help needed from experienced pitchers and pitching coaches

[tmolina]

Would you please tell me your definition of what "working on spins" means? I hear this term a lot and wonder what it implies.
In regards to:
A. during a pitching lesson
B. At home during drills

Thanks ahead of time

 

[sluggers]

1) During a lesson, the pitcher shows the instructor how she can spin the ball for various pitches. The instructor then evaluates the spin, gives her feedback, and then may give her additional instruction. The coach may also show her a new spin.
2) Practice--you do a variety of drills and pitching, with the emphasis on spinning the ball. You might do half-frames, e.g., with the emphasis on getting the correct spin. You are looking for perfection in practice. Generally, the process is like throwing a fastball. You start with something simple (like half-frames) and progress to full pitching motion.

 

[MrGreen]

In addition to what sluggers says above, she needs to incorporate a "spinner", which is a plastic disc (about $25). Her pitching coach should know about it, but it comes with instructions if he/she doesn't. The goal is to become comfortable with spinning the object with various positioning of the hand/release point, and get the disc to spin tightly without wobbling. You can't do too much spin work. Use the disc without throwing, throwing from short distance, and even regulation distance. It's also good to use a large ball, or a weighted ball (not from any distance). We keep a ball in the car to spin when we're driving somewhere.