Frustration

[Fastpitch17]

Hello to you all.

I have been a lurker for a long time and have learned a lot from everyone here and thought I would ask a question based on my frustration with my DD's pitching.

A little background:

My DD is 12 and has been pitching for four years. Practicing has not been anything on a steady basis because of other sports and activities. She is very athletic and picks things up pretty quickly. She has been to a couple of instructors but we have not stuck with one because I have yet to find one that teaches correctly(my opinion only which may be worth very little) or one that does not use "lessons" as paid practice(we are in a very rural area). I have been the only steady influence on her pitching and I want to make sure that I am doing right by her. My philosophy has been that she should be learning the techniques that will allow her to excel in the long term(Hillhouse, IR, etc.). This is the source of my frustration. Learning this technique has really hurt her in the short term because of inconsistency. She throws hard and is really good when she is on but can really struggle finding the plate at times.

My frustration is not with my daughter, at all. My frustration is in the fact that so many people are looking for the short term success and do not think about the long term consequences. My wife and I argue quite a bit on this because she sees the other pitchers that basically lob it up there for strikes but are consistently around the plate. She wants to know why our DD cannot do this(within earshot of my daughter). I argue that these girls will not be pitching into their late teens without a severe overhaul to their technique. My DD's coach has this mentality as well. He says in practice that he is all about the development of the girls but come game time all he wants is for the pitchers to "throw strikes" because he wants the win. The last game of our last tournament my DD was doing well until the last inning and started fighting it because the game was on the line. She was not wild by any means but consistently hitting the same spot that was six inches high of the strike zone(not many girls hit off of her, it seems like she either strikes them out or they walk which is even harder on her). The coach pulled her because of too many walks which I have no problem with at all but then she gets down on herself because of it and questions whether she wants to pitch at all. She asked me if she should just start pitching like all of the other girls on the team to just get it over the plate! Am I doing the right thing?

Apologies for the rant. Any insight?

 

[Sparky Guy]

Practicing has not been anything on a steady basis because of other sports and activities. She is very athletic and picks things up pretty quickly. She has been to a couple of instructors but we have not stuck with one because I have yet to find one that teaches correctly(my opinion only which may be worth very little) or one that does not use "lessons" as paid practice(we are in a very rural area).

This is the crux of your problem. Positional players can get away with doing all kinds of other activities. Pitchers can't!!!!! If you want your daughter to continually improve she must work her pitching year round. Otherwise, all you're doing is wasting time by having to re-learn everything every time she decides to pick up the ball and pitch.

I'm going through the same thing with an 11 year old girl I'm working with right now. She's a great athlete. Right now she's trying to pitch, play basketball and play volleyball. The last time I worked with her she was horrible. She could not hit her spots and was very inconsistent. I asked and she told me she has not been working on her pitching regularly. It took nearly the entire lesson the last time I saw her to get back to where she was at before.

I told her if she REALLY wanted to pitch she needs to work at least 3 days a week on it this winter. She's also getting a lot of pressure from her friends on the volleyball team to come play with them full time. I told her it's not fair to her, but she has to make a decision about what is most important to her and go from there. There are just not enough hours in the week to do them all and do them well. Something will suffer.

If you can get your daughter to understand this phrase she'll be able to figure it out for herself. "Jack of all trades, master of none."

As for the control issue. From 11 - 13 years old is where they learn their control. It will show up with work. I always tech my girls solid base mechanics, speed and the timing for the control will get there when those two issues come together. It generally takes about two years for all of it to come together.

 

[sluggers]

Sparky hit the nail on the head.

Practicing has not been anything on a steady basis because of other sports and activities.

I'm not sure what you or your wife expect. She is not consistently practicing, and therefore she is inconsistent. If she wants to pitch, she needs to be throwing 3 to 4 times per week, about one hour a session.

You and your DD need to really think about whether she wants to become a pitcher. It is OK for her to say, "It ain't worth it"...because, to most people, the effort to become a pitcher is not worth it. If she is a talented athlete, she may prefer other sports. To be honest, playing SS and batting 4th sounds like a lot more fun than pitching.

 

[Coach JV]

My DD (13yo) does not like to practice either. She throws 2x a week plus games and scrimmages,
thus 4 days a week total. I have yet to see a pitcher who can throw tournaments only with nothing
in between be successful.

