First Experiences with FP Pitching

[Chris O'Leary]

My daughter and her friends are pitching for the first time (3rd grade). The head coach is teaching some stuff that doesn't seem to be working particularly well (the girls seem to be getting worse and not better), but I don't have enough experience with softball pitching to know whether it's a good idea or not.

First, the head and assistant coaches are REALLY focused on the release point. I never focus on release point with my baseball pitchers, especially the new ones. Instead, it's just focus on the glove and let it rip. The focus on release point seems to be too much for the girls. It really doesn't seem to add value and might even be messing some of them up. They were much better last year when I was just having them throw to my glove and letting release point happen (unconsciously).

Second, one of the girl seems to be putting tons of topspin on the ball, and looks like she's doing it deliberately, but she's spinning the ball so much that she basically can't control it. When my daughter and I mess around with pitching, for now I'm just having her throwing with a flat wrist (palm facing target) and she's pretty accurate. Nothing facing spinwise, other than maybe some mild drop, but she's able to throw strikes. It's basically the equivalent of a 4-seamer in baseball. Flat and easy to control but relatively hard.

Third, I forget where I've heard it, but some people don't want the hand to stop at the release point, but it has to for good momentum transfer. Some of the girls are missing high, and I think it's because they aren't stopping their hand (or IRing?) at the right time. Maybe this is what they are trying to fix with the release point talk, but I don't think that is the right way to solve the problem.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

It sounds like the coaches are doing it correctly from what I am reading. Stress release point - yes. Stress spin - yes. Stress follow through - yes. Flip the ball at the hip. Pull the middle finger off of the seam, to get a rotating spin. And follow through to the opposite shoulder, after the ball is gone.

 

[sluggers]

Third, I forget where I've heard it, but some people don't want the hand to stop at the release point, but it has to for good momentum transfer

Huh? The body needs to stop, but not the arm.

 

[Chris O'Leary]

It sounds like the coaches are doing it correctly from what I am reading. Stress release point - yes. Stress spin - yes. Stress follow through - yes. Flip the ball at the hip. Pull the middle finger off of the seam, to get a rotating spin. And follow through to the opposite shoulder, after the ball is gone.

But why teach spin if the player can't control it and can't even throw strikes?

She doesn't have control, much less command.

 

[Momo'sDad]

My 3rd-grader walked 13 or 14 batters yesterday in her playoff game. She's been pitching for a year and still was unable to make the adjustments necessary to find the ump's strike zone.

Although some girls can pick up the basics and be usable 8u or 10u game pitchers fairly quickly, the girls who are throwing the fastest will generally have more difficulty learning control, but will likely emerge as your best pitchers within a year or 2.

 

[Ade's Dad]

My daughter and her friends are pitching for the first time (3rd grade). The head coach is teaching some stuff that doesn't seem to be working particularly well (the girls seem to be getting worse and not better), but I don't have enough experience with softball pitching to know whether it's a good idea or not.

First, the head and assistant coaches are REALLY focused on the release point. I never focus on release point with my baseball pitchers, especially the new ones. Instead, it's just focus on the glove and let it rip. The focus on release point seems to be too much for the girls. It really doesn't seem to add value and might even be messing some of them up. They were much better last year when I was just having them throw to my glove and letting release point happen (unconsciously).

Second, one of the girl seems to be putting tons of topspin on the ball, and looks like she's doing it deliberately, but she's spinning the ball so much that she basically can't control it. When my daughter and I mess around with pitching, for now I'm just having her throwing with a flat wrist (palm facing target) and she's pretty accurate. Nothing facing spinwise, other than maybe some mild drop, but she's able to throw strikes. It's basically the equivalent of a 4-seamer in baseball. Flat and easy to control but relatively hard.

Third, I forget where I've heard it, but some people don't want the hand to stop at the release point, but it has to for good momentum transfer. Some of the girls are missing high, and I think it's because they aren't stopping their hand (or IRing?) at the right time. Maybe this is what they are trying to fix with the release point talk, but I don't think that is the right way to solve the problem.

