Can you teach yourself to pitch?

[CoachJD]

You asked two questions here.

1) You can teach yourself to pitch, though I think unless you are a natural you'll have a hard time fixing any mechanical issues without someone who knows what to look for watching or taking video of yourself to analyze. But you're just looking for "good enough" to pitch BP, so you probably can live with some mechanical problems if you're throwing strikes.

2) You can teach the basics even if you can't pitch well. I've learned so much from the threads here. I'm far, far from an expert, but I feel I can teach the basics of I/R and diagnose some obvious/major flaws. I still encourage my pitchers to get lessons from a good PC. I don't think you need to be good at pitching to teach it, but you need to at least be able to demonstrate what you want them to learn.

 

[4 girl's dad]

Im with JD on this! I have taught myself to pitch but I am not a natural at all. BUT, I can forsure recognize what a player is doing to help them.


Biggest issue is the player going to a paid PC that teaches HE and totally screws them up....

 

[pumpkinbear]

For those of you who taught themselves to pitch as an adult, what helped you the most?

I taught myself at age 58 (I'm 59 now) for the same reasons as you.

I don't disagree with any of the excellent advice you have already gotten in this thread but here is the answer to the question: what helped me the most?

The importance of correct posture as the foundation for control of your pitches has been discussed at length on dfp for years. But it didn't sink into my thick skull until I watched Balswick Fastpitch Video 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijHqW1ZpcV8 .

That in mind, I used javasource's I/R Drill Tips video for my arm circle/whip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T4Jd7GKg5Q&list=PL9bNTLmTZjuF34eOVJblrrmEVYif3BE2p . I stood in front of a mirror and tried to look like javasource (get the posture right!) when I did the drills. IMO, getting Lock it in (at ~3min.) right is most critical (pull the ball--don't push it). You also wouldn't go wrong using the Balswick Videos 1 and 3 but I modeled myself off of javasource.

I could have stopped with the I/R Drill Tips and pitched from a 45 degree position. But to give the batters practice timing my windup, I based mine on the javasource 2-step. I stood by my computer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufRaP2LkbGs and 2-stepped with javasource and Chloe a few times.

That's it. 3 videos. Didn't take all that long.

Good luck!

 

[Gags]

PB - thanks very much - this should really help. I now remember that I did watch one of JS's videos a while ago. It was good stuff and help explain a lot for someone with zero knowledge of fastpitch.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[4 girl's dad]

I taught myself at age 58 (I'm 59 now) for the same reasons as you.

I don't disagree with any of the excellent advice you have already gotten in this thread but here is the answer to the question: what helped me the most?

The importance of correct posture as the foundation for control of your pitches has been discussed at length on dfp for years. But it didn't sink into my thick skull until I watched Balswick Fastpitch Video 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijHqW1ZpcV8 .

That in mind, I used javasource's I/R Drill Tips video for my arm circle/whip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T4Jd7GKg5Q&list=PL9bNTLmTZjuF34eOVJblrrmEVYif3BE2p . I stood in front of a mirror and tried to look like javasource (get the posture right!) when I did the drills. IMO, getting Lock it in (at ~3min.) right is most critical (pull the ball--don't push it). You also wouldn't go wrong using the Balswick Videos 1 and 3 but I modeled myself off of javasource.

I could have stopped with the I/R Drill Tips and pitched from a 45 degree position. But to give the batters practice timing my windup, I based mine on the javasource 2-step. I stood by my computer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufRaP2LkbGs and 2-stepped with javasource and Chloe a few times.

That's it. 3 videos. Didn't take all that long.

Good luck!

Great post!

 

[CoachJD]

IMO, getting Lock it in (at ~3min.) right is most critical (pull the ball--don't push it).

Pull vs push was so helpful for me, but one of the pitchers I'm working with who resists I/R (not on purpose, she just doesn't "get" it) couldn't understand that at all. Then I said it's like skipping stones, and voila, at least mentally she got it. It's still taking time to translate mentally understanding into physically doing it right, but she now has a better idea of what she needs to do and what it should feel like.

I can't recall if it's Java who used the skipping stones comparison or if it was someone else, but if pull vs push doesn't really make sense, think of it that way.

 

[Ken B]

Pull vs push was so helpful for me, but one of the pitchers I'm working with who resists I/R (not on purpose, she just doesn't "get" it) couldn't understand that at all. Then I said it's like skipping stones, and voila, at least mentally she got it. It's still taking time to translate mentally understanding into physically doing it right, but she now has a better idea of what she needs to do and what it should feel like.

I can't recall if it's Java who used the skipping stones comparison or if it was someone else, but if pull vs push doesn't really make sense, think of it that way.

This one?
https://www.discussfastpitch.com/so...tone-skipping-softball-pitchers-learn-ir.html

At a clinic today, the host told me how he taught a resistant dad how to pitch about 5 minutes. He said:
-Throw a few overhand,
-Throw a few side arm
-Throw a few submarine style but brush the hip...

The dad couldn't believe it was that easy!

 

[colin]

i like the swinging the bat analogy. if you were trying to throw a bat underhand it would not go very far if you pushed the knob.

 

[pumpkinbear]

Pull vs push was so helpful for me, but one of the pitchers I'm working with who resists I/R (not on purpose, she just doesn't "get" it) couldn't understand that at all.

Finding the cue that works for someone can be frustrating, and I doubt there's a universal cue that works for everyone. It was frustrating for me to watch Boardmember and javasource seemingly effortlessly generate velocity/power in the Lock-It-In drill with very little space to build up momentum. It was really awkward for me.

Then someone (don't remember who or I would link to it) said to imagine swatting a fly off someone's pant leg with the back of your hand. That cue worked for me. I've never taught anyone else using that cue so I might be the only one who likes it.

 

[CoachBroker]

I started a few months ago so I could have a better understanding of grip, release, and ball spin. I imediately gained a ton more respect for my daughters pitching ability. It is much harder than I anticipated. There are a lot of things that have to go right for it to be a good pitch.