16U pitcher in search of velocity...need some help please

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Jul 31, 2015
761
93
Longtime reader, first time poster.

Trying to gain insight into why 16U DD is struggling with velocity.

Been pitching her whole life. Is coached by one of the best....Fastpitch Foundations guy. Thoroughly self-motivated: practices spins and works out nearly every day: sprints, tons of long toss, TRX sprinter drill, weights, agility training, stretches to improve flexibility, you name it. And still....very little gain since 12U.

Doctor said there's no physical deficiencies.

Is it timing? Strength? Mechanics? Stage of development?
Maybe we should we teach her to reset? ;)

Hard to know at this point if we should continue to search for the breakthrough or accept things the way they are, which would be perfectly fine.

Thanks for the thoughts.

Game videos:
https://youtu.be/UJwrw8NALn0
https://youtu.be/hv9DZ9jqIkU

Walk-ups at home:
https://youtu.be/js4K1dEafVU
 
Nov 19, 2014
89
8
Longtime reader, first time poster.

Trying to gain insight into why 16U DD is struggling with velocity.

Been pitching her whole life. Is coached by one of the best....Fastpitch Foundations guy. Thoroughly self-motivated: practices spins and works out nearly every day: sprints, tons of long toss, TRX sprinter drill, weights, agility training, stretches to improve flexibility, you name it. And still....very little gain since 12U.

Doctor said there's no physical deficiencies.

Is it timing? Strength? Mechanics? Stage of development?
Maybe we should we teach her to reset? ;)

Hard to know at this point if we should continue to search for the breakthrough or accept things the way they are, which would be perfectly fine.

Thanks for the thoughts.

Game videos:
https://youtu.be/UJwrw8NALn0
https://youtu.be/hv9DZ9jqIkU

Walk-ups at home:
https://youtu.be/js4K1dEafVU
May I ask what she is throwing now? I don't see much to be gained mechanic wise. She looks great.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
 
Jul 17, 2012
1,091
38
May I ask what she is throwing now? I don't see much to be gained mechanic wise. She looks great.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
Kind of what I was thinking. Where is she and where does she want to be? Speed gains are tough to get if they are pretty sound mechanically and have already matured physically. I truly believe that DNA plays a part it in it. I can train 8 hours a day six days a week with the greatest trainers and the most sophisticated equipment on the planet, eat the perfect diet and I won't beat Usain Bolt in a race. Extreme example....I know...but you get the gist.

Sent from my E6810 using Tapatalk
 
May 30, 2013
1,442
83
Binghamton, NY
the glaring thing that i see,
is that she is "turning out" her hand as she passes over the top of the circle,
so the ball is facing backwards/down rather than frontwards/up as her arm travels down the backside of the circle.
She is essentially "pushing" the ball from the top of the circle down to the release point,
rather than pulling it and whipping her hand through the release zone.

She is essentially throwing pretty good changeup mechanics in the 2 game clips you posted,
but Im, guessing these two pitches are not intended to be changeups.

Before you post her actual top speed, I'm going to hazard a guess that she tops out in the low-50s.
That is usually where "pushers" seem to max out, velocity-wise,
no matter how big/strong they are.
 
Last edited:
Mar 4, 2016
66
6
Not experienced enough to give advice but I have a question that pertains to your video. My DD does the same and I'm curious to how much, if any, does that back leg have to do with her speed/accuracy. To me, when I see other pitchers pitch, the back leg looks more active. My DD and OP's DD both look like the back leg is just along for the ride dragging behind (hips included). But other pitchers have a lot of movement in their hips and back leg. Maybe something to look at or may be nothing. Hopefully one of our more experienced members can chime in on the back leg/hip to let us know if this is fine or if there's something missing there. Good luck to you and your DD.
 
Nov 19, 2014
89
8
Kind of what I was thinking. Where is she and where does she want to be? Speed gains are tough to get if they are pretty sound mechanically and have already matured physically. I truly believe that DNA plays a part it in it. I can train 8 hours a day six days a week with the greatest trainers and the most sophisticated equipment on the planet, eat the perfect diet and I won't beat Usain Bolt in a race. Extreme example....I know...but you get the gist.

Sent from my E6810 using Tapatalk
To what corlay said. I tried to add to my comment but my taptalk app would not let me for some reason. Anyway arm lag could be an issue as corlay pointed out. My DD was throwing harder a month a go. As we worked on increasing velocity I noticed she is trying to throw it harder by pushing instead of laging and wiping the ball.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
 

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,132
113
Dallas, Texas
Your DD is really struggling with front side resistance. Your DD is moving forward after release...which means that the momentum she generates is not being transferred to the ball.

Your DD should be stopping her body from moving after release. Here is a video of Amanda Scarborough doing a walk through. She does a full pitch at the 1:50 mark. Note how her body stops like it hit a wall. Amanda, who looks to be about the size of your DD, has almost perfect front side resistance. She comes to almost a dead stop at release. Your DD, on the other hand, is bouncing forward.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/r7o7MC1XX5k" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/xThtaozek0kmXnmOqc" width="480" height="360" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/softball-pitching-xThtaozek0kmXnmOqc">via GIPHY</a></p>
 
Last edited:

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,132
113
Dallas, Texas
A little bit more on front side resistance...here is Whitney Cannon, the best pitcher in the NCAA a few years back and the Queen of Front Side Resistance.

Whitney threw 65 MPH. Do you see any forward movement after release? Whitney almost had *NO* forward movement. Amazing front side resistance.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-czxt7uUvXw" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Last edited:

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