52 with bad mech, 49 with better mech

[yelloball20]

i have literally read this forum from back to front, trying to find some help with dd. she is now 11, started pitching a year ago in the yard and pc. she threw 52 mph, but her fastball was actually a drop ball. left the foot behind right shoulder came up and came over the ball. she threw it well, and threw it for strikes only walked 5 batters in 22 games. original pc never saw all this, knew she was leaning over, knew the foot being left behind was bad but couldn't tell us how to fix it. immediately after season found new pc he told us immediately started working on mech fixes then. flash forward to this year first year of 12, she had to be off from mid march to mid april due to knee injury (basketball) pre injury she was cruising about 51 to batters, 50 without. i realize she only been back 2 weeks and im not expecting a big change in speed this year anyway just because all the mech change.
has anyone had much exp with this after mechanics change like this. pc coach says what is slowing her down right now is she is still trying to find that good hard release after drop ball release. (after drop went away she started with a long follow thru, the hello elbow thing).
seems to me also her arm whip has slowed, and stride is a little too extended. could this be her trying to time her pitch different? her control has also been a little off, prior to injury break pitched in 2 games didn't walk one (this was against 14u teams) has pitched 5 innings since and walked 4. she is mainly missing high, she gets the good hard snap occasionally but when they are high sometimes reverts back to the elbow follow thru.
any insight is appreciated

 

[SoCalDad]

Yes, DD went through a very similar pattern when she switched PCs last year. New PC changed every aspect of her delivery. Give it time and her muscle memory will adjust.

 

[Madsdad]

Went through it as well. Some girls can throw very hard to a point, but in order to get the most out of their ability they must have good mechanics.

 

[sluggers]

A few things:

(1) Around 12 YOA, a girl's body changes. Her bosom is going to grow and her hips are going to spread. She is going to have to adapt to her new body before she starts improving again.

(2) From your post, my guess is that she was closing her hips early, getting on her front foot, and dragging her arm around her body. This method of pitching can get a young girl to throw 50MPH easily. However, it is impossible for the girl to throw more than 50 MPH. So, she has to learn the correct method--staying back, letting the arm get by the hip before she closes, etc.--before she is going to see a speed increase. You and her have to let go of the prior PC's method and go with the new guy.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Also, has she switched from an 11 inch ball and moved to 40 feet, this season? That means a drop in mph, too.

 

[yelloball20]

thanks for the input, she actually hasn't gone through "the change" yet no body changes as of yet.
the problem was actually she never closed her hips at all until the ball was about half way to the plate, left that foot and hip far behind. seems to me that way would actually slow her down. or am i wrong here? he took away her cu said at this point the last pitch she needs to run with because hes afraid she will leave that foot and hip back more. wants her to concentrate more on her rise which induces the harder stop. which i agree as far as batters, the cu is the last thing we try to throw because batters have always been late on her.
she pitched in 14u tourn today, did ok won all the games she pitched. she walked the first 3 batters (thought i was going to have coronary) never walked another. never had a ball out of the infield.
don't get me wrong im not complaining she for the most part is doing a good job. when she walks batters it is ALWAYS due to the slower foot drag. i have tried to get her to think about stopping harder, which doesn't help either. im just extremely thankful shes not over that front foot anymore and having that horrible lean. are there any drills that you guys can suggest with this her pc just keeps telling her to "fly the back foot up" which isn't really sinking in either. he keeps telling me shes 11 and wears the biggest shoe he has ever seen, it must be like trying to drag a ski up that she will get it.
again thanks

 

[yelloball20]

Also, has she switched from an 11 inch ball and moved to 40 feet, this season? That means a drop in mph, too.

i have asked pc this a dozen time, he keeps telling me no the ball will be 48 at 35 feet too that the speed doesn't adjust to 5 more feet. this makes no sense to me, it would have to right??

 

[sluggers]

I need to start "Crazy Pitching Daddies Anonymous--a 12 step program for fathers of softball pitchers."

Relax and take a deep breath. Your DD recently changed pitching styles and she is 11 YOA. It is more important for her to have good form at 11 YOA than to throw 2 MPH faster.

You seem intent to give her a bunch of specific body cues for pitching. You are telling her "do A, then do B, then do C". The poor kid ends up thinking during her pitch instead of throwing the ball. So, she has lost her fluidity.

I hate to be blunt, but you need to be quiet and stop giving her mechanics advice until she has fully adapted to this new pitching motion.

If you want some good feedback, take a video of your DD and post it on the board. We can tell you if your PC is on the right track. If he is, then you need to take a chill pill.

don't get me wrong im not complaining she for the most part is doing a good job.

No, you are doing something worse--whining. Your11 YOA DD is inconsistent. Wow. Whoever would have thought that.

the problem was actually she never closed her hips at all until the ball was about half way to the plate, left that foot and hip far behind seems to me that way would actually slow her down. or am i wrong here?

Yes, you are wrong. Attached is a picture of Cat Osterman after she released the ball. Notice the ball is probably 20 feet out of her hand, and she hasn't fully closed.


Here is a video of the great Jenny Finch. Look at her hips...

<embed src="http://share.ovi.com/flash/player.aspx?media=sluggers.10002&channelname=sluggers.softball" width="512" height="420" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed>

i have asked pc this a dozen time, he keeps telling me no the ball will be 48 at 35 feet too that the speed doesn't adjust to 5 more feet.

None of that sentence makes sense to me.

 

[Madsdad]

Back up 10 feet, does it slow down, of course it does. What I have read is, you can gain 3mph for every foot closer to the batter. Don't forget the weight of the ball. It is just about an oz. Add an oz. to one of the balls and see if it is not slower. It is simple physics.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I wear a GloveRadar for measurement. When my students change age groups, they lose up to 10 mph on their FB. That is why, when they are nearing the end of 10U, we just put the 11 in. ball away.