Daughter keeps pitching high balls - how can we get her to bring them down?

[TeNeetKeeMom]

Hello, I have a 11 year old daughter. She is now on a travel/competitive 12u team. She was a very good, dominant pitcher and was one of the faster 10u pitchers in our state who could hit her spots when she played 10u ball. She has made the transition from 11inch to 12inch ball and moving back from 35 feet to 40 feet this winter. She is progressing but it seems she has gotten in the habit of throwing high balls. She is throwing a large percentage of her balls too high - which she never did before. When she does bring them down to the strike zone the speed is a bit slower and her dad thinks she is just trying to "aim to make a strike". When her dad tells her to throw hard the ball goes back up high. The thing is, she is still hitting her spots consistently but just above the strike zone - so they are balls. She knows that she needs to release the ball earlier and she has been told by her PC something about her shoulder (sorry I don't know much about the terminology for pitching mechanics) but still she keeps pitching high balls. Her speed is still good so even when she slows it down a bit to "aim to make strikes" it is still decent speed but not to her true potential. We told her she must go full force/speed every pitch and that she is just going to have to find the release point to fix the high balls. If she could just figure out the release point to lower the balls into the strike zone, man her fastball would be lethal with her being able to hit her spots. She still pitches her change-up good. She is working on mastering curve and screw but really not too much as she keeps working on just trying to get the ball down and making strikes (by the way not fat pitches over the plate.) What can she do? Any drills or exercises out there to help her be more aware of her body so she can figure out how to stop pitching the balls too high? She works hard but I am afraid that all the practicing she does is going to hurt her as her body is starting to have "memory" of pitching high balls. Thanks in advance!

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Whomever is catching her every day needs to get lower. I am willing to bet that her dad is sitting on a tall bucket.

I would also suggest having her drag her back foot, more.

Actually, for a 1st year 12, I bet she is OK. Isn't it early in the season? I really don't mind if a gal with a lot of speed puts one up into the fence now and then. Control will come.

When is her dad telling her to throw hard? Pitching practice? Games?

Do you have any video?

 

[TeNeetKeeMom]

Thank you for the replies. We will definitely try the wiffle ball drill next practice. Yes, her dad sits on a bucket (some times a little chair) and the glove is higher than it would normally be when a catcher is squatting. It is early in the season - our first tournament is the 2nd week in March. She has been working during the winter trying to make those adjustments from 10u to 12u to get ready for Spring. She is just getting really frustrated with herself as she has yet to figure out this "obstacle". She (we) may not be giving it enough time but she does practice very hard through out the week and goes to her pitching coach once a week. How long should it take for a pitcher to make that transition from pitching 10u to 12u? She desperately wants to get back to her "old-self" of being consistent in placing the ball in the strike zone area. Again, for the most part she can place the ball where it needs to be but just too high (around shoulder to head.) I am thinking that maybe her growing has something to do with it too. Her dad tells her to throw hard during pitching practice. When he tells her "lets go, get the ball into the strike zone" or "hit the glove" he does bend over (sometimes,lol) to lower the glove to the side & corner he wants her to hit then she often does but she "lets up" because the speed of the ball pitched is visibly slower then when she is firing it. That's when he says, "you slowed down to make the strike, stop guiding the ball and throw full speed." She will then go full speed but the ball goes way high. There are times when she does everything right (mechanically I suppose) and fires it full speed and hits her spot in the strike zone (we try to tell her remember what you just did and do it again) but often another high ball is pitched. I will try to get some video of her - her pitching lesson is coming up in two days. I really appreciate your responses. I am so glad this website exists because I read it and find so many insights!

 

[Amy in AZ.]

One more thought. Not every pitch needs to be a strike. Depending on where she is high at, she may get some swinging strikes out of it.



