Best virtual pitching coach?

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

Nov 26, 2019
65
8
Wondering who coaches have liked the best? I'm thinking long-term, not just for COVID times, but those who'd already had established practices for this, and who are likely to continue virtual coaching (specifically, with one-on-one classes, or at least options for individualized feedback) for quite some time. SO many options, and just curious about which instructors you'd most recommend?
 
Feb 27, 2019
137
28
Very interested on any feedback to be had. I follow plenty on facebook and other platforms that offer virtual lessons but I still feel unsure of if it's worth it.
 
Nov 26, 2019
65
8
Very interested on any feedback to be had. I follow plenty on facebook and other platforms that offer virtual lessons but I still feel unsure of if it's worth it.
Same. In my short time coaching, though, I have quickly learned that I spend almost near as much money going out than I do coming in. Haha.
 
Mar 15, 2019
115
28
California
My DD and I have experienced this firsthand since where we live (Central California) there are not many pitching coach options (along with lack of coaching in the other areas of the game). The ones that are available are a mixed bag; they either teach hello elbow or tell girls to do a bunch of drills without helping us understand why they are useful. I've walked away from several because it didn't feel or look right. So I began searching for more answers. Below has been our journey the last 2 years:

On this forum 2 years ago, we started with the stickies involving BoardMember's drills and JavaSource's manual, which began the transition from HE to IR. This in itself was huge! This led to reviewing a lot of YouTube videos to seek out how top level pitchers' mechanics looked. I see that you have also been looking at quite a few pitching posts here in trying to gain knowledge. I'll reference this later.

During this time, we dropped HE cold turkey and went head first into IR. My DD was so frustrated and I just kept encouraging her to keep working. It took 6 solid weeks of sticking with it to get the hang of it. Not perfect, but enough to recognize to let the body move in a more natural and efficient manner.

Six months after that, I became aware of a new Tincher certified instructor (the first one in CA) that was 4 hours away. Coach Steph was a college pitcher herself and we enjoyed her questions on why my DD liked pitching, making sure the journey is hers and not ours as parents. The 1-hour session turned into 2 because my DD was enjoying it so much. This pushed my DD to keep working and for me to seek more answers. Tincher's emphasis was IR as well, with putting the body in a position to be "stacked, strong, and stable."

A blessing in disguise has been COVID since with everything shut down, we were able to spend more time focusing on pitching and reevaluating everything. A year ago, my 11 year old DD was throwing an average of 38 mph (with a max of 40 mph), stuck here for about a year. Our first exposure to pitching back in 2016 was with Amanda Scarborough's videos on YouTube. When we heard that she was releasing her Pitching Angel online instruction, we immediately signed up and completed all 3 courses (foundation, accuracy, velocity). My DD enjoyed these a lot and was very excited to interact with Coach Amanda directly. She is a great motivator, but is also a no-nonsense coach. In our Zoom sessions, she would reign the girls in if they started goofing around a bit with emojis/reaction buttons and would redirect girls' questions when they wanted a fast way to do something. Her approach is, "You'll only get as far as the work you are willing to put in. There is no easy way and nothing is given." If you want to follow something that is already well-organized and gives you a weekly schedule (5 days a week), this is a great option. Coach Amanda provides videos explaining why a certain drill is being done and also demos it to provide a reference. She is all about developing and understanding body awareness.

During the tail end of Coach Amanda's velocity course, I was still intrigued by Tincher Pitching and saw that something new was developing through a branch in Ohio (Rugged Softball), especially since they were going to offer remote training. I signed my DD up for a 3-month program expecting pitching drills, but I was surprised (in a good way) that it was all about efficient body movements and strength training. This program is also well-organized into weekly workouts, 6 days a week, with video demos. Coach Jenn teamed up with Austin Wasserman (High Level Throwing) to create this and if you know anything about Coach Wass, he is a go-to for overhand throwing mechanics. We had the opportunity to attend an HLT clinic in person and my DD's overhand throw has greatly improved since then. Coach Wass also recently released a High Level Pitching softball e-book that explains most everything done through Rugged, but instead of being interactive is more of a self-learning tool.

So, my DD after going through the Pitching Angel foundation and accuracy courses went from averaging 38 mph to 44 mph in 3 months. For the next 3 months, she overlapped the Pitching Angel velocity course with the Rugged Softball remote training for a month, and then only Rugged for 2 months and jumped from 44 to 50 mph.

