What could be the problem

Softball scholar · May 14, 2018

The mental side of pitching is the hardest thing. Just like Bill Hillhouse mentioned, when you step on the field with people watching there's so much pressure on these young girls. I think its very common for young pitcher to be very inconsistent, because of nerves and pressure. To the OP, you're DD is very normal and really not underperforming. Be patient and know its a journey, don't worry when she fails. She's 10U and as she plays, practices and matures she will get better.

When my DD was 12 and 13, we lost a year and a half. She was practicing great and had good spin and fast for her age. But when she stepped on the mound she couldn't throw a strike to save her life. Wild pitch city. Her travel coach totally gave up her, and that team didn't have many other good pitchers. Good thing she was hitting well, and that kept her involved. But it got worse before it got better. It was very frustrating, and I obsessed too much about it. But we switched pitching coaches, and the new coach introduced a seven step system for every pitch. We also focused on breathing methods. She got over it. Just takes failure sometimes. She pitches a high level now, and is very mentally tough. When she gets in a tight spot, the breathing is her best friend. It keeps her from getting tight. Stay in there and don't loose any sleep over it.

nguthrie79 · May 14, 2018

Softball scholar said:
The mental side of pitching is the hardest thing. Just like Bill Hillhouse mentioned, when you step on the field with people watching there's so much pressure on these young girls. I think its very common for young pitcher to be very inconsistent, because of nerves and pressure. To the OP, you're DD is very normal and really not underperforming. Be patient and know its a journey, don't worry when she fails. She's 10U and as she plays, practices and matures she will get better.

When my DD was 12 and 13, we lost a year and a half. She was practicing great and had good spin and fast for her age. But when she stepped on the mound she couldn't throw a strike to save her life. Wild pitch city. Her travel coach totally gave up her, and that team didn't have many other good pitchers. Good thing she was hitting well, and that kept her involved. But it got worse before it got better. It was very frustrating, and I obsessed too much about it. But we switched pitching coaches, and the new coach introduced a seven step system for every pitch. We also focused on breathing methods. She got over it. Just takes failure sometimes. She pitches a high level now, and is very mentally tough. When she gets in a tight spot, the breathing is her best friend. It keeps her from getting tight. Stay in there and don't loose any sleep over it.

We are stuck in the middle of this now. First year of 12u. No progress or negative progress for the past year. Looks good in practices and warmups but falls apart in games. Everyone in the family obsessing. Everyone talking up her potential because she throws hard and has the ideal pitcher’s body type (11 years old and lean and 5’10”). Just switched pitching coaches also. Meanwhile she is getting less circle time because she is so inconsistent, and it’s that game time that is precisely what she needs to work it all out.

Your experience offers a glimmer of hope, but man is it tough here in the trenches of it.

BT3100 · May 14, 2018

nguthrie79 said:
We are stuck in the middle of this now. First year of 12u. No progress or negative progress for the past year. Looks good in practices and warmups but falls apart in games. Everyone in the family obsessing. Everyone talking up her potential because she throws hard and has the ideal pitcher’s body type (11 years old and lean and 5’10”). Just switched pitching coaches also. Meanwhile she is getting less circle time because she is so inconsistent, and it’s that game time that is precisely what she needs to work it all out.

Your experience offers a glimmer of hope, but man is it tough here in the trenches of it.

My DD was the worst pitcher on her team at 10 years old. 5 other girls pitched before she even sniffed the circle.
Fast forward 4 years and she is the starting Varsity pitcher in High School on a team that is 15-4 (she has 13 complete game wins)... School size over 4K kids. The next 2-3 years will be hard. Not gonna lie to you. But it's worth it. My DD tossed a no hitter two weeks ago and let me tell you, it's a great feeling.
Hard work and tenacity are the two most important characteristics. The fact that your family is all in together helps.
What we did was found a Tincher instructor and bought in to the IR threads here. Worked hard almost every day. There will be set backs and huge strides forward. I placed a decal on my daughter's bedroom wall by her bed it reads:
"Nothing is permanent in this wicked world, not even our troubles" - Charlie Chaplin
Don't give up.. We also let DD play in a REC league 18U once she was consistent and pitching well in travel. A few parents wondered why we let her pitch at that lower level once she was on a 14U A team. Fact is that gave her a significant amount of confidence.
Good Luck... Oh and the 5 girls who used to pitch at 10U in front of DD? Not one of them pitches today.

BuckeyeBW · May 15, 2018

At 10u (which DD played for 3 years) she struggled pitching the first 2 with consistency. She always threw harder and more accurate warming up and in practice because in games she aimed more and also tried to muscle the ball across the plate more. She may be a slow learner but last year she stopped trying to aim as much and really threw much better. This year her pitching coach and I really have been working on her slinging the ball instead of trying to muscle it. She pitches 3 times a week during tournament weeks and 5 if we don't play.

OK04dad · Jun 22, 2018

Softball scholar said:
The mental side of pitching is the hardest thing. Just like Bill Hillhouse mentioned, when you step on the field with people watching there's so much pressure on these young girls. I think its very common for young pitcher to be very inconsistent, because of nerves and pressure. To the OP, you're DD is very normal and really not underperforming. Be patient and know its a journey, don't worry when she fails. She's 10U and as she plays, practices and matures she will get better.

When my DD was 12 and 13, we lost a year and a half. She was practicing great and had good spin and fast for her age. But when she stepped on the mound she couldn't throw a strike to save her life. Wild pitch city. Her travel coach totally gave up her, and that team didn't have many other good pitchers. Good thing she was hitting well, and that kept her involved. But it got worse before it got better. It was very frustrating, and I obsessed too much about it. But we switched pitching coaches, and the new coach introduced a seven step system for every pitch. We also focused on breathing methods. She got over it. Just takes failure sometimes. She pitches a high level now, and is very mentally tough. When she gets in a tight spot, the breathing is her best friend. It keeps her from getting tight. Stay in there and don't loose any sleep over it.

Thanks for sharing this. We are finishing a month of dealing with this with our 14u DD. Been pitching since 10U and having a pretty good year. Out of nowhere she starts throwing everything high and has lost a ton of confidence. Her TB coaches, teammates and parents have been great. Pitching coach has been working on some mechanics but mainly having her work on trusting herself. She has had a bit of a growth spurt which may have contributed to it. Watching other pitchers at tourneys she has as good as or better stuff than them (non-objective dad obviously), but getting her out of her own head has been difficult. We are keeping it as positive as we can around her and telling ourselves that this too shall pass. But it is so difficult at times.

Cannonball · Jun 22, 2018

Are you simulating a hitter in your practices? If you, it is easy to do. I used a lawn chair and an old laundry basket set up on end and tied to the arm of the lawn chair to simulate where a hitter stood as I caught my dd at the younger ages.

What could be the problem

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