A Pitching Primer - What am I missing?

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Aug 1, 2019
962
93
MN
A Pitcher needs to have a strong and accurate overhand throw as well.
I agree. Pitchers have plenty of opportunity to throw overhand in team throwing drills, infield practice, and practicing/playing other positions. I'd like to see the mentality of "underhand throwing is only done for pitching specific work" broken.
 

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
You have all the learning videos already - so I will add the one that probably most affected my DD's journey. That is the is the slow-motion of Amanda Scarborough pitching. That video is pure art. It hits all the teaching points you want to hit slowed down so you can REALLY see everything that is happening.

"Do you look like this when we watch you pitch in slow motion? No... then we have more work to do."
 
Jun 6, 2016
2,714
113
Chicago
You have all the learning videos already - so I will add the one that probably most affected my DD's journey. That is the is the slow-motion of Amanda Scarborough pitching. That video is pure art. It hits all the teaching points you want to hit slowed down so you can REALLY see everything that is happening.

"Do you look like this when we watch you pitch in slow motion? No... then we have more work to do."

I show that video to everybody when they're starting to pitch. "This is what pitching looks like." It doesn't tell you how to get there, but it's good to have an ideal example (in HD slo-mo) to watch over and over again.
 
Apr 11, 2016
133
28
Good luck to you. When I coached 8U rec, I'd send out quick emails and drill ideas to do at home. NONE of the parents read it. They just wanted to drop their DDs off for an hour so they could get other stuff done.

I found that the kids were more interested in learning. I asked a few parents who usually stuck around to help me do batting or throwing with the other kids who didn't want to pitch. With the kids who wanted to learn to pitch, I broke down the underhand motion and had the kids repeat them. Start with the 1/4 throw, then overhand, then full pitch. It took multiple sessions to get them whole motion down. Yes, showing them the video once at the beginning, and then just have them work on the motion.
 

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
I think this needs more emphasis. Over the years it became more and more strange to me for a pitcher to show up at a lesson and the first thing they do is start warming up by throwing overhand. I try to cut them off before they even get 5 throws in. You only have so much time, get more underhand reps in. Why not make underhand as ingrained as throwing overhand? Maybe even more so for pitchers. Warm-ups before school practice/travel practice/games, pitchers throw underhand. Slowly backing up into long toss, keep throwing underhand. Their accuracy will be as good as their overhand throwing teammates.
!!!
To this point of
Make underhand as ingrained
Agree!

Can remember this story where a pitchers dad was complaining about the other pitcher on their daughter's team. Because when she fields the ball she would often throw underhanded to the base. The dad said the other pitcher can't even make and finish a play correctly.
I said what does it matter how the ball gets there if she gets the out.
Its called throwing either way!

Underhand is normal....
For some players!:)
 

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