11 year old dd has gone backwards pitching in the last few months

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May 9, 2015
263
18
West Virginia
My diagnosis...Way too open trying to clear the hips and forward lean at release. Need to work on her posture and not opening up that much.


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Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
My 12 year old is in the middle of this too. Apparently it's not uncommon at this age. She was very good in 10U and first year 12U then this year just sort of fell apart. Big growth spurt, 2 month break, hurt ankle all combined to really jack up her mechanics. I've talked to a lot of parents with older pitchers and most of them seem to have gone through something similar at the same age. It's definitely frustrating for everyone involved, especially her. I reminded her the other day of how in her early lessons when she was first learning, she was so wild she once almost knocked a trophy off the wall behind me when I was catching for her...and the trophy was on a shelf near the ceiling. I figure if she keeps working, she'll get through it.
 
Apr 28, 2014
2,316
113
Reason I asked about a break is that after 4-5 weeks off it's a perfect time to relearn mechanics. We corrected a lean that way. Once the break was over we started back with strict discipline and focus on a proper motion. One way that helped DD was to have her pitch at 25% speed. Then 50%.. At 50% her lean was gone! Once we took her to 75% the lean came right back. Then we moved back to 50%. We noticed at 50% her speed was almost as fast at 100%. What she was doing was muscling the ball. Once she learned that it was hurting her she made some changes and moved past the lean. I do see it every once in a while when she needs to jam one in. I agree with the front side resistance suggestions. Sometimes it's easier to teach when you take the motion to 50%.
 
May 30, 2017
25
3
Thank you, that's a great idea. She definitely does the same thing you describe as " muscling " the ball. Its crazy because she sees the difference when she stays tall yet cant seem to fix it . What a struggle !!!
 
Nov 25, 2012
1,437
83
USA
Thank you, that's a great idea. She definitely does the same thing you describe as " muscling " the ball. Its crazy because she sees the difference when she stays tall yet cant seem to fix it . What a struggle !!!

Just my 2 cents...... and PLEASE don't take this the wrong way. Truly trying to throw out some ideas for you as we are all in this journey together.

I think the first thing you need to look at is her mechanics and decide what type of pitcher she is or wants to be and find a model pitcher or two to follow and try to replicate.

Right now, and just my opinion although I think others would agree, you have a young Kelly Barnhill or Ally Carda. No, I am not trying to point out the replant and legality please believe me. My point is if you are trying to replicate a Monica Abbott or Ueno while pitching like Barnhill or Carda you will struggle. The mechanics are different. The drive foot turns almost backward, replants, etc. with Barnhill mechanics while it is a drag into FSR with Abbott mechanics.

Again, NOT trying to turn this into a your DD is legal or illegal discussion. Just trying to point out that the first thing to do is understand what she is doing and then decide if you want to change it or accept it and focus on making it better.

I say all this because much (if not all) of what you will find here will lend itself to Abbott, Ueno, etc. mechanics and might be difficult to replicate unless you want to change her at this point.

Just food for thought and hope it might help.

S3
 
May 30, 2017
25
3
I appreciate your input. I am not taking anything the wrong way or am offended. I want to work to fix her and hearing other ideas and opinions are great. I will study some Barnhill videos to understand what you mean.
 
Oct 4, 2018
4,611
113
Well thanks a ton. I'm not looking forward to going through this with my 9U DD who is pitching really well.

:D

Yeah, that lean is troublesome. Part of me worries about that pitching coach. Is the coach actively correcting that? It shouldn't be on dad to correct -- this is what you're paying a coach for. I'd expect an action plan, a set of drills to work on to combat it, etc.
 
Apr 28, 2014
2,316
113
Well thanks a ton. I'm not looking forward to going through this with my 9U DD who is pitching really well.

:D

Yeah, that lean is troublesome. Part of me worries about that pitching coach. Is the coach actively correcting that? It shouldn't be on dad to correct -- this is what you're paying a coach for. I'd expect an action plan, a set of drills to work on to combat it, etc.

It's painful. We went through it for almost 2 years. Varied from poor to getting better to slipping back. Once it was fixed we moved to rise ball and that requires a lean lol.. All of the drills we did (pool noodles, nose over belly button, pulling the ponytail) none of them worked. The only thing that worked for us was breaking the motion down and having DD start at 25% and work up to 50% up to where the lean would start then we would raise the level of awareness. Also the App called "Technique" was a life saver. Allowing us to break down into slow motion. Keep these ideas in your back pocket so if your DD ever starts to lean you can fix.
 

Top_Notch

Screwball
Dec 18, 2014
512
63
Looks like a high school kid throwing. Besides her leap, she looks more like a bowler than a pitcher. She walks out of her pitch at the end and appears to be facing the catcher. A turn to her left will allow her arm to get through better, where then she should remain open and work on her FSR. The change to 12U is the biggest adjustment and a it will take a few weeks to adjust. But there are some form issues that need to be addressed in the meantime.
 

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