My DD took a winter break and upon starting up early this year, she dealt with a couple of injuries that she is now thankfully over. As she eased back into it, the Fastpitch Foundations (FF) online training with Coaches Mike, Rich Balswick, and Pat was released and since I had read a lot of their stuff here in DFP and saw their YouTube videos, was intrigued to see what this consisted of because the level of detail they discussed was eye opening. This is my personal opinion, but if you are self-directed and want to learn about the "why" down to the smallest detail, this is the way to go. Over the 3 months we have studied FF, my daughter is now averaging 52 mph and doing so in a more efficient manner. We've learned about eliminating muscling and how staying as relaxed as possible helps speed. May seem counterintuitive, but when you allow the mechanics to work through primitive movements, you begin to see the grace and beauty of efficient body movements. My DD still has a lot to work on and me a lot more to learn, but because of how I am (an inquirer), this has hit the nail on the head for me. I anxiously await the next set of FF material that gets released. This has tied in closely to Bill Hillhouse's videos where he states that the body should look the same on every type of pitch. One, to disguise the pitches, and two, to be able to establish repetitive movements. Changing things on every type of pitch creates inconsistencies.

So back to noticing you browsing a number of topics; virtual training is all about finding out how involved you want to be and/or how much you want to understand it. I know there are other great coaches out there, but I only named the ones we've used since this is what we have experienced. If you are the type to want to fully understand every detail, I would recommend FF. If you want something more guided due to time, etc., something like Pitching Angel and/or Rugged Softball would be more beneficial. All have been great options to help my DD develop and to learn more about the science of pitching. I like a mix of FF for the mechanics and Rugged for the strength and endurance that's developed since my DD is not the biggest girl (she'd be considered a "spin" pitcher, but working to put the pieces together to become a power pitcher once it's her time to grow).

Overall, supporting your pitcher(s) and staying positive is just as important, as a coach and as a parent. Pitchers will have their ups and downs and know that as long as they are working, a bad day does not mean they are terrible or something is completely wrong. Even the best have rough days and I have learned (and am still learning) that they don't need correction after every pitch, after every game. It is their journey and they need to develop and improve their body awareness. Let them be, give it at least 24 hours to let the emotion escape, and then address issues on the next pitching session.
 
Last edited:
Nov 26, 2019
65
8
My DD and I have experienced this firsthand since where we live (Central California) there are not many pitching coach options (along with lack of coaching in the other areas of the game). The ones that are available are a mixed bag; they either teach hello elbow or tell girls to do a bunch of drills without helping us understand why they are useful. I've walked away from several because it didn't feel or look right. So I began searching for more answers. Below has been our journey the last 2 years:

On this forum 2 years ago, we started with the stickies involving BoardMember's drills and JavaSource's manual, which began the transition from HE to IR. This in itself was huge! This led to reviewing a lot of YouTube videos to seek out how top level pitchers' mechanics looked. I see that you have also been looking at quite a few pitching posts here in trying to gain knowledge. I'll reference this later.

During this time, we dropped HE cold turkey and went head first into IR. My DD was so frustrated and I just kept encouraging her to keep working. It took 6 solid weeks of sticking with it to get the hang of it. Not perfect, but enough to recognize to let the body move in a more natural and efficient manner.

Six months after that, I became aware of a new Tincher certified instructor (the first one in CA) that was 4 hours away. Coach Steph was a college pitcher herself and we enjoyed her questions on why my DD liked pitching, making sure the journey is hers and not ours as parents. The 1-hour session turned into 2 because my DD was enjoying it so much. This pushed my DD to keep working and for me to seek more answers. Tincher's emphasis was IR as well, with putting the body in a position to be "stacked, strong, and stable."

A blessing in disguise has been COVID since with everything shut down, we were able to spend more time focusing on pitching and reevaluating everything. A year ago, my 11 year old DD was throwing an average of 38 mph (with a max of 40 mph), stuck here for about a year. Our first exposure to pitching back in 2016 was with Amanda Scarborough's videos on YouTube. When we heard that she was releasing her Pitching Angel online instruction, we immediately signed up and completed all 3 courses (foundation, accuracy, velocity). My DD enjoyed these a lot and was very excited to interact with Coach Amanda directly. She is a great motivator, but is also a no-nonsense coach. In our Zoom sessions, she would reign the girls in if they started goofing around a bit with emojis/reaction buttons and would redirect girls' questions when they wanted a fast way to do something. Her approach is, "You'll only get as far as the work you are willing to put in. There is no easy way and nothing is given." If you want to follow something that is already well-organized and gives you a weekly schedule (5 days a week), this is a great option. Coach Amanda provides videos explaining why a certain drill is being done and also demos it to provide a reference. She is all about developing and understanding body awareness.

