My DD is 9/yr old and has been going through a growth spurt for a few months now. I've noticed her pitch speed isn't any faster than it was a year ago. I went back and found a video of her from about a year ago and the difference in body speed and control is like night & day. She was much quicker with her motion and arm speed a year ago than she is now. We did have a baby 4 months ago and our practices haven't been as frequent as in the past, but I wonder if her growth spurt isn't having an effect too. What do you experts think? Could this be partially at play in her slower body/arm motion?
Growth Spurt
- Thread starter RandomDad
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- Feb 3, 2011
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Is she still as effective in the circle? Is she producing outs or are batters teeing off against her? Body changes definitely affect a pitcher's mechanics as they grow.
I haven't put a gun on her in a very long time, but Mojo doesn't appear to be throwing as hard this year either and one sign is that more players are getting bat on ball against her. In Mojo's case, her PC slowed her down in order to improve her accuracy. Strikeouts are still high, but the walks are way down. During the fall TB season, she was walking 2 per inning, but then this spring (rec) she walked less than 2 per game. I know she can still throw 45, but her cruising speed is down around 40, I'd guess.
I haven't put a gun on her in a very long time, but Mojo doesn't appear to be throwing as hard this year either and one sign is that more players are getting bat on ball against her. In Mojo's case, her PC slowed her down in order to improve her accuracy. Strikeouts are still high, but the walks are way down. During the fall TB season, she was walking 2 per inning, but then this spring (rec) she walked less than 2 per game. I know she can still throw 45, but her cruising speed is down around 40, I'd guess.
- Jul 26, 2010
- 3,553
- 0
It takes time, girls get very awkward as they go though it, a lot of things will slow down. I'm guessing she's running slower too.
Give her a few years and she'll catch up. Speed means nothing while a kid is growing. It's their speed when they stop growing that matters. Focus on her mechanics, and when her body catches up to itself, you'll see huge increases. Just don't think that because she picks up 10mph in one year because her muscles caught up to her skeleton that she'll pick up 10mph more the next year
-W
Give her a few years and she'll catch up. Speed means nothing while a kid is growing. It's their speed when they stop growing that matters. Focus on her mechanics, and when her body catches up to itself, you'll see huge increases. Just don't think that because she picks up 10mph in one year because her muscles caught up to her skeleton that she'll pick up 10mph more the next year
-W
Baby giraffe syndrome
Carly
Pitching Coach
As others have said, awkwardness during a growth spurt is completely normal. Some of my worst pitchers during their growing years ended up throwing the hardest when it was all over, and they didn't do much beyond wait and continue their normal practice routines.
I would have to see comparison pictures to know if this is actually the case with your daughter, but another thing you can watch out for during this process is stride length. Some girls naturally increase their strides as they grow, but many will keep their strides the same without realizing it. The problem is that stride length may be aggressive to begin with, but then if the girl grows several inches and the stride remains the same, suddenly it's too short for her height, creating a "stopping short" kind of feeling. Her brain receives signals from that to slow down, whereas before it was receiving signals to be aggressive. Just be careful at this age that the stride doesn't become so large that the rest of her mechanics are compromised.
Exercise is always a good idea too. Though if your daughter is only 9, just making sure she's active outside of softball is sufficient for now, and you can save hitting the gym for a couple of years down the road. I would at least recommend that she do a dynamic warmup routine before any softball related activity, even pitching practice.
I would have to see comparison pictures to know if this is actually the case with your daughter, but another thing you can watch out for during this process is stride length. Some girls naturally increase their strides as they grow, but many will keep their strides the same without realizing it. The problem is that stride length may be aggressive to begin with, but then if the girl grows several inches and the stride remains the same, suddenly it's too short for her height, creating a "stopping short" kind of feeling. Her brain receives signals from that to slow down, whereas before it was receiving signals to be aggressive. Just be careful at this age that the stride doesn't become so large that the rest of her mechanics are compromised.
Exercise is always a good idea too. Though if your daughter is only 9, just making sure she's active outside of softball is sufficient for now, and you can save hitting the gym for a couple of years down the road. I would at least recommend that she do a dynamic warmup routine before any softball related activity, even pitching practice.
- Mar 31, 2012
- 71
- 0
the bones grow faster than the muscles which grow faster than the ligaments which grow faster than the tendons.
some times the best athlete you have one month is swinging like a rust gate the next.
i think an important thing to realize is that just being aware that this process exists is half the battle. some will try to coach the kid out of it, but it can't be done.
from a temporary adjustment standpoint just shortening every part of the swing or throw up provides some relief, but mostly there's not a lot you can do about it. in some sports, like wrestling, its the kiss of death.
some times the best athlete you have one month is swinging like a rust gate the next.
i think an important thing to realize is that just being aware that this process exists is half the battle. some will try to coach the kid out of it, but it can't be done.
from a temporary adjustment standpoint just shortening every part of the swing or throw up provides some relief, but mostly there's not a lot you can do about it. in some sports, like wrestling, its the kiss of death.
DD will not stop growing! JUST turned 14, 5'11", grew an inch since December. She has a size 11 shoe which I believe is the majority of her 115 lb frame. The gangliness is not as bad as when she shot up at 9, but I see occasional changes in speed as well.
As far as not letting boys get away with it, happened and was common knowledge way back when I was growing up that coordination would sometimes go out the window. This was with BB and Basketball as well.
As far as not letting boys get away with it, happened and was common knowledge way back when I was growing up that coordination would sometimes go out the window. This was with BB and Basketball as well.
- Feb 3, 2011
- 1,880
- 48
My 9yo daughter plays multiple sports, but during this growth spurt, she's lost quite a bit of coordination. She elected not to move to select soccer this fall, but has an open offer to train with the team during the summer, which I will encourage as a way to help her reconnect with her agility.
Her pitching has been great and her hitting hasn't dropped off too much, but she doesn't look the same in the field. She doesn't have the smoothness she used to have when taking grounders and making her throws. As Dad, it's sometimes hard for me to watch, because I often just want her to fix it, but at the same time, I know that she has zero control over the fact that her body is changing.
Thankfully, the bat is still pretty good and her pitching is still on point, so that keeps her confidence high even when I'm not able to say the right things to support her.
Oh, and I broke out the Bushness yesterday for a 12-pitch set. Cruising speed was 41-42 and she topped out at 47, so she's really feeling good right now.
