12U Pitcher Evaluation Please

[lvdavidson]

Not sure if this is how to do this. I am inserting links to youtube videos of DD's in game pitching. This was from the summer rec game, just shy of her 12th birthday. She is small for her age (height wise) but solid build. 4'10" maybe 85 pounds. I have read and tried to implement information from this forum as best as I can. I would like another set of eyes to tell me where to focus next. She is pretty accurate. Speed is probably a little below average for our area. Another dad on travel team had a pocket radar that gave 42-44 mph read outs when she pitched.

She will be playing middle school ball and travel this spring. We finished our fall season at the end of October (pitched some, played LF and 2nd mostly). I made her take a break from pitching during basketball which is now over. We are looking to get started back into pitching right after Christmas. What areas should I focus on leading into season. I feel like she could have more speed than she is getting.

Here are a couple of videos from this summer. Hope I did the youtube thing right. First time I have every tried. I don't have any videos from the side.





https://youtu.be/VsFwp3pFOaM

 

[Rolling Hard]

null

 

[djcarter1966]

I think you have to set it public i think says its private....but unless give someone the link or host it on a channel with a bunch of subscribers no one else would know where to look...so no worries

 

[lvdavidson]

Maybe try again?

 

[DNeeld]

The video is hard to make any meaningful comment on, but in general she has a crow hop and monkey butt posture. The arm circle and whip (the most important factors) are very hard to evaluate, but don't look too bad. Her poor posture will prevent an effective whip/brush action however.

 

[lvdavidson]

Here is a side view from summer.

 

[ArmWhip]

She lands way too far to the left of the power line. This makes her close her shoulder too early and she ends up pushing the ball too much instead of whipping. Landing that far off line also makes it difficult to have good strong front side resistance. She has potential for sure, just needs some tweaks.

 

[Mike-Coach-Q]

i was going to add pushing straight forward but thought of this video. So, I’d suggest pushing straight unless this is the style your following

 

[Mike-Coach-Q]

 

[mikhy1]

Just based on the side view from the summer: I think there is a lot going on here... Her arm is long and locked out, resulting in her pushing the ball. As a result, her posture is poor since she has to lean over/bend at the waist to clear a path for her arm to push the ball. Because she is bent over and her arm is locked she is not getting any type of brush trigger/IR mechanic. She also isn't getting into a good drive position, engaging the drive leg and really accelerating off the rubber like she needs to.

You may have done so already but my suggestion would be to read the "Drive Mechanics" and "I/R In The Classroom" sticky threads at the top of this forum. There is a lot to digest in there but it really details what good drive mechanics should look like and how I/R mechanics work.