During the tail end of Coach Amanda's velocity course, I was still intrigued by Tincher Pitching and saw that something new was developing through a branch in Ohio (Rugged Softball), especially since they were going to offer remote training. I signed my DD up for a 3-month program expecting pitching drills, but I was surprised (in a good way) that it was all about efficient body movements and strength training. This program is also well-organized into weekly workouts, 6 days a week, with video demos. Coach Jenn teamed up with Austin Wasserman (High Level Throwing) to create this and if you know anything about Coach Wass, he is a go-to for overhand throwing mechanics. We had the opportunity to attend an HLT clinic in person and my DD's overhand throw has greatly improved since then. Coach Wass also recently released a High Level Pitching softball e-book that explains most everything done through Rugged, but instead of being interactive is more of a self-learning tool.

So, my DD after going through the Pitching Angel foundation and accuracy courses went from averaging 38 mph to 44 mph in 3 months. For the next 3 months, she overlapped the Pitching Angel velocity course with the Rugged Softball remote training for a month, and then only Rugged for 2 months and jumped from 44 to 50 mph.

My DD took a winter break and upon starting up early this year, she dealt with a couple of injuries that she is now thankfully over. As she eased back into it, the Fastpitch Foundations (FF) online training with Coaches Mike, Rich Balswick, and Pat was released and since I had read a lot of their stuff here in DFP and saw their YouTube videos, was intrigued to see what this consisted of because the level of detail they discussed was eye opening. This is my personal opinion, but if you are self-directed and want to learn about the "why" down to the smallest detail, this is the way to go. Over the 3 months we have studied FF, my daughter is now averaging 52 mph and doing so in a more efficient manner. We've learned about eliminating muscling and how staying as relaxed as possible helps speed. May seem counterintuitive, but when you allow the mechanics to work through primitive movements, you begin to see the grace and beauty of efficient body movements. My DD still has a lot to work on and me a lot more to learn, but because of how I am (an inquirer), this has hit the nail on the head for me. I anxiously await the next set of FF material that gets released. This has tied in closely to Bill Hillhouse's videos where he states that the body should look the same on every type of pitch. One, to disguise the pitches, and two, to be able to establish repetitive movements. Changing things on every type of pitch creates inconsistencies.

So back to noticing you browsing a number of topics; virtual training is all about finding out how involved you want to be and/or how much you want to understand it. I know there are other great coaches out there, but I only named the ones we've used since this is what we have experienced. If you are the type to want to fully understand every detail, I would recommend FF. If you want something more guided due to time, etc., something like Pitching Angel and/or Rugged Softball would be more beneficial. All have been great options to help my DD develop and to learn more about the science of pitching. I like a mix of FF for the mechanics and Rugged for the strength and endurance that's developed since my DD is not the biggest girl (she'd be considered a "spin" pitcher, but working to put the pieces together to become a power pitcher once it's her time to grow).

Overall, supporting your pitcher(s) and staying positive is just as important, as a coach and as a parent. Pitchers will have their ups and downs and know that as long as they are working, a bad day does not mean they are terrible or something is completely wrong. Even the best have rough days and I have learned (and am still learning) that they don't need correction after every pitch, after every game. It is their journey and they need to develop and improve their body awareness. Let them be, give it at least 24 hours to let the emotion escape, and then address issues on the next pitching session.
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I think you and I have certainly followed similar journeys as far as being voracious readers/consumers of any and all info we can get (with similar heroes, too :)). I started w/ the stickies you mentioned on this forum, which was incredibly helpful. I'm a coach, an outfielder who never paid ANY attention to what my pitchers were doing when I played. And about two years ago as I landed this gig, I started learning everything I could about pitching out of necessity, and have certainly learned the most by "pitching" myself.

I started w/ all of the I/R threads on here, and learned a TON. Then, though, I sort of plateaued in my own pitching and in what I was trying to convey to the girls. So I started getting really into Amanda Scarborough, who certainly emphasizes leg drive and other mechanics much more so than much explicit I/R type of pieces.

But after a season where our pitchers just got absolutely beat up, I'm even more driven to know as much as I can. And I can absolutely see how the FF is more what I'm looking for: big picture, in-depth mechanics and fundamentals, so I can both better diagnose and develop (both in myself and in my players). The current climate is that none of my players currently play travel ball...yet. Progress, not perfection, right? I really appreciate your thoughtful response.
 
