How do you choose a 2nd pitch?

[cnardone]

My dd is 10. She started with a tincher in Dec. She had pretty regular lessons into March. At that point PC (is a college PC) started having games and DD started having regular practice and games making it hard to schedule lessons. Late May and my DD has an upcoming game against a good friend. My dd and friend are very competitive with each other. A week before the game my DD informs me that she needs another pitch by next week.

It had been over a month since her last lesson so off we went to clean up her mechanics a little, and in her head learn another pitch. She started learning a change. Frankly, it is not coming easily to her. Most physical things do come easily so she is a little frustrated. 2 months later she is still working it. Some are good. she is getting better, but it is just not there yet. I know, I know. It is only 2 months!!!!!! But in her head.. Her PC also thinks that the Change is just as hard to learn as any other pitch. Or at least it is just as hard to teach maybe.

Anyway, the reason I ask is that when my dd loses form, her shoulders ....roll forward and suddenly, she is throwing a slider. In the beginning it would move all over the place, but as the season moved along, she was getting a consistent 10 - 4 / 11-5 break. When she 'stays in her back', she throws a little harder, has better control and gets a little back up movement. Her PC thinks that when it is time, she is going to pick up the drop pretty easily.

So, I was just wondering what other people take into consideration when choosing that first new pitch.

Thanks

 

[joe720]

Has to be the change. Need to be able to show batters different speeds otherwise they will just time the pitches. Change takes a lot of work. And can go through 6 variations of it before you find the one your DD is comfortable with. I know mine has gone through at least five different types before she found the one she can throw semi-consistently. And even so it is something we always work on.

Just keep working and look at different types and deliveries. One my DD ended up with is delivered like a curve and is vicious when thrown well. Pretty much unhittable.

 

[sjw62000]

Has to be the change.

Concur. DD is also a Tincher pitcher, not that it matters, in this instance. Pitcher's second pitch needs to be an off-speed pitch. If she hits her spots with her FB this can set up the change. At 10 y/o if your DD can "cut cloth" with her FB having a good to pretty-good change will set her apart.

Change takes a lot of work. And can go through 6 variations of it before you find the one your DD is comfortable with.

Also true. There are many different ways to generate an off-speed pitch and in all likelihood it will take your DD a couple different variations to find the one that is both effective and she is comfortable with. Personally, my DD went through about 3 before she found one that she liked and was effective.

Last note, at 10 y/o hitting spots with FB and having a change-up that fools batters will truly make your DD a force to be reckoned with.

 

[Tango]

I remember our PC telling my DD it will take you 3 years to throw the change correct. After about two years he started working on getting a little down and away break on it. I think he was correct. It has become a very good pitch for her. Probably didn't help with your question but.

 

[grcsftbll]

Fastball, change up, drop ball. That was the order we went in.

 

[coach james]

Change up doesn't have to be hard... As with all things in life, it'll require practice and detail, however my girls have an effective change up with in a month of work

 

[Laphoneman]

I went about it different with DD I heard and believe a new pitch takes a while because its different from the muscle memory. So I started out working 4 pitches just so it would not be a drastic change to start a new pitch. Now we started focusing on fastball and location. But we have always worked turn the door knob over and turn the door knob under. I also learned on DFP that the door is not in front of you the door is to your right “rhp” there are more than one way to skin a cat but remember its a journey not a race. If it was easy everyone would be the pitcher.

 

[efastball]

My son pitched in college. We did what others say not to do.

At 11 yo he learned every major grip. We practiced those grips every time he threw with me. Maybe 3-6 of each every day.

In games he only threw the pitches that worked for him that day. Usually only one fastball, plus one or two off-speed pitches for the day.

He threw various changeups over the years. He started with 'knuckleballs' that were really changeups, plus 3finger FB and palm balls. He didn't start throwing circle changes until HS age. Oddly, he could throw a splitter almost all the time, and it was quite effective. He threw 2SFB most of the time, but switched to a one seam FB his last year.

All that to say that your 'best' pitches change over time, depending on your feel for the pitch, and the hitters reaction to them.

And of course you work on velocity, and using the same arm speed for every pitch.

 

[uncdrew]

Has to be the change. Need to be able to show batters different speeds otherwise they will just time the pitches. Change takes a lot of work. And can go through 6 variations of it before you find the one your DD is comfortable with. I know mine has gone through at least five different types before she found the one she can throw semi-consistently. And even so it is something we always work on.

Just keep working and look at different types and deliveries. One my DD ended up with is delivered like a curve and is vicious when thrown well. Pretty much unhittable.

My words exactly.

Gotta be a change and when she gets it, look out world! It's amazing to see your DD fool a batter with a change up. Awesome to get a strikeout with a change up, and great to throw on the first pitch to a big hitter and then watch them second-guess themselves the rest of the at bat.

But man oh man, can it be a crazy pitch. Some bounce 5 feet in front of the plate, some sail over the catcher's head. And of course the goofy parents in the stands have no idea what's going on and offer up all kinds of "coaching".

We started with the Flip Change and tried hard for 4 months. Then went to the Horseshoe Change and have had good luck there. Quite honestly, our Tincher instructor wants basically the same mechanics as the fastball, but with a different grip and release. She gets on my DD when my DD slows it down. When she really sells it as a fastball it honestly goes slower. It's impressive physics in play, and when they trust it the pitch will be deadly.

Stick with the change. Keep working on it. It'll get there. Frustrating for everyone involved, but it'll get there. And it has to, right? You can't just skip the change-up forever.

 

[ambrosia.moore]

Concur. DD is also a Tincher pitcher, not that it matters, in this instance. Pitcher's second pitch needs to be an off-speed pitch. If she hits her spots with her FB this can set up the change. At 10 y/o if your DD can "cut cloth" with her FB having a good to pretty-good change will set her apart.


Also true. There are many different ways to generate an off-speed pitch and in all likelihood it will take your DD a couple different variations to find the one that is both effective and she is comfortable with. Personally, my DD went through about 3 before she found one that she liked and was effective.

Last note, at 10 y/o hitting spots with FB and having a change-up that fools batters will truly make your DD a force to be reckoned with.

This is true. Offspeed & change, or whatever you want to call it are essential as second pitches. I am a high school pitcher for my varsity team, and the first pitches I learned were a change up (knuckle), and an offspeed (two-knuckle). Both are very good options, and work very well!