A Pitching Primer - What am I missing?

[CoachJD]

As I am only one person, and not a very good pitching-teaching person at that, I am putting together a little primer for my players (all ages) and parents who show interest in pitching. It's basically going to be a bunch of YouTube videos, plus any other sources (like DFP, Fastpitch Foundations, Nyree White/Amanda Scarborough Facebook pages) that I think are useful.

I'm starting with a few videos (Balswick, Java) on IR/the arm circle. I'm also going to include something on Drive Mechanics.

After that, I'm stuck. What I do NOT want to do is include too much information. This is a starter kit, so to speak. This is me giving them a few things to do, and then once they have that down, we go from there. I can always send more advanced videos to those who show themselves to be dedicated.

So what is a MUST include for this primer? I'm not going to include something like finger pressure ball movement. That's for later.

Are IR/Arm circle and basic drive mechanics "enough" to get someone started?

 

[cvsoftball]

you might want to start with a primer for the parents so that they fully understand what's going to be required of them.

 

[4 girl's dad]

Top 10 Pitching Expert Drill Demonstrations

Top 10 list of pitching expert drill demonstrations (in no particular order). This is definitely one of them. It's simply mesmerizing! Top 10 Drill Demonstration - Rick Pauly: Thanks, Perfect Circle and Crystal Brown, for posting this on another thread.

www.discussfastpitch.com

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Your work is done for you! HAHA!

You really need them to understand first and foremost, that this is their daughter's journey and that they are just there to guide and offer assistance when needed. AND that its a marathon, not a sprint. AND that kids develop at different times!! I've seen so many 10u STUDS turn into 14u duds. Sometimes that happens because of the parents constant feedback and sometimes its physical. Some kids are late bloomers. Just enjoy the ride, learn as much as you can and BE SUPPORTIVE AT ALL TIMES!!!

 

[Shiloh]

Top 10 Pitching Expert Drill Demonstrations

Top 10 list of pitching expert drill demonstrations (in no particular order). This is definitely one of them. It's simply mesmerizing! Top 10 Drill Demonstration - Rick Pauly: Thanks, Perfect Circle and Crystal Brown, for posting this on another thread.

www.discussfastpitch.com

You really need them to understand first and foremost, that this is their daughter's journey and that they are just there to guide and offer assistance when needed. AND that its a marathon, not a sprint. AND that kids develop at different times!! I've seen so many 10u STUDS turn into 14u duds. Sometimes that happens because of the parents constant feedback and sometimes its physical. Some kids are late bloomers. Just enjoy the ride, learn as much as you can and BE SUPPORTIVE AT ALL TIMES!!!

This x1000.

 

[CoachJD]

you might want to start with a primer for the parents so that they fully understand what's going to be required of them.

Ha! You're right.

Though I'm not necessarily expecting them all to develop a bunch of little D1 prospects. If they're putting in rec-level work, that would be huge for us. You get them to where they can do well enough in our rec games, we can do what's needed to get them to thrive at our level. More than that would be great, but I'm not going to be greedy.

 

[CoachJD]

Top 10 Pitching Expert Drill Demonstrations

Top 10 list of pitching expert drill demonstrations (in no particular order). This is definitely one of them. It's simply mesmerizing! Top 10 Drill Demonstration - Rick Pauly: Thanks, Perfect Circle and Crystal Brown, for posting this on another thread.

www.discussfastpitch.com

/\/\/\/\
Your work is done for you! HAHA!

You really need them to understand first and foremost, that this is their daughter's journey and that they are just there to guide and offer assistance when needed. AND that its a marathon, not a sprint. AND that kids develop at different times!! I've seen so many 10u STUDS turn into 14u duds. Sometimes that happens because of the parents constant feedback and sometimes its physical. Some kids are late bloomers. Just enjoy the ride, learn as much as you can and BE SUPPORTIVE AT ALL TIMES!!!

Most of those videos (at least from the first few pages) are in my primer! The only ones that aren't are ones that might be a little redundant or not as detailed of explanation as one of the others. Or, like with Rich's, I only include one but say "Watch all three!"

I don't want to inundate with videos to watch. Yes, they have to learn all this and they have to understand the commitment, but if you give someone 50 videos and say "watch all those before you start," they may not start. If you give them 5 and say "do these first," they're more likely to get started. Then you hit them with the rest later.

I think one thing I may need to add is "learn to throw underhand." Something I know, but never really think to talk much about.

Thanks!

 

[ArmWhip]

One thing I always tell new pitchers and especially their parents is that control is the last thing that develops and they have to be prepared for a lot of walks when they start down the path. Unfortunately it's easier to 'bowl' strikes in the beginning but that method has no future. There will be pressure from coaches to 'just throw strikes' because walks are a killer. Sometimes a pitcher or a parent has to give up on pitching in games when she is learning the proper mechanics.

One thing I will tell a parent when introducing IR is that 'skipping a stone on a pond' is closer to the high level motion than 'bowling'.

 

[Tatonka]

I admire and appreciate what you are trying to do for these players and their parents...you've already gotten some solid advice. Some of the info can get really deep, really quick. For example the primer on Drive Mechanics by Java is pure gold but it can be daunting and misunderstood by many....applying the old KISS formula to a lot of this info will keep them coming back thirsty for more. Setting the bar high is good but keep it real.

 

[Ken B]

The “Eyes to See” video on the main page at FF is a very good primer: https://fastpitchfoundations.com/

 

[4 girl's dad]

Great start!

The “Eyes to See” video on the main page at FF is a very good primer: https://fastpitchfoundations.com/

Great start!!