Nov 26, 2019
65
8
My DD and I have experienced this firsthand since where we live (Central California) there are not many pitching coach options (along with lack of coaching in the other areas of the game). The ones that are available are a mixed bag; they either teach hello elbow or tell girls to do a bunch of drills without helping us understand why they are useful. I've walked away from several because it didn't feel or look right. So I began searching for more answers. Below has been our journey the last 2 years:

On this forum 2 years ago, we started with the stickies involving BoardMember's drills and JavaSource's manual, which began the transition from HE to IR. This in itself was huge! This led to reviewing a lot of YouTube videos to seek out how top level pitchers' mechanics looked. I see that you have also been looking at quite a few pitching posts here in trying to gain knowledge. I'll reference this later.

During this time, we dropped HE cold turkey and went head first into IR. My DD was so frustrated and I just kept encouraging her to keep working. It took 6 solid weeks of sticking with it to get the hang of it. Not perfect, but enough to recognize to let the body move in a more natural and efficient manner.

Six months after that, I became aware of a new Tincher certified instructor (the first one in CA) that was 4 hours away. Coach Steph was a college pitcher herself and we enjoyed her questions on why my DD liked pitching, making sure the journey is hers and not ours as parents. The 1-hour session turned into 2 because my DD was enjoying it so much. This pushed my DD to keep working and for me to seek more answers. Tincher's emphasis was IR as well, with putting the body in a position to be "stacked, strong, and stable."

A blessing in disguise has been COVID since with everything shut down, we were able to spend more time focusing on pitching and reevaluating everything. A year ago, my 11 year old DD was throwing an average of 38 mph (with a max of 40 mph), stuck here for about a year. Our first exposure to pitching back in 2016 was with Amanda Scarborough's videos on YouTube. When we heard that she was releasing her Pitching Angel online instruction, we immediately signed up and completed all 3 courses (foundation, accuracy, velocity). My DD enjoyed these a lot and was very excited to interact with Coach Amanda directly. She is a great motivator, but is also a no-nonsense coach. In our Zoom sessions, she would reign the girls in if they started goofing around a bit with emojis/reaction buttons and would redirect girls' questions when they wanted a fast way to do something. Her approach is, "You'll only get as far as the work you are willing to put in. There is no easy way and nothing is given." If you want to follow something that is already well-organized and gives you a weekly schedule (5 days a week), this is a great option. Coach Amanda provides videos explaining why a certain drill is being done and also demos it to provide a reference. She is all about developing and understanding body awareness.

During the tail end of Coach Amanda's velocity course, I was still intrigued by Tincher Pitching and saw that something new was developing through a branch in Ohio (Rugged Softball), especially since they were going to offer remote training. I signed my DD up for a 3-month program expecting pitching drills, but I was surprised (in a good way) that it was all about efficient body movements and strength training. This program is also well-organized into weekly workouts, 6 days a week, with video demos. Coach Jenn teamed up with Austin Wasserman (High Level Throwing) to create this and if you know anything about Coach Wass, he is a go-to for overhand throwing mechanics. We had the opportunity to attend an HLT clinic in person and my DD's overhand throw has greatly improved since then. Coach Wass also recently released a High Level Pitching softball e-book that explains most everything done through Rugged, but instead of being interactive is more of a self-learning tool.

So, my DD after going through the Pitching Angel foundation and accuracy courses went from averaging 38 mph to 44 mph in 3 months. For the next 3 months, she overlapped the Pitching Angel velocity course with the Rugged Softball remote training for a month, and then only Rugged for 2 months and jumped from 44 to 50 mph.

My DD took a winter break and upon starting up early this year, she dealt with a couple of injuries that she is now thankfully over. As she eased back into it, the Fastpitch Foundations (FF) online training with Coaches Mike, Rich Balswick, and Pat was released and since I had read a lot of their stuff here in DFP and saw their YouTube videos, was intrigued to see what this consisted of because the level of detail they discussed was eye opening. This is my personal opinion, but if you are self-directed and want to learn about the "why" down to the smallest detail, this is the way to go. Over the 3 months we have studied FF, my daughter is now averaging 52 mph and doing so in a more efficient manner. We've learned about eliminating muscling and how staying as relaxed as possible helps speed. May seem counterintuitive, but when you allow the mechanics to work through primitive movements, you begin to see the grace and beauty of efficient body movements. My DD still has a lot to work on and me a lot more to learn, but because of how I am (an inquirer), this has hit the nail on the head for me. I anxiously await the next set of FF material that gets released. This has tied in closely to Bill Hillhouse's videos where he states that the body should look the same on every type of pitch. One, to disguise the pitches, and two, to be able to establish repetitive movements. Changing things on every type of pitch creates inconsistencies.

