyone around them teaches HE.
 
Dec 5, 2012
4,143
63
Mid West
Educate yourself as much as possible. Be a student equally with your DD. Study all the stickies on pitching... Especially IR in the classroom, drive mechanics, and resistance.
It sounds like your current PC may be on the right track, however a "Tincher certified" instructor had most likely been through a decent amount of training. For only a 15 min additional drive, that's a small price to pay if your truly looking for quality.
 
Dec 10, 2015
845
63
Chautauqua County
get Coach's Eye or something similar. study as much as you can. audit the lessons, listen, see and learn. cut down the weekly trips to biweekly or monthly and you become the assistant instructor at home. post videos here and ask for opinions and advice. this can be a great learning experience for both of you! been there and still doing it.
 
May 4, 2017
5
3
My 8yr old dd has recently started taking pitching lessons. As this is my first time going through this, I would greatly appreciate some advice on what to expect out of her instructor as far as how she teaches. The instructors close to me are your typical former college players that now give lessons at the local batting cages. The ones I've talked with seem to be genuinely interested in teaching the girls, and quite a few girls from our rec are taking lessons from them. They seem to teach basically the same, starting them out with the strong finish (HE) stuff. Her instructor at my request does not teach that to my dd, she did not pitch that way so no big deal for her. She does not stress arm whip, but does stress pinky to the catcher at the bottom of the arm circle and not being behind the ball pushing. My question is what should the lesson consist of? They start out with snaps, which I have told dd to incorporate arm whip into to keep from locking her elbow, then back up and do t's, then back up and full pitch. It's just pitch after pitch with mostly verbal and very little hands on instruction. DD looks forward to lessons, really likes her coach and I do too, but if I'm investing the money I want to make sure it's well spent. There's a very reputable coach on my side of town, but if (and that's a big if) I can get weekly lessons with him, it's a 45 minute drive one way and a Tincher instructor over an hour away on the other side of Atlanta from us. Those do not seem like good options to me as I feel that an 8yr old will tire quickly of those weekly drives on top of team practices and games. I've spent hours watching Hillhouse, Rick Pauly, Scarburough, Java, and countless other pitching videos on youtube. I know how she needs to pitch and can help her with some basics, but don't want to be a bucket dad that thinks he's a pitching coach. There's too many of them already. I'm not expecting her to be a #1 pitcher on an 10u A travel team this time next year, or have five pitches, but as long as she's wanting to pitch I want to give her the best resources to learn, improve and succeed. Sorry for the long post and again, any advice will be greatly appreciated!

DD is 10 yrs old and we drive 1 1/2 hours one way every weekend for a Tincher Instructor. It is well worth it for us.

We went to a clinic in ATL with both of the instructors from ATL and Denny. Spent 3 hours working with them in a small group. They are very good. Both are instructing D1 talent.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
May 16, 2016
1,024
113
Illinois
My only bit of advice is to keep the words that come out of your mouth as positive as possible, which can be hard to do sometimes. On days when pitching is not going very well for your daughter you are probably better off just cutting practice short on that day. With girls that are that young their confidence is extremely important, and can be pretty fragile at times also.

My daughter is a 9u players and on days when pitching is not going good I will cut the pitching lesson short and maybe just pull out the tee and hit a bucket of balls to end on a good note.
 

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
She is 8 so it better be fun first, so if you think it is a too long a drive EVERY week - then you are probably right. But maybe once a month? Or bi-weekly?

What you don't want to do is throw money at an instructor who is NOT going to teach your DD right. You sound like you have done your research, so at the basic levels you are probably going to be OK as long as your DD is wiling to be coached by you. Post videos on here if you are willing to get advice or maybe work something out for video looks with the instructor you do choose.

We are lucky - DD's pitching coach is awesome and close by so we go most weeks. That said, I have been sitting on a bucket for almost 8 years reading here, researching concepts, watching pitchers, etc. I guarantee I could be a top 3 PC in our area if I wanted to start giving lessons.
 
Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
We recently started making the hour+ drive to see a highly recommended Tincher instructor. Totally worth the drive. She's amazing. Mine's 12U and fairly advanced (has been pitching 4 years now) so we don't go every week, more like every 2-3 weeks. I'm not sure if it would be possible to do that with a new pitcher or not but worth looking into.
 
Mar 20, 2015
174
28
At 8 she will still have a lot of work to do on her overhand throw. So throw with her as much as possible and at the end of every workout have her throw underhand following the mechanics in the IR in the Classroom sticky. Video her on your phone in slow motion and show to her comparing her release to the Amanda Scarborough slow motion. Try not to get too far ahead in other parts of the motion or pitch in games until she has some mastery of the underhand release. Once she has this she has something to build on.
 
Jun 27, 2017
5
1
Thanks everyone, great stuff. I really try to work with her based on the research and learning that I've done. With her just starting out, it's fairly basic, and I feel that I'm capable of teaching it. Going along with what marriard said above, I've watched instructors that I know I can do a better job with an 8yr old beginner. The problem is that I'm dad, so obviously I don't know what I'm talking about:) The bi-weekly lessons are something that I haven't given much thought, but may work out. The problem may be getting scheduled with either. The instructor on my side of town that's 45 min away is very reputable, coached Jessica Burroughs and Megan Betsa among many other very successful college pitchers, but I think the Tincher instructor would be my first choice. I really like the idea of a female former softball pitcher instructing my daughter. I've been through the stickies and plan on using this forum to help me keep up with her as she advances. She's a natural hitter. Even when she gets a little off with her hitting it doesn't bother her. Pitching on the other hand doesn't come as easy to her and she does get frustrated, which in turn gets me frustrated, so I definitely have to work on staying positive.
 

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