8yo DD power problem

[2 DD Coach]

8yo dd has been pitching for a little over a year. She is really into it, and throws almost everyday. She pitched in spring last year in 8u and all stars, then in 10u for fall ball with her older sister. She struggled at first in 10u, but was holding her own with the older girls by the end of the season. She wanted to play with her friends, so we kept her in 8u for spring this year.(She turned 8 middle of january, so technically she could play 8u again next year also.)

By accident the other day, we discovered an issue with her pitching. We went to a field that had a mound set at 40ft, and she wanted to pitch from that distance. She was only slightly down in speed from 32ft, and her accuracy actually went up. You could really see a difference in the way she was pushing off the rubber. Moved her up to 32ft, faster but less accuracy, and she does not drive as hard. Tried 35ft, and that is the magic distance. She is actually faster at 35ft then 32, and much more accurate. She says she can't feel the difference in her drive.

So how do we get her to drive as hard at the shorter distance?

 

[Amy in AZ.]

What were you gauging the speed with? And how much had she pitched (gotten tired) before she started throwing at the 32 feet distance? I am betting that she maxed out at 40 and just quickly ran out of gas. Plus, she knew that she had to push at 40 feet and she didn't have to at 32 feet. Pitching is as much mental as anything.

 

[2 DD Coach]

I don't really worry about her accuracy, she seems to be above average for her age. (Honestly my biggest concern is that she tends to pitch inside, and when it gets away from her, she hits batters, and it hurts!) The problem is, SHE does. She is starting to get frustrated because she can tell she is pitching better at 35', and wants to fix it. We have really worked on her being able to identify what she is doing wrong when she has one get away, so she can fix it herself. Other then telling her to push harder, I'm at a loss here.

 

[2 DD Coach]

Amy,
Using a glove radar. I know its not the best, but it does serve its purpose. Plus, you can see the difference in the pitch sitting on the bucket. One has an arc to it, the other comes level and hard. We were at it again today, and we had the thought of the running out of gas idea. But after she had thrown about 50 pitches, we moved her back to 40', and she went right back to driving hard and throwing better. It seems to be 100% mental at this point. She just sees the closer target, and doesn't put the same force into it.

 

[SoftSocDad]

I don't really worry about her accuracy... The problem is, SHE does.

A 'power problem'? For an 8yo??

Children often have some of the same obsessions or traits as their parents. You're over-analyzing here. She just turned 8. Don't let her practice (too many) bad habits, but from the tone of your posts, you seem too worried about why a barely-8-year-old isn't able to deliver her best on every single pitch.

Hopefully, if you get to a place where you're able to relax when she's pitching or practicing, then she may get there, too. And when she does, she'll stand a greater chance of reaching her potential, in softball and beyond.

 

[NVfishing]

You could work on leg drive drills. Use a lifting belt and attach velcro tab to the drive leg side. Attach the velcro piece to a thin rubber hose and have her drive and break the velcro free from the rubber hose attachment. The more velcro you attach the harder they need to drive to break free from it.

My DD has been doing drills where she knee bends and pushes out. We do that in rows up and down the gym. She's trying to work on the leg drive also but sometimes she concentrates so hard on the leg drive she forgets about the arm whip. 7YO.

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

Have her visualize throwing the ball "through" the catcher not just "to" the catcher at the shorter distance. Also, I would only have her pitch the distance she will be playing from in the games. She has only been pitching for a little over a year, have her throw from the same distance everytime especially as she is still learning the basic mechanics of pitching. In my opinion, no 8YO should be pitching from 40 feet unless she is doing "walk-through" drillls to build arm strength and even so the goal with that drill is not accuracy but arm strength and power. Keep her practices simple and focused, don't rush things, she'll be better off for it in the long run.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Man, 32 feet is a short distance. The Little League girls that I start with are at 35. I had no idea some girls were at 32.

So, if you stride at all, you are releasing the ball 29 feet from the batter.

I think that the ball is a RIF, but still, if someone gets ahold of a LD. Look out.

 

[starsnuffer]

Remember that the speed of the ball correlates directly to the speed of the arm at release. When you hear coaches say "throw hard", we really mean "relax and throw fast".

To achieve this, you need to focus on her mechanics, not her "power". She's 8, and is getting stronger every day. Dont' try to get her to force or muscle her way into throwing harder, what you really want to do is get her to relax and throw "smoothly". Once she does this, her body will be in a position where she can learn to work like a whip, and her speed will increase.

It's a bit counter-intuitive to what you think you're trying to accomplish, but you have to trust that the end result will be what you desire.

-W

 

[2 DD Coach]

A 'power problem'? For an 8yo??

Children often have some of the same obsessions or traits as their parents. You're over-analyzing here. She just turned 8. Don't let her practice (too many) bad habits, but from the tone of your posts, you seem too worried about why a barely-8-year-old isn't able to deliver her best on every single pitch.

Hopefully, if you get to a place where you're able to relax when she's pitching or practicing, then she may get there, too. And when she does, she'll stand a greater chance of reaching her potential, in softball and beyond.

I hope you are correct in that my daughter has some of the same obsessions or traits as me. She loves to pitch. She wants to be the best, or as she puts it, "The girl who always gets to pitch in the unlimited run innings." She understands at barely 8 that it just doesn't happen because you want it to. It requires work and practice to achieve a goal. My job is to encourage her, and assist her in reaching a goal that she has set for herself.

We laugh together, listen to music, and pretty much have a blast when we practice. The problem is she saw the difference in the way she was pitching at 35ft, and wants to pitch that way at 32, where she will be playing. I am simply trying to come up with a way to help her so she can. It's not a matter of trying to figure out how I can get my daughter to throw her best on every single pitch, it's about trying to help her acheive something that she already does, just at the wrong distance.