So back to noticing you browsing a number of topics; virtual training is all about finding out how involved you want to be and/or how much you want to understand it. I know there are other great coaches out there, but I only named the ones we've used since this is what we have experienced. If you are the type to want to fully understand every detail, I would recommend FF. If you want something more guided due to time, etc., something like Pitching Angel and/or Rugged Softball would be more beneficial. All have been great options to help my DD develop and to learn more about the science of pitching. I like a mix of FF for the mechanics and Rugged for the strength and endurance that's developed since my DD is not the biggest girl (she'd be considered a "spin" pitcher, but working to put the pieces together to become a power pitcher once it's her time to grow).

Overall, supporting your pitcher(s) and staying positive is just as important, as a coach and as a parent. Pitchers will have their ups and downs and know that as long as they are working, a bad day does not mean they are terrible or something is completely wrong. Even the best have rough days and I have learned (and am still learning) that they don't need correction after every pitch, after every game. It is their journey and they need to develop and improve their body awareness. Let them be, give it at least 24 hours to let the emotion escape, and then address issues on the next pitching session.
OH, and Wasserman is AWESOME-rman. :) We exclusively use his stuff for throwing, and it's made a HUGE difference in mechanics, even in a silly 6 week COVID season.
 
Mar 15, 2019
115
28
California
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I think you and I have certainly followed similar journeys as far as being voracious readers/consumers of any and all info we can get (with similar heroes, too :)). I started w/ the stickies you mentioned on this forum, which was incredibly helpful. I'm a coach, an outfielder who never paid ANY attention to what my pitchers were doing when I played. And about two years ago as I landed this gig, I started learning everything I could about pitching out of necessity, and have certainly learned the most by "pitching" myself.

I started w/ all of the I/R threads on here, and learned a TON. Then, though, I sort of plateaued in my own pitching and in what I was trying to convey to the girls. So I started getting really into Amanda Scarborough, who certainly emphasizes leg drive and other mechanics much more so than much explicit I/R type of pieces.

But after a season where our pitchers just got absolutely beat up, I'm even more driven to know as much as I can. And I can absolutely see how the FF is more what I'm looking for: big picture, in-depth mechanics and fundamentals, so I can both better diagnose and develop (both in myself and in my players). The current climate is that none of my players currently play travel ball...yet. Progress, not perfection, right? I really appreciate your thoughtful response.
You're welcome. Pitching yourself is key to understanding how not easy it is. I've done that myself and it has given me a better perspective and respect for all the young ladies that do it. It takes a lot of work.

I hope that you continue to grow your knowledge to help your pitchers. Key elements to emphasize are getting proper spin and to locate the ball consistently. Even when my DD was throwing slower, she was quite effective by way of her location control and changeup. The increase in speed has helped the changeup be more effective. We also do long toss at least one a week to help with speed and intensity.

It's only a matter of time till they get to the travel ball level. Everyone starts somewhere; it all comes down to how much they want to grow and coaches encouraging and developing them along the way.
 
Last edited:
Aug 27, 2020
15
3
Hello, Is the Fastpitch Foundations instructional and informational, or just the latter? Our summer season is coming to an end and looking for instruction for my DD. Quality coaches in my area is hard to find so I am in a similar position. I've been looking at FF and the High level pitching book. We are fine being self guided, just not sure if the HLP is too strength focused for what we need

Sent from my moto g power (2021) using Tapatalk
 
Oct 9, 2018
396
63
Texas
I was not even aware wasserman had a high level pitching book. I know he is the gold standard in terms of overhand throwing. What age / amount of experience does your Dd have?
 
Aug 27, 2020
15
3
I was not even aware wasserman had a high level pitching book. I know he is the gold standard in terms of overhand throwing. What age / amount of experience does your Dd have?
It just came out about a month back. I agree with the HLT being the gold standard, I assume the pitching book is just as good.

She is 12 and has been pitching for 3 years. She needs the most work currently on posture and her feet. Needs to get to a more natural motion.

Sent from my moto g power (2021) using Tapatalk
 

Latest posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,468
Members
21,443
Latest member
sstop28
Top