 

[Hillhouse]

FP17

Sorry to hear of your plight. This is a toughy. I would say you are in the right. Far too many people equate success at young ages as a start to a promising career. But at the younger ages, a pitcher can be successful by simply throwing strikes. Many young girls jump out of batters box, afraid to swing, don't know how to swing, etc. So, throwing strikes is all you'd need. But if you sacrifice mechanics for simply throwing strikes at a young age, a lot of bad muscle memory will be created that's hard to fix later. These pitchers also cap out very quickly at their abilities and injuries occur. The compounding problem is, your coach is right. He wants both but his job is to win NOW. He probably wants whats best for his kids and players but on game day, his job is to put the best 9 out there. If your DD struggles with strikes then he's got to do what he can to give his team the best shot to win.

I would tell you that any pitching coach you see should be able to tell you and DD WHY she's not throwing strikes. She needs to know WHY the ball goes high, or low, or side to side. If she knows WHY it's happening (where the mechanical flaw is happening) so she can correct it. In my experience, a lot of pitchers who have control problems have no idea WHY it's happening or what's wrong. So they have no clue how to fix it. If they know how to fix what's broken they won't have to slow their motion down.

Bill

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I can't tell you the number of 12 YOs that I see each year that have had no formal instruction. They come to the first lesson and although they have been successful at rec league, these girls can't catch and throw. They haven't been taught and they consistently try to make basket catches.

So, they have pitched a couple of seasons by "bowling the ball" across the strike zone.

After they have developed these bad habits, it is almost impossible to correct it in a few months time.

I tell people, that you wouldn't try to teach her to play the piano yourself, unless you are a pianist, why would you try to teach her to pitch?

My suggestion is, if this is truly a love that your DD has, drive her to a respectable instructor and keep a weekly schedule of lessons.

A pitcher that is consistently high may have one or two of the following problems - the dad sits on a tall bucket to catch her, her release is high, she is bending at the waist, she isn't dragging her back foot, her timing is off or her arm circle has become an oval.

Good luck and make it fun, not a struggle.

 

[joemcq51]

I was in the exact same boat as you about a year ago. My DD wanted to pitch, but for whatever reason was not putting in the effort in practice. She would get into a game and the walks would begin. I was actually coaching her fall team last year. I cannot count the amount of times I had to take her out of the game and put in a kid whou could just lay it in for strikes, to get through an inning. I don't know what changed, but last winter she decided that she wanted to be a real pitcher. She started practicing on a regular basis and showed immediate improvement. The amount of improvement in just one year amazes me still. I can tell you that as much as I wanted her to be a pitcher, it made no difference. Until she decided that is what she wanted, I was just getting frustrated like you are now. Hang in there. It is all in her hands for now.

 

[starsnuffer]

Pitching isn't a part time gig. Practice must be continual year round, even when playing other sports. IMHO, the months between the end of fall ball and the first game in spring is invaluable to a pitcher, as it's many months where mechanics can be refined and velocity improved without ever having to worry about "throwing a strike".

In addition to coaching travel ball, I also coach rec in the summer. I always ask the new team "who can pitch?". 5 or 6 girls will step forward. I then ask, "Which of you practices pitching at least 3 days a week?". All but 1 or 2 step back. I tell them, "these are your pitchers. If you don't practice pitching, you're not a pitcher, period."

-W

 

[Fastpitch17]

I would tell you that any pitching coach you see should be able to tell you and DD WHY she's not throwing strikes. She needs to know WHY the ball goes high, or low, or side to side. If she knows WHY it's happening (where the mechanical flaw is happening) so she can correct it. In my experience, a lot of pitchers who have control problems have no idea WHY it's happening or what's wrong. So they have no clue how to fix it. If they know how to fix what's broken they won't have to slow their motion down.

Bill

Thanks everyone for the replies. Bill, this is exactly what I have been trying to help her with. I want her to be able to know what she is doing by where the ball goes and have the ability to make an adjustment to correct it. It seems that her biggest problem is that she tightens up in these situations and tries to steer the ball instead of throw it. With the coaches and parents all telling her to just get it across the plate she thinks too much and her mechanics suffer. This will be the main focus of her practice this winter.

She started practicing on a regular basis and showed immediate improvement. The amount of improvement in just one year amazes me still.

This is what I am hoping for this winter. We are going to have a more steady and consistent approach to practice and I am hoping that it pays off. I agree with all that say that pitching is not a part-time thing as well. I think that she is starting to realize this. I just hope that the results show this spring, at least a little, so that she will not feel as much pressure as she does now.

Again, thanks for the replies and the encouragement. I might post some video of her if I can figure out how to do it to track her progress.

 

[joemcq51]

I knew my DD was serious when I told her we need to pitch before I go to work and her to school, and she agreed. We would be out there 3-4 mornings a week at 6:00am throwing. There were days I thought "this kid is crazy". She stuck with it and it paid off so far. good luck with your DD