Good Routine

[toquin]

DD has been pitching for about 3 years now. I've kept her at a 2-3 times a week 75 to 125 pitch per session while I'm able (team practices and games tend to make regular scheduling difficult). Are we over/under doing it? Also, I just can't get her to buy into any real warm up routine, she prefers to go right into the full motion, she starts out a little slower and then eventually ratchets up to full speed. Is this problematic? I've tried to get her to do walkthrus and incremental distance tosses among other things but she just doesn't feel like she gets anything out of it. Any suggestions? Does it really matter?

 

[Stand an]

I was just going to start a thread asking for a nice warm up routine. Hope you don't mind if I piggy-back on this one.

 

[riseball]

Pitching for 3 years. Did she start at 7 and is 10 or maybe started at 14 and is now 17. Kind of makes a difference. She also need to be doing more than just throwing from the rubber to location. Things like long toss are critical if she wants to build speed.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

If it's not broke, don't fix it.

 

[sluggers]

I usually agree with Amy, but not this time...

First, a pitcher who can only throw "full out" really doesn't know how to pitch.Can you honestly imagine a baseball pitcher who doesn't know how to play pitch and catch?

Second, a pitcher needs to warm up to make sure her joints are lubricated and the muscles are ready. Without a proper warmup, you are inviting an injury.

Third, a pitcher who can only throw "full out" limits the people who can help her warm up. Practically, it makes game warm ups more time consuming and complicated. Suppose she is on the bench in a game and the coach needs her to warm up. She has to wait for the catcher to gear up before she throws--which wastes a lot of time.

Fourth, the "warm up" is a time to let the pitcher's mind transition from "observer" to "participant". Warming up isn't just about getting the body ready...it is also about getting the mind focused.

So:

1) Start off throwing overhand.
2) Transition to playing pitch and catch underhand. (If your DD can't play pitch and catch underhand, as I said before, then it makes me doubt she really knows how to throw a softball.) In this, the catcher is standing up, not squatting. Since the catcher is standing up, you can have anyone be the catcher. So, all she has to do during a game is grab someone.
3) She gradually ups the speed of pitch and catch until she is at about 80% of her max. The emphasis is on "the whip" and "IR".
4) The catcher then goes into a squat, and the pitcher starts doing walk throughs. The emphasis is on her lower body. She gradually ups the speed to max.

If during a game:

5) She starts pitching. The pitcher then starts with fastballs, and moves through her pitches. She *PRIORITIZES* and gets her most important pitch working first. Do not do, "Throw 10 drops, then 10 rises, then 10 changes, etc.". If her drop is her best pitch, she throws the drop until she gets it working. Shen then moves to the next pitch.
6) End with a strike.

 

[NEF]

Depending on time DDs usual is
1) Overhand
2) (5-10) K's
3) 5-10)"Rockers"
4) (5-10) walk-throughs
5) (5-10) "sprinters"
6) Full (Most used pitch first)

May skip 4+5 if in game

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I agree that it matters, and my pitchers are generally 8-14 yo. We do backwards chaining and walk throughs, after the overhands.

But, I don't have enough info on the OP's DD, to answer his question. Some girls get loose, as opposed to warmed up. She could be doing J Bands, for all I know.

If she is throwing strikes, with velocity, then why throw more pitches during the warm up? Some of us are criticized for having the girls throw too much, pre-game.

We still don't know how old she is or if she is rec or travel.

 

[toquin]

Sorry for not being precise enough in my original post I was trying to keep it from becoming a long one.

1. She's 13 yrs old and started pitching (in earnest at 9)
2. We start every workout/practice session with overhand throwing
3. I didn't say she starts full-speed, quite the contrary, she starts out slowly and gradually increases speed.
4. She actually pitches for a rec league and her middle school team, she does travel but has to play an age group up (only team available in the immediate vicinity) so she primarily plays a position.

What I'm referring to is whether we should add things like walkthus or long toss even though she doesn't seem to need them.
And just as important, how many times a week and how many pitches should she be throwing per session.

While I absolutely bow to the vast expanse of knowledge most of the posters on this discussion board bring to the table, why is it that I always feel like I am defending myself and my DD with some of you? I'm looking to learn and help her be the best she can be, I welcome any and all advice, but please don't make any assumptions about my DD based on your previous experiences with players.

 

[NEF]

What are rockers?

Pretty much starts in open position (stretch in baseball) with feet together, hand in glove and rocks hand and glove twice, then on third rock forward continues into windmill delivery. Basically turns into K drill without separating back, starts forward for a complete rotation/revolution.

 

[inde53546]

For practice we keep it simple. Overhand throw, underhand throw/ catch w progressive distance not so far that she has to arch it to get there, walk throughs then pitch unless were working on something specific.