Chris,I won't respond about right or wrong but let me tell you this .With knowledgable people working with a young underhand pitcher your looking a about a year to see the consistency you can see in a couple weeks with an overhand pitcher.
Be patient with your DD.

 

[LAdad]

Stressing release point seems one of those things you should only do if the pitcher is truly having a problem with her release point. Since she is just starting, I would guess there are more important gross mechanical issues to attend to than that one issue. I agree with Chris that there's no point in overwhelming an 8-year old with details. (On the other hand, we can't tell how much her coach knows about pitching.)

Third, I forget where I've heard it, but some people don't want the hand to stop at the release point, but it has to for good momentum transfer.

Do you stop your bat at contact to get a better momentum transfer to the ball? A good release involves a snap of the wrist, and then you follow through with the whole arm (and body). Pitchers who stop their hand/arm at release tend to look fast, but their actual pitches are slow. Indeed, stopping the hand is proper only for throwing the change-up.

Some of the girls are missing high, and I think it's because ...

There are dozens of things you can do wrong with your pitching mechanics, but only a handful of directions in which you can miss. So the type of miss is not a very good indicator of the problem. For a beginning pitcher, a pitching coach won't care whether she throws strikes (but your team coach will ...)

I coached my daughter for about two years, based on what I'd read and on what I thought I saw other pitchers doing. Then when we finally started going to a real pitching coach, it turned out I was wrong on almost every single point, including the most basic things. (Fortunately, it doesn't seem to have done permanent damage.) If you or your DD are not ready for a private pitching coach, then attending a clinic is a good idea. That will at least give you a better idea of the mechanics, which you can then practice with her on your own.

 

[halskinner]

Chris,

Remember the old 'Peace' sign? Show them where their release point is. Then tell them to make a peace sign at release, palm up and the middle and index finger pointing straight at the catcher. Stop their hand at the front hip, not the rear, they can make that adjustment later.

Tell them that those two fingers and the thumb are the 'Stearing wheel' for the ball. As long as they do that they will release the ball towards the catcher, towards their target.

Watch their faces light up.

sneakysoftballpitching.com

 

[starsnuffer]

Chris,

Fastpitch pitching instruction is very tricky for parents to understand, because the kids that are taught correctly are generally the least successful at the very beginner levels of the sport. There are tons of parents and coaches that will stress "throwing strikes" while tossing mechanics to the wayside. At the same time, the kid that is "doing it right" will struggle to find the strike zone for their first year, and generally will not be thought of highly by their coach until their second and third years.

It's a really tough bone to chew on, but there it is.

-W

 

[halskinner]

Chris,

Fastpitch pitching instruction is very tricky for parents to understand, because the kids that are taught correctly are generally the least successful at the very beginner levels of the sport. There are tons of parents and coaches that will stress "throwing strikes" while tossing mechanics to the wayside. At the same time, the kid that is "doing it right" will struggle to find the strike zone for their first year, and generally will not be thought of highly by their coach until their second and third years.

It's a really tough bone to chew on, but there it is.

-W

I have heard of instructors that would tell their parents "It will be a year before she throws strikes". I have also heard of instructors that would say "We will work on nothing but the fastball the 1st year, the drop the 2nd year, and the 'Whatever' the 3rd year". Where I come from, if you tell a parent that or anything close, you could get ran out of town on a rail!

No pitcher's parent I ever met would sign on for that ride. We didnt have a year or two to make them competitive. If they didnt see MAJOR results in 4 weeks, they were gone! Many times if they didnt see a huge inprovement at the 1st lesson, they were gone!

I dont know ANY team coach at ANY level that would carry a pitcher that would struggle for a year to find the strike zone. Has anyone else?

Throwing strikes and getting some strike outs is all an 8-year-old begiiner is going to understand as 'being successful'.