Help with change up?

[NVfishing]

I'm trying to get my DD to throw a change up. We've been working on the flip change but can't seem to get the pitch far enough. If I try and get her to throw it low then she's way short of the plate. She wanted to give up on it today because it wasn't working. Tried to get her to throw a circle change also. Same problem.

What are some good drills to use for keeping a change low and getting the proper distance when the girls are first learning?

 

[GOINGDEEP]

Start 10' away, then move back 5' at a time over 20 or so pitches until your normal distance 35/40/43. Any time we started learning a new pitch we use this. Always working the release and spin from the shorter distance, certainly not at full speed, up close usually just upper body simulation. As you move back, you're adjusting/tweaking speed and mechanics. When we are close ( distance ) we want the focus to be on the wrist, snap, flick, finger pressure, slot. Moving back we add in leg drive, arm whip, resistance, etc.

Seems to always help us getting the proper distance for any breaking pitch or CU, if we conquer a few feet at a time while learning.

 

[FrozenRope]

I'm trying to get my DD to throw a change up. We've been working on the flip change but can't seem to get the pitch far enough. If I try and get her to throw it low then she's way short of the plate. She wanted to give up on it today because it wasn't working. Tried to get her to throw a circle change also. Same problem.

What are some good drills to use for keeping a change low and getting the proper distance when the girls are first learning?

I can understand issues with the flip change as the release is nothing like the fastball or any other pitch. Struggling with the circle change reaching is a surprise. It almost sounds like your daughter is trying to throw the ball slow instead of changing the release. My DD was taught a circle change in one evening. She had no command over the pitch, but she could throw it within the general vicinity of the strike zone. Before she hurt her arm this week, she had about 5 weeks working on it and she was throwing it with about a 50% accuracy rate. Not sure if there are different variations, but my understanding is you take a away the hard wrist snap and just open your hand and let the ball roll off your middle finger and ring finger. Since there is no snap, the release is slightly forward of the fastball release. I'd bet that if she's falling short of the plate, she's slowing her arm circle, and that's no good for a change up. She most likely just throwing a slow pitch and that's no good. A decent hitter will identify the slower motion and it will be much easier for her to sit on that change and put a good solid swing on it. If that change-up doesn't look like a fastball (or other power pitches), it's just a slow pitch that can be recognized by a decent hitter.

 

[Ken B]

Patience and practice. She may need some freedom to play around with grips, spins and feels to find what works for her. Follow the advice above.

 

[Rocketech1]

I wouldn't give up on the flip change, it will take her awhile to throw it consistently but once she has command of it, it is a deadly pitch in her arsenal. Slowly introduce the pitch in games until she gets comfortable throwing it. And as suggested above, practice it a lot and throw it hard every time. Fyi, I'm not a big fan of purposefully trying to put more back spin on the flip change than what happens naturally with the hand in front of the ball at release. My concern is that a changeup with lots of back spin might float or stay up in the strike zone too long instead of dropping down and preferably away from the batter which I think is more desirable.

 

[gophert]

Not sure how old your daughter is, but maybe consider throwing a different change. My daughter is 9 and has a very hard time throwing the flip change. She now throws a 1 finger knuckle ball change with pretty good accuracy. It is much easier for her to throw. Her release is out in front like she is shaking your hand (if that makes sense). Don't be afraid to throw something different. When thrown right, the ball has no spin and seems to drop right at the plate. I think it's good to have a few off speed pitches that she can vary in the game. Have her keep working on the flip change, but throw in something else that will give her confidence. Good Luck!

 

[Madsdad]

All good advice, and what KenB said, patience and practice. I would always tell my dd, if it is short, you must be slowing down, THROW IT HARD!! This was a great cue for her. To throw a flip, she will have to put just as much effort into throwing the ball. It will also help sell the pitch if she is putting the effort into it. We used to make a game of it when she was younger. She would sound like a weight lifter squatting a 1000 lbs
Also check out what BH has to say about getting the correct combination with regards to spin. To much back spin will tend to float and hang. Get the right combo and it will flatten out.

 

[go4fpsb]

I am going to be Captain Obvious and throw out a couple of thoughts on the CU that are ..... obvious, at least to me. There is no right or wrong way to throw a change as long as you get the speed differential off the fastest pitch thrown. When you throw the change you want the motion to look like your other pitches in the speed of the arm circle. As a rule(are exceptions) the CU has to be thrown for a strike or very close to the strike zone for two reasons IMO, 1) the batter locks up and can't pull the trigger. 2) The batter's timing is way off and whiffs when she swings. In either case if the CU isn't a strike or looks like it will be a strike the pitch will be ineffective when it is called a ball. Other than setting up the next pitch is it wasted. Those are the obvious points. I don't teach the turnaround flip change. I think it is really a hard pitch to master and I have had pitchers that do throw it complain of elbow soreness if they throw it a lot. I teach the circle change and after watching Rick Pauly's short video on the CU progression I discovered I teach it pretty much the way he outlines it. The basics of throwing it are getting the fingers outside the ball at release instead of directly behind the ball as you would throwing a peel drop, take the circle you created with your thumb and first finger toward to catcher and flatten the release point a bit so it feels like you are pushing the ball through the release zone a bit. Where I differ a bit from others is the cue with the hand at release. Some say it is like a pop corn kernel popping, you just open your hand and let it pop out. I am the opposite, I say the cue is feel like you slam on the brake at release, "scrunch" your hand and let the ball pop out like the cartoon depiction of someone squeezing a banana out of the peel. Your hand will look like a cat's paw, all the fingers curled in toward the palm. The follow through cue is keep the hand below the belt, finish across the body to help keep the pitch low, in the zone and the added bonus if thrown with proper spin it will break right to left and down for a RHP. In the past month or so I posted a link to a vid of Univ. of Cal's Joleen Henderson throwing this pitch as described, another member edited it down to just the release (sweet), I'll try and find that link.

 

[knightsb]

In the past month or so I posted a link to a vid of Univ. of Cal's Joleen Henderson throwing this pitch as described, another member edited it down to just the release (sweet), I'll try and find that link.

 

[JAD]

When my DD first started pitching (10 years old), her PC would not teach her a backflip changeup because she thought it could damage the growth plates in her wrist. Therefore, my DD learned to throw a knuckle ball as her change up. The knuckle ball was effective through 12U. First year 14U she tried to learn the backflip, but had major issues with the release point and would either bury the ball 5 feet in front of the plate (DD was slowing down her motion which was throwing off the timing of her release), or slinging the ball 5 feet over the catchers head . About every 8th pitch was pretty good. Needless to say 1/8 was not a good enough ratio for circle time, so she switched to a side handed motion very similar to the GIF that knightsb just posted. It is probably not quite as deceptive as the backflip, but can be a very effective pitch for any pitcher who struggles with the backflip.