10U video critique please

[Dadof3]

This is my 10 yr old. First year pitcher. Been pitching about 3-4 months now. I haven't put a gun on her yet put she does have pretty good velocity. Only pitches are fastball and change.

This first video is all fast balls from the side.



This video is from behind the catcher. Fastballs and changes.



Last video is from behind her. She struggled with control in this one so that's mainly why I'm posting. Plus, not sure if you can tell but her fastball lost a little velocity over the 2nd video. She's getting tired here.




Thanks I appreciate it.

 

[Dadof3]

Still shots. I can only post 4 at a time.

 

[Dadof3]

 

[tojo]

Take a breath every now and then. More is not necessarily better. She needs to slow it down a bit between pitchs and put more thought and purpose in every pitch. I love her energy, but use it more wisely.She has a lean at release and has quite a few extra moving parts going into release that will make it difficult to have consistency with control.You could tell she was getting tired and things got worse with her mechanics the more she pitched.

 

[SoftSocDad]

After just 3-4 months of pitching, you should be excited about her ability to get the ball near the strike zone with such regularity.

You may have read or heard about the importance of pitchers getting in a certain number of pitches every day or week, but it's such a mental thing. Don't have her snap off 50-100 pitches as quickly as possible just to go through the motions. Sure, there are gonna be occasional days when she'll just want to get them done as quickly as possible, but on those days, she's merely exercising her arm and not doing any training that would need to be critiqued.

Instead, have her focus in and make every pitch count. Yeah, there's something to be said for a 100-pitch workout, but I'd much rather have her hitting the strike zone at least 60% of the time on fewer pitches.

You'll have to get tips on mechanics from some of the other posters.

 

[Dadof3]

Take a breath every now and then. More is not necessarily better. She needs to slow it down a bit between pitchs and put more thought and purpose in every pitch. I love her energy, but use it more wisely.She has a lean at release and has quite a few extra moving parts going into release that will make it difficult to have consistency with control.You could tell she was getting tired and things got worse with her mechanics the more she pitched.

She was definitely rushing during the taping. Probably my fault since I told her to just real off 4-6 pitches in a row. She is normally more deliberate.

Can you please expand on the "moving parts going into release"? All the constructive criticism on her mechanics the better.

I did notice after watching her drag foot isn't dragging because of the wet ground. It rained last night and the "dirt" is still pretty moist where she drags. Obviously not the best practice grounds. I need to build a circle for her to emulate game conditions a little better.

 

[Ade's Dad]

I'm not an expert, but have three years experience. She really needs to get a handle on the leaping-crow hop thing she is doing . It can take years to correct if she does it very long. Some ball fields can be in bad shape, and yes sometimes it can be wet there too.

 

[Dadof3]

I'm not seeing her replant ?? I see her cleat dragging and getting resistance from the wet ground. In the first video at :27 it really catches and throws her off balance. So she is replanting? If so it's not a very good replant is it? Here's a video I found on crowhopping. Hops first, replants then releases. Thanks!

 

[tojo]

She was definitely rushing during the taping. Probably my fault since I told her to just real off 4-6 pitches in a row. She is normally more deliberate.

Can you please expand on the "moving parts going into release"? All the constructive criticism on her mechanics the better.

I did notice after watching her drag foot isn't dragging because of the wet ground. It rained last night and the "dirt" is still pretty moist where she drags. Obviously not the best practice grounds. I need to build a circle for her to emulate game conditions a little better.

First of all, she is doing an overall good job for only 3 months. I will assume you understand that her arm circle should not leave the plane that lines her up with her target. If you notice she falls off to the side during delivery and changes the plane on a lot of her pitchs and throws a lot of pitchs up and out. Have her complete her release, then follow through. Her right foot,shoulder, and hip are moving during the release and only adds to extra moving parts that she has to control. A lot of her weight is coming down on her stride leg and she is leaning at release. She needs to be more open and upright in the open position. Both the leaning and the moving parts will interfere with control and speed. Have her finish standing tall with her weight more balanced as her stride foot plants.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

In the still pics, second set, middle picture, look at the lean. It is VERY common in her age group and older, even. She needs to work on the Stork Drill. (And see her picture.)

If you use that retaining wall that you have there for Wall Drills, she can work on her fastball and fielding, on her own. Tape a strike zone on it and have her pitch to it. The ball will come right back to her, if done right.

Also, once she is warmed up. Have her pitch whiffle balls. They will fly all over if her form isn't right. Keep encouraging her to "adjust", get open toward the house, do not close until the ball is gone, keep the weight back with shoulders tall, no forward lean.

Another good drill is a walk and snap. I don't know if this has a name. You walk left, right, left. During the second left you pitch into your own glove. The glove arm is across you body, with the glove hanging at you pocket. You arm circle and snap the ball into your glove. You keep going across the yard. Left, right, pitch.

Good luck. What state are you in and are you trying to do this without a pitching coach? Amy