Finding and teaching beginner pitchers

[Coach Al]

As I may of said before, i was not much of a pitching coach. I was the old school, if they threw strikes you leave them alone. If they didn't throw strikes I couldn't help them because I knew very little. I am coaching a 9u team that is coach pitch for the first half of the season and goes to kids pitch the second half.
This is what I am doing to find and teach my pitchers, if you have any input, I would appreciate any help I can get. I took the girls that can throw well overhand and ask them if they wanted to learn how to pitch. From this group I told them their first session that if they weren't serious and didn't want to work at it to leave now, I lost 2 from the group. I showed them a basic sling shot pitch and had them pitch that way, I can show them windmill later because we need pitcher in less than 2 months. Lost another girl who couldn't even get close to the plate, my own DGD. I plan on having them practice this from various distances and working in drills to correct any problems I find. Am I on the right track?

 

[sluggers]

Yes, pretty much. You really want to get them to throw the ball over the plate. Start them throwing to a target at say 20 feet, and then move them back 5 feet at a time when they throw say 5 strikes in a row.

You are doing the right thing. I wouldn't worry about teaching windmill to them. If one of the girls seems to be particularly talented at this, you may want to encourage her to find a pitching coach and focus on pitching.

I wouldn't give up on your DGD. 9YOA is pretty young for her to be giving up on pitching

 

[splinterpicker]

At 9 all kids want to pitch. The pitchers I chose for my team were the ones that had parents willing to pay for lessons. But more than that they are willing to pitch at home on their own. If your dd has a good work ethic do not give up on her. YOur on the right track , focus on snap at her lowest point.

 

[Lozza]

I would offer the opportunity to all the girls. I still remember my first modball training (T-ball goes to U10 here and then modball is U12) where everyone got to try on the catching gear and have a ball soft tossed to them. Everyone then got to try and pitch the ball. Anyone who wanted to learn either position was given a chance.

I don't agree with teaching them sling-shot. Why teach them habits that they'll have to un-learn? It might take a couple of weeks to get them even in a basic motion and consistent, but they'll be better pitchers for it. What I do when teaching the girls (and as a female I can do this, it would be harder for men to do this) is physically walk the girls through the pitch. So standing behind them I turn their bodies in the right way. I find once the girls have that done for them, they can start copying it easier. A lot of young girls struggle with understanding how their bodies are meant to move with windmill.

 

[Jojo]

First find the ones that have supportive parents that will get them to practice.

My first experience at coaching girls pitch, I was delighted to have a girl on my team that could toss the ball over the plate and my own DD was happy to catch.
Then the girl decided she didn't want to practice anymore so the ball stopped going over the plate. I forced my own DD to pitch that season because she was the only one I could make practice. I promised her if she would do it for that season I would never ask her to do it again. I never had to, she fell in love with it!

Do what sluggers says and start them close, keep insisting that they stay tall-- no leaning over-- tell them to keep the release low and follow through toward the target.
Do fun games like 1-2-3. Throw 1 strike in a row, then 2 strikes in a row, then 3 strikes in a row. When they do this, move back 5' and try it again.

 

[Old Man River]

A common challenge we all have as coaches when dealing with beginning pitchers is getting them to stay tall and stay back as they release the ball- I have found that it's practically a waste of time to keep repeating this until we show them what causes them to lean over etc. I would pose this as a possible thread question?

 

[Madsdad]

I would look at doing one knee drills as well. Have them get used to keeping their arm long and getting the feel of a low release. It is also pretty easy to keep them tall by holding their pony tail in that position. You can do it from very short distances and just work on getting a smooth arm circle.
I know that some will disagree and I don't agree with everything that she does, but Rita Gillman has some drills that were very simple for young girls to understand. She does a fall back drill that if done correctly a girl can't lean forward and gets the feeling of staying back. I also found the last couple pages of Hal's book very helpful. Take the time to lay out the floor so that the girls have targets for their feet. I think Jojo said it best though, find supportive parents and this is the most important FIND A BACK STOP the first months are rough but it is well worth the time.