Any advice welcome

[bmf_rrh]

This is my 10 year old daughter pitching. She throws hard, but needs more control. Any advice? 20121008050847 - YouTube

Thanks

 

[tojo]

Your DD is turning the pivot/push foot before she pushs off the rubber. Her stride leg knee is bending as she approachs release. As she pushes off the rubber, her foot or knee should not be facing 1st base but should be facing the catcher and she should open as she pushs out, not before. Her knee not stiffening allows her weight to be too forward and she has no right(LHP) side resistance. Post additional video of your DD pitching from the rear and the side.

 

[JAD]

The first thing you need to address is the way she brings her hands together to start the pitch. There needs to be a one to ten second 'pause' before she starts her windup. Most umpires will not call her on it, especially at the younger age groups, but when one does it will mess with her timing, so I would recommend fixing it now!

 

[CoachWill]

I agree with her front leg collapse allowing her to get her weight forward. However, she seems to slow her arm down near release. Not a fan of opening the hips to much because they tend to get in the way and she'll miss low and inside. She can drag her push foot up to her anchor leg in a figure 4 and that should help keep her weight back. Remind her to stay fast all the way through her motion.

 

[shockcoach]

As she's bringing the ball down to her left hip to start her motion; her shoulders, hips and foot all rotate towards 1st base. Have her concentrate on keeping everything squared up towards home plate. If she keeps her shoulders squared up and everything else should follow. To do this, either bring the ball in the glove hand down in front of her, or separate them and use a backswing. You can't bring both hands to the hip and keep everything squared up. If she does use the back swing, watch and make sure the shoulders are staying squared up. That should help with accuracy.

Good luck and have fun! I see a lot of good happening, too.

 

[Axe]

The first thing you need to address is the way she brings her hands together to start the pitch. There needs to be a one to ten second 'pause' before she starts her windup. Most umpires will not call her on it, especially at the younger age groups, but when one does it will mess with her timing, so I would recommend fixing it now!

This is a myth, there is nothing in the rules that requires a pause once the hands come together, only that they come together for at least one but not more than 10 seconds.

 

[JAD]

This is a myth, there is nothing in the rules that requires a pause once the hands come together, only that they come together for at least one but not more than 10 seconds.

If they have to come together for at least one second what would call that? Where I come from we call it a 'pause'.....

 

[Axe]

pause [pawz] noun, verb, paused, paus·ing. noun - a temporary stop or rest, especially in speech or action: a short pause after each stroke of the oar.

The have to come together but they can still be moving, not what I would call a pause.

 

[crystlemc]

As she's bringing the ball down to her left hip to start her motion; her shoulders, hips and foot all rotate towards 1st base. Have her concentrate on keeping everything squared up towards home plate. If she keeps her shoulders squared up and everything else should follow. To do this, either bring the ball in the glove hand down in front of her, or separate them and use a backswing. You can't bring both hands to the hip and keep everything squared up. If she does use the back swing, watch and make sure the shoulders are staying squared up. That should help with accuracy.

Good luck and have fun! I see a lot of good happening, too.

This, I have to respectfully disagree with. This is almost exactly how my DD's premotion is and she has absolutely zero problem with accuracy.

I do think she needs to focus on pushing off straight, not turning her foot. Have her do a few track starts just to get the feeling of how her feet and legs should be working. The idea is to get sideways after the push-off, not before.

Also, has someone taught her to "shake hands" with the catcher upon release? I think that may be a part of her issue. Try having her exaggerate her release to her opposite shoulder. It also doesn't look like she was throwing terribly hard in this video. I think if she concentrates on throwing hard, her accuracy will come. Tell her to just relax and let it fly. Be fearless. It will come. She is doing a whole lot of things right, so she is well on her way!

 

[tojo]

I agree with her front leg collapse allowing her to get her weight forward. However, she seems to slow her arm down near release. Not a fan of opening the hips to much because they tend to get in the way and she'll miss low and inside. She can drag her push foot up to her anchor leg in a figure 4 and that should help keep her weight back. Remind her to stay fast all the way through her motion.

When you say you are not a fan of opening the hips too much; are you confusing that with closing the hips too much and the hip getting in the way?