emergency pitching need

[wiwaw]

There are some similar posts to this on the site but I'm new to it and I didn't find an "emergency" post like this when I searched.

I'm helping coach a recreational level (what we call town ball) girls 12U softball team. We have one pitcher who pitched for us last year at 10U and worked with a pitching coach a bit but gave it up. She is really our only pitcher that can throw strikes. Since she's limited to 4 innings per game we're really in a pinch to get some other girls to pitch. My daughter is a good athlete so of course the other coaches would like it if she'd try pitching. Even though this is not travel I'm still a coach that is into making sure the girls learn good fundamentals. I've been all over the web searching for beginning pitching tips/techniques and I've seen alot about the commitment it takes to learn a proper windmill. My daughter would like to help the team yet soccer and basketball are more of her favorite sports so she isn't willing to dedicate herself to softball pitching by putting in hours of practice.

I guess my question of you more experienced pitching coaches is....is there any chance of training these girls in a month to be able to throw strikes? We've already decided our strategy has to be for the girls to throw strikes (speed doesn't matter) and strengthen our defense because walks are bad and we aren't going to have a lights out pitcher.

I likely will be the one to work with any of the girls that want to try pitching as I'm the only female coach and only one with previous softball experience (although it was in the late 70' and I did play fastpitch but it was not as sophisticated as it is now so if anyone has suggestions of what to focus on first that would be great.

Thanks,
Lisa

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Lisa, if you will PM me, I will try to help you by telephone. Amy

 

[tojo]

If your daughter has already indicated to you that she will not be willing to dedicate her time to the hours of practice it takes to be a pitcher, you are wasting your time and hers. If she is forced to, you and she are in for a lot of frustrating and aggravating days ahead. This is probably not what you wanted to hear. But if you do decide to go forward, please let me know after the season is over how it went.

 

[ctfastpitch]

If your daughter has already indicated to you that she will not be willing to dedicate her time to the hours of practice it takes to be a pitcher, you are wasting your time and hers. If she is forced to, you and she are in for a lot of frustrating and aggravating days ahead. This is probably not what you wanted to hear. But if you do decide to go forward, please let me know after the season is over how it went.

All very true, and you do not want to push her into it, but you might want to have her give it a try, along with some other girls. Very often at that age, the pitchers (and catchers) are the best overall athletes, and if she has a knack for it, she may grow to enjoy it and choose to make the effort to improve. Girls that are good athletes are typically the ones who "want the ball", and there is no better position in softball to "have the ball". Once she gets a taste of being in control of the game and involved in every pitch, rather than waiting for a ball to be hit her way, she may just change her mind. If she doesn't, you really haven't lost anything more than a few hours on the bucket, and no doubt a few shin bruises.

 

[sluggers]

wiwaw: It can be done.

A pitcher doesn't learn to "throw strikes". The strike zone changes from batter to batter and from umpire to umpire. A pitcher learns how to move the ball around.

Here are the steps during practice:

(1) Ask for the pitcher to throw to the left side of the plate. It doesn't matter where the ball goes as long as the ball is on side of the plate that was called for. If you call for a ball outside, and the ball is five feet outside--that is OK. But, if the pitcher throws the ball 2 inches to the inside, than that is not OK. When she correctly throws to left side of the plate, you then ask the pitcher to throw to the right side of the plate. When she does, you go back to the left side. You keep doing this until the pitcher can change the location of the ball at will.
(2) You then do the same thing for up and down. If you call for a ball that is up, then it is OK for the ball to be over your head. If you call for a ball that is low, then it is OK to roll the ball over the plate. Same thing, as above--rinse and repeat until the pitcher can move the ball vertically at will.
(3) Divide the strike zone into 4 quadrants--high and inside, low and inside, low and outside, high and outside. The catcher moves the mitt sequentially from quadrant to quadrant. The pitcher continues to throw for a particular quadrant until she successfully puts the ball into the quadrant. Then, you move to the next quadrant.
(4) After the pitcher masters (3), then you start having the catcher move from quadrant to quadrant randomly. As she gets better, you narrow what is acceptable for a pitch to "count" as a good pitch.

Pretty soon, the pitcher can put the ball where she wants it.

 

[wiwaw]

If your daughter has already indicated to you that she will not be willing to dedicate her time to the hours of practice it takes to be a pitcher, you are wasting your time and hers. If she is forced to, you and she are in for a lot of frustrating and aggravating days ahead. This is probably not what you wanted to hear. But if you do decide to go forward, please let me know after the season is over how it went.

I would never force her to do this but this is also soccer season and she plays at the travel level for soccer so she is quite busy. In all her sports things have come easy to her so softball pitching is frustrating because it doesn't come easily. She does really want to try the pitching but is not IN LOVE with doing it. We've already had some frustration and aggravation as she wants to move ahead too fast. I have her working on wrist tosses to try and strengthen her wrist for release but she'll do that for a while and then want to move on to the full motion. Part of that is because our team doesn't have time to wait and needs someone who can pitch NOW. That's the problem with rec versus serious travel.

So what I'm really asking for here is what part should I focus on the most to give our girls the best chance of success for being able to pitch in a game sooner rather than later? I've seen enough on the web to know this is not the ideal situation but it is one we are forced into.

Lisa

 

[wiwaw]

wiwaw: It can be done.

A pitcher doesn't learn to "throw strikes". The strike zone changes from batter to batter and from umpire to umpire. A pitcher learns how to move the ball around.


(4) After the pitcher masters (3), then you start having the catcher move from quadrant to quadrant randomly. As she gets better, you narrow what is acceptable for a pitch to "count" as a good pitch.

Pretty soon, the pitcher can put the ball where she wants it.

This is fine but we're talking about girls that don't even know the proper way to release the ball or to stride. Any of them could probably learn to toss the ball and guide it into the plate. So are you saying allow them to use bad form but just teach them how to place it?

lisa

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Lisa, I am afraid that a girl will get hurt, that is just standing there tossing the ball. Even if the batters are horrible, there is always a chance that there will be a "lucky" hit.

I think at this point, I would attempt to teach everyone to throw the slingshot. It doesn't require an arm circle, so there are less things to mess up. The release point is the same.

Amy Chicago1954@gmail.com

 

[wiwaw]

Lisa, I am afraid that a girl will get hurt, that is just standing there tossing the ball. Even if the batters are horrible, there is always a chance that there will be a "lucky" hit.

I think at this point, I would attempt to teach everyone to throw the slingshot. It doesn't require an arm circle, so there are less things to mess up. The release point is the same.

Amy Chicago1954@gmail.com

I looked this up and found a video of Joan Joyce talking about it. I'll have the girls give it a try. It seems most of them struggle with the release point, wrist flick. Maybe it's because they curl their fingers. Anything I should look for when watching their release?

We have a woman who lives in our neighborhood that I believe may have pitched in college. She worked with one of our girls last year that is still on our team but Sam cannot throw strikes to save her life so I'm not sure how effective Suzanne's training is. I just heard our head coach invited her to come to our practice on Sunday. I want to be armed with much material to be able to question her methods

Lisa

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I would like to recommend the tape/DVD Framing the Pitch, Denny Throneburg. I hope it is still available.

It teaches the pitch, breaking it down, in four parts. Flicking from the hip, holding the ball straight back from the shoulder, holding the ball up overhead, (forearm touches ear and thumb is turned toward 3rd) and the complete arm circle.

You start with the flick from the hip.

He teaches it down on one knee and on a power line.

Yes, Joan Joyce, was the best. She was a Brakette in the 60s and 70s. She is a Fl. college coach.