Help - Daughter is Turning Into Chuck Knoblauch

[MadBandit22]

Hard-core baseball fans will get the reference, but let me explain. Chuck Knoblauch was a second baseman who started his MLB career with the Minnesota Twins. He moved to the Yankees in 1998. He was widely viewed as one of the best second basemen in the game. Then around his ninth year as a big-leaguer, all of a sudden he couldn't throw to first base. You can see lots of videos on YouTube, but his most famous bad throw sailed into the stands and hit Keith Olbermann's mother in the head. He never really recovered. The Yankees used him as a designated hitter and a left fielder, but he was done with the middle infield.

Which brings us to my daughter. She's been playing softball since she was a little kid. Always had a great arm. She's a catcher now. All of a sudden a couple of weeks ago, during a game (we're in GA and right in the middle of school ball), she had a couple of loose throws to the pitcher. Then she completely missed the pitcher. Once or twice, a runner advanced. Then it went away. But now it's back. Sometimes she fires a strike to he pitcher, but sometimes she just pulls the throw and it is ten feet off target. And of course the more she focuses on the problem, the worse it gets. Her confidence is starting to waver. Her throw-downs to second are on target, though. Warming up a pitcher is fine. Its just during a game.

We keep telling her to NOT think about the throws, but of course that's counter-intuitive, I'm curious if anyone here has gone through something like this with your kid and, if so, how did you address it.

You could add Steve Sax to that list with Chuck K. as well. Another 2nd baseman who couldn’t buy a good throw to 1st after being a very good 2Bman. I think he had the problem before C.K. but not 100% sure without checking.
Sounds like a mental issue if only happening in games. Have her focus on where she is stepping (directly towards the pitcher) and her arm slot. Is she throwing over the top or dropping down slightly?
The tendency is to lob the ball back to the pitcher during games. Get her doing the same thing every time and get the ball back to the circle with some zip on it. Gives her less time to over think what she thinks she’s doing wrong.

 

[Strike2]

Let's add Cub's pitcher Jon Lester to that list.

Jon Lester Can’t Throw to First Base. So Why Aren’t Opponents Running Wild?

Everybody in baseball knows Cubs pitcher Jon Lester has the yips. Yet he’s found a way to keep opposing base runners in check.

www.wsj.com

I've struggled with this at times myself as an infielder. It's mostly mental. The way I work through it is to throw high (lob), throw flatter (~60 ft), and then get to the short throws. Once I have confidence in my release, I stop thinking about it and the problem goes away...mostly.

The LAST thing your kid needs is people telling her NOT to think about it; that's the way it gets hard-wired into the head. Play catch with her yourself when possible without anyone else around. Before games, make sure there's a proper warmup. If she does get the yips during a game, she can compensate by taking a couple of extra steps toward the circle to add that momentum to an easier, more controlled throw.

 

[Sweet Lou]

Yeah Steve Sax was almost 20 years before Knoblach. Steve overcame his yips and went on to be a very good defensive 2nd baseman, Chuck never recovered and played LF and DH the remainder of his career. Multiple athletes accross different sports have gotten the yips from baseball, basketball, football and golf. Some overcame them, others it can be career ending. Why it happens and how to fix it is above my pay grade but good luck with your daughter.

 

[MadBandit22]

Yeah Steve Sax was almost 20 years before Knoblach. Steve overcame his yips and went on to be a very good defensive 2nd baseman, Chuck never recovered and played LF and DH the remainder of his career. Multiple athletes accross different sports have gotten the yips from baseball, basketball, football and golf. Some overcame them, others it can be career ending. Why it happens and how to fix it is above my pay grade but good luck with your daughter.

More like ten years but time does fly by! But yeah Sax figured it out more so than CK did.

 

[Sweet Lou]

More like ten years but time does fly by! But yeah Sax figured it out more so than CK did.

Could be but I though Sax's problems were in the very early part of his career around 82 but CK's didn't show up until around 2000 at the end of his career. Though I think you're right about their career starting about 10 years apart.

 

[cnardone]

Macky Sasser had this too. He got over it by 'tapping' the ball in his glove one time before throwing. Of course then the pitchers complained that it broken their flow or some such. I had this for a couple of weeks when I was 13 going on 14. I don't remember doing anything different though. Good luck with this.

 

[3girls]

Have read memorize all the articles from your Playboy magazines and recite passages from the magazines when she's making the throws back to the pitcher. I've seen surprising success with this method from young catchers with the yips at the highest level.

That was my first thought...that’s hilarious.

 

[CoreSoftball20]

Macky Sasser had this too. He got over it by 'tapping' the ball in his glove one time before throwing. Of course then the pitchers complained that it broken their flow or some such. I had this for a couple of weeks when I was 13 going on 14. I don't remember doing anything different though. Good luck with this.

I was gonna bring up Mackey Sasser as well, since it was a catcher with the yips. Nobody remembers him at all.

 

[slider75]

Have read memorize all the articles from your Playboy magazines and recite passages from the magazines when she's making the throws back to the pitcher. I've seen surprising success with this method from young catchers with the yips at the highest level.

Major League???? Serious?