Daughter's pitching coach wants to teach the curve before the drop - thoughts?

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Aug 21, 2008
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Why on earth would pitchers #3, #4 and #5 be trying to throw four different pitches at 12U? You can’t possibly have that much talent in the circle where all five pitchers are that advanced.
Most parents of the #3, 4, and 5 pitchers don't think their kid is #3, 4, 5!! It's the coach screwing them over, or politics of school ball, or whatever.
 
Aug 21, 2008
2,359
113
Lily King had an unorthodox style of doing breaststroke - she came way out of the water between strokes.
Through the early part of high school, her coaches tried to get her to do it the way everyone else did it. Finally, they gave up.

Lily exploded - using her natural mechanics and talent, she broke world records, won World Championships, Olympic medals, and still holds world record in long course breaststroke.

Imitating the best of the best was not natural for Lily King and it did not lead to elite success. Being herself, letting her natural talent and mechanics guide her lead to tremendous success.

So while I agree that north-south pitching is required for elite success, I also acknowledge that the vast majority of softball players will not play at an elite level. Therefore if someone's natural talent and mechanics leads them to success using east-west, or change of speed, or pinpoint location accuracy, they should do that. They will have a nice career.

And who knows, maybe one day there will be a breakout curve, or screw, or junk ball specialist in the Olympics who will set records.
There are exceptions that prove every rule. You're right, MAYBE one day there will be a junk baller in the Olympics. Never say never. As in most things in this sport, I believe in playing the percentages not hoping for a Lily King to come along and break convention.

But, if you wanna talk swimming..... my son is now listed as one of the top swimmers in the world. He swims in both regular events and parasport (due to his autism). There was just a big article written about him in Europe as one of the best swimmers in parasport and went on to say he's almost an automatic for Paris 2024. Sorry, couldn't help myself. I rarely get to brag on him, especially here.
 
Jul 31, 2015
761
93
Nor college. And, if they are located in a major metropolitan area, they won't have much of a career in HS either.
Nope.

DD is a curveball specialist who turned down some powerhouse D1 offers for HA D3.
Her team was nationally ranked. She was the #1 pitcher.

Could she make it to the Olympics? No.
Was she recruited by the Pac-12, WAC and WCC? Yes.

We live in Norcal. Major metropolitan area.

There are exceptions that prove every rule. You're right, MAYBE one day there will be a junk baller in the Olympics. Never say never. As in most things in this sport, I believe in playing the percentages not hoping for a Lily King to come along and break convention.

But, if you wanna talk swimming..... my son is now listed as one of the top swimmers in the world. He swims in both regular events and parasport (due to his autism). There was just a big article written about him in Europe as one of the best swimmers in parasport and went on to say he's almost an automatic for Paris 2024. Sorry, couldn't help myself. I rarely get to brag on him, especially here.

Excellent! You should brag. Incredible young man.

Start a thread! Would love to hear more.
 
Jul 31, 2015
761
93
Anyone know the name and team of the current high level D1 pitcher who induces tons of infield squigglers?

I remember seeing a game on TV last spring where there were 5-6 infielders, pulled in almost to the grass, mostly on the strong side. Lots of commentary about it from the announcers. Was cool to see.
 

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,133
113
Dallas, Texas
Nope.

DD is a curveball specialist who turned down some powerhouse D1 offers for HA D3.
Her team was nationally ranked. She was the #1 pitcher.

Could she make it to the Olympics? No.
Was she recruited by the Pac-12, WAC and WCC? Yes.

We live in Norcal. Major metropolitan area.
PM and tell me her name and I'll look at some videos of her. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong.

And, if she was going to pitch D1, she was going to have to learn either a drop or a rise.
 
Dec 11, 2010
4,713
113
Anyone know the name and team of the current high level D1 pitcher who induces tons of infield squigglers?

I remember seeing a game on TV last spring where there were 5-6 infielders, pulled in almost to the grass, mostly on the strong side. Lots of commentary about it from the announcers. Was cool to see.
Katie Chronister, Florida

(Pretty sure that’s right)
 

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
There are exceptions that prove every rule. You're right, MAYBE one day there will be a junk baller in the Olympics. Never say never. As in most things in this sport, I believe in playing the percentages not hoping for a Lily King to come along and break convention.

But, if you wanna talk swimming..... my son is now listed as one of the top swimmers in the world. He swims in both regular events and parasport (due to his autism). There was just a big article written about him in Europe as one of the best swimmers in parasport and went on to say he's almost an automatic for Paris 2024. Sorry, couldn't help myself. I rarely get to brag on him, especially here.
Are all of the pitchers you teach exactly the same?

While I teach the same mechanics to each of the catcher's I work with. I know the catchers as individuals are not the same. Their bodies move and react differently. They're mind sets, thought process, explosive rate, their muscle memory, different control from mind to body.
Definitely different learning processes. Even though they all turn out to look similar, they all have certain nuances that are part of their individuality.

From flexible to rigid from Tiny to massive each has different hurdles to conquer and each brings individual capabilities. But no two have been the same. Similar but not the same.
Which could be a slight variance in there Crouch how far they keep their feet apart. Or their arm slot when they're throwing. Or how flexible they are in their torso. These things can really change slightly mechanics that I can imagine all pitchers would not be able to exactly do like another.
... if they didn't have let's say the same loose hip flexors. Or the same strength in their upper body, things like this.

Two catcher's I have videos on this forum of doing the same workout. one is rigid and stiff and the other is flexible 'extra flexible'. One may appear more fluid than the other. They're doing the same mechanics, but to watch their body there would be things that look different.
 
Last edited:
Apr 20, 2018
4,581
113
SoCal
Lily King had an unorthodox style of doing breaststroke - she came way out of the water between strokes.
Through the early part of high school, her coaches tried to get her to do it the way everyone else did it. Finally, they gave up.

Lily exploded - using her natural mechanics and talent, she broke world records, won World Championships, Olympic medals, and still holds world record in long course breaststroke.

Imitating the best of the best was not natural for Lily King and it did not lead to elite success. Being herself, letting her natural talent and mechanics guide her lead to tremendous success.

So while I agree that north-south pitching is required for elite success, I also acknowledge that the vast majority of softball players will not play at an elite level. Therefore if someone's natural talent and mechanics leads them to success using east-west, or change of speed, or pinpoint location accuracy, they should do that. They will have a nice career.

And who knows, maybe one day there will be a breakout curve, or screw, or junk ball specialist in the Olympics who will set records.
The reason an unorthodox swimmer can succeed in her sport is because the sport has a precision stop watch. It tell the whole truth. We have a radar gun. Which tells half truths. Junk ball pitchers rarely get the chance to compete at highest levels because they are past over early on. Same thing happens in MLB too. Very few knuckle ballers, sidearm slingers or crafty lefties left in the game.
 

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