Link to the bench that I sit on. http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-pitching/1603-i-sit-instead-bucket.html

 

[Jojo]

From what you are describing it sounds like she is throwing high "because" she is throwing hard.
Her release timing is off. She is probably speeding up her arm circle for speed, If the time it takes for the arm to get from point A to B is now decreased, but the release happens at the same amount of time as before, it will be late and high.
she just needs to get her release timing quicker now. I think her trying to "throw a strike" by slowing it down is probably doing more harm than good with her timing issues.
Take the stress out of it and let her have some fun. Let her try and throw dirt balls, if her dad doesn't wear shin guards, she can just try to throw in the dirt in front of the bucket, but it has to be done at full speed. When I do this to my pitchers usually their first 3 pitches zoom straight into the strike zone, and then I teasingly scold them that I asked for a DIRT ball! : )
I've also had them look at the plate when trying to throw a little harder. This takes a little practice because they'll look up right before release, after a few pitches they'll relax enough to do it.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

I agree with most on this. DON'T let her 'take some off' to hit the strike zone. It is a bad mental crutch for young pitchers to get into. The adjustment from 35' to 40' and 12 inch ball is frustrating for most pitchers. But it will come around, it just takes time. Practice, practice, practice is what it will take. MY DD just changed from 40' to 43' so I know where you are now. We started this fall moving to 43, took a couple of months, but now we got it down pack.

As for 'high ball' I have used a string attached to 2 poles on either side of the plate. Make her throw under the string. ( whoever catches her better wear a mask, cause when the ball hits the string it is difficult to catch ) The string needs to be big enough and a bright enough in color that she can clearly see it from the rubber. Good luck.

 

[TeNeetKeeMom]

Thanks for the continued responses. We are willing to try all these suggestions. Again I truly appreciate the ideas/suggestions. Tomorrow is her pitching lesson and I am going to attempt to record the session. I will post some clips as soon as I do.

 

[sluggers]

You said that she is "hitting her spots just above the release point." If so, then this isn't something that is fixed by learning the correct release point. (If she is off a couple of feet, then you can teach her the correct release point. )

There is a general "correct release point", but there is no specific, absolute "set-in-stone" release point for a pitcher. E.g., as a pitcher tires, her arm speed goes down. So, you can't teach her one release point for the 1st inning of the 1st game and a second release point for the 3rd inning of the 2nd game. You can't teach her one release point for 90 degree days when she is "loose" and a different release point for "35 degree" days when she isn't. You can't teach her one release point for when the wind is at her back and another release point for when the wind is in her face. You can't teach her one release point for an umpire with a high strike zone and a different release point for an umpire with a low strike zone.

In short, you DO NOT teach a pitcher to throw strikes. You teach a pitcher to put the ball where she wants. You teach her how to move the ball up and down and left to right. And, unfortunately, the only person that can learn how to do this is your DD, and no one can tell her "how" to do it.

You teach her this by doing the "quadrant drill".

You divide the are above the plate into four parts or quadrants--upper left, lower left, lower right, upper right. You start out in the upper left quadrant. You ask for the ball to thrown into that quadrant until she puts a pitch there. When she throws one ball into that quadrant, you move to the next quadrant. You do this all the way around. You are *NOT* asking for strikes. All the ball has to do is "be in the quadrant".

When she can do that drill and put the ball into whichever quadrant she wants, you then tighten up the rules. E.g., if you want a pitch into the lower right quadrant, at first, it can be anywhere--three feet to the left of the plate and rolling on the ground is acceptable. Then, you make it where the pitch is "caught" by the catcher and in the quadrant. When she can do that, then you require that the mitt move less than 6 inches. When she can do that, then you require that the mitt not move at all.

 

[Jeff_H]

Thanks for the continued responses. We are willing to try all these suggestions. Again I truly appreciate the ideas/suggestions. Tomorrow is her pitching lesson and I am going to attempt to record the session. I will post some clips as soon as I do.

Close to your area, wondering who is your PC?

 

[DonnieS]

We went through this and know other pitchers who have too - she is tightening up her shoulder. Tell her to relax - take a deep breath - relax her whole body, stand tall at release.