First Lesson With Denny Tincher Yesterday

[Softball Lovin Mom]

I know there have been debates on here regarding Hillhouse vs. Tincher, but I'm not going there

We made the trek yesterday to take my 11yo DD to attend 2 lessons with Denny. What an eye-opener! He spent some time explaining to the girls and parents why a girl can't (and shouldn't) throw like male fastpitch pitchers; why H/E and wrist snap are wrong and can lead to injury; and where a girls power comes from (legs and hips). I was amazed at the several "a-ha" moments I had when he talked about elbows, shoulders, glove placement, leg drive, etc...

I watched him work with a girl entering her Jr year of high school who had plateaued on her speed and movement. She had been taught for years all the "old school" techniques and it was really hard to get her to change those habits. I'm really hoping that by starting my DD off with this pitching motion, it will avoid a lot of problems in the future.

 

[Slappers]

I took DD to Roanoke for a lesson. I like him but I'm guessing that if you don't work with him regularly, his speeches are a little canned. There are a few of his certified instructors in my area. I haven't gone to see any but it may be worth it to see what they have to say.

 

[Softball scholar]

I like Denny Tincher's approach and his focus on "Fluid Mechanics". Looks like his methods differentiate with focusing of physical strength barriers/weaknesses. It appears his methods are innovative and if his track record is good as says it is, then its impressive. I wish we were closer to him, as I would like to try what he's doing.

Curious to see if anybody has had success with him.

 

[qsort]

My daughter is 13 and has worked with several Tincher trained/inspired instructors for the past 3 years. She's also had a lesson with Denny. Here's what I like:

1) Common terminology. Different instructors can talk about 55 degree angles, "jumping the creek", long flowing arms, leg snap, etc. My daughter will understand their language. Makes addressing issues with her technique much easier. Makes it easier for me to work with her when we aren't with a pitching coach.

2) No injuries to date. Perhaps we are lucky. Perhaps it's a coincidence.

 

[Out in Left Field]

I don't think there is a gender difference here. Now if you are talking about male pitchers from the day, yes they may have used some slam the door mechanics or focused on upper body. But today, the l and d is the method and all pitchers need to be taught the same way and both genders excel with the same methods.

 

[Softball Lovin Mom]

I don't think there is a gender difference here. Now if you are talking about male pitchers from the day, yes they may have used some slam the door mechanics or focused on upper body. But today, the l and d is the method and all pitchers need to be taught the same way and both genders excel with the same methods.

I am still relatively new to this, but I'm going to respectfully disagree with you. I don't think that both genders need to be taught the same. We are built differently and have strength in different parts of our bodies, so why wouldn't you want to take advantage of those physical differences instead of lumping everyone together?

 

[Dusty]

I take my dd to Denny a few times a year when he passes through this area and I also take her to a local coach on a regular basis who was a great men's fp player (non-pitcher) in his day. He used to play with Ty Soflett who is considered by many to be the greatest fastpitch pitcher of all time. Although it's been several years since we heard Denny talk about the male/female body differences (thankfully) I'm pretty sure he didn't say that females should throw differently from men's FP pitchers but that they should throw differently from what many men's FP pitchers teach. He fundamentally changed absolutely nothing from what my dd's local male coach was teaching.

What we do get from Denny is a fresh set of eyeballs on my dd and since I'm sitting on the bucket catching her he does have a good eye for details and comes up with creative ways for dd to fine tune things with her (I got a lol out of the "jumping the creek" comment above having done that with him). There are a couple of Denny's "certified" instructors in our areas but I'm still skeptical. I'll pay Denny prices for Denny but I'm not going to pay Denny prices for a Denny clone, particularly when they cost more and aren't more qualified than my current local coach.

 

[nanotech14]

I am still relatively new to this, but I'm going to respectfully disagree with you. I don't think that both genders need to be taught the same. We are built differently and have strength in different parts of our bodies, so why wouldn't you want to take advantage of those physical differences instead of lumping everyone together?

But here is the thing. Good PC, will teach a girl & boy the same. Other then the male pitchers are allowed to leave the ground and girls have to drag, their toe. If you look at the best men & women pitchers in the world. They look the same. I'm glad you are happy with Denny, that is good thing, but I'm happy with what Hillhouse has taught my dd. you are closer to Denny and I'm closer to where Bill lives, that's the only difference I see.

 

[starsnuffer]

I don't think there is a gender difference, per se, but there are body type differences that have to be accounted for, and there is no "one size fits all" solution. Some women are built like men, and some men are built like women. Some are round, and some are long, and some are simply built all wrong.

-W

 

[VASoftball Dad]

My daughter is 9 and started with Denny's methods two year ago. She is so much more natural (IR) than what the ex college girls teach at our indoor facility around NOVA. Denny's certified trainer Mike is good, we have used his a few times over past three months. Wish I lived near hillhouse, but Mike will do for now until I see how my DD develops over next couple years.