I’ve been teaching my 10 yr old to pitch over the last 4 months. We have been practicing 3 times a week for 30 minutes and I haven’t been worried about accuracy, just speed and good mechanics but at what stage should I start putting more of an emphasis on accuracy (pitching strikes) or do I just wait for it to come naturally. We have 6 months until next season starts. Cheers from New Zealand
how long for pitching accuracy
- Thread starter Egor
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I disagree with Lozza...there is nothing "natural" about pitching.
You teach control like you teach everything else. You teach a young pitcher how to put the ball into certain locations, you do not teach them to "pitch strikes". Every batter has a different strike zone, and every umpire has a different strike zone. So, it really makes no sense to even try to teach a kid to "pitch strikes".
To teach control, you divide the strike zone into 4 quadrants--upper left, upper right, lower right, lower left. Then, you call for the ball in a particular quadrant. The pitcher throws until she throws the ball into that quadrant. When she does, then you change quadrants.
When you first start out using quadrants, it doesn't matter if the ball is close to the plate or not. The only thing that matters is whether the ball is thrown into that quadrant. So, for the first few times, a ball that rolls across the batter box is acceptable for the lower left quadrant, and a ball that is two feet over the batters head is acceptable for the upper left quadrant.
When the pitcher can locate the ball in the quadrants, then you start tightening what is acceptable before she moves to a different quadrant. E.g., you might say a pitch counts if "the ball is in the quadrant and the catcher catches the ball", followed by "a pitch in the quadrant that the catcher catches without moving her/his body", then to "a pitch in the quadrant that is over the plate" then to "a pitch in the quadrant that is 12 inches above the plate and no more than 3 feet above the plate".
It takes a long time to develop good control. But, if you work on it, it can be done. I used this approach with my DD and she went 32 innings without a walk as a HS senior...and the girl she finally walked was an intentional walk.
You teach control like you teach everything else. You teach a young pitcher how to put the ball into certain locations, you do not teach them to "pitch strikes". Every batter has a different strike zone, and every umpire has a different strike zone. So, it really makes no sense to even try to teach a kid to "pitch strikes".
To teach control, you divide the strike zone into 4 quadrants--upper left, upper right, lower right, lower left. Then, you call for the ball in a particular quadrant. The pitcher throws until she throws the ball into that quadrant. When she does, then you change quadrants.
When you first start out using quadrants, it doesn't matter if the ball is close to the plate or not. The only thing that matters is whether the ball is thrown into that quadrant. So, for the first few times, a ball that rolls across the batter box is acceptable for the lower left quadrant, and a ball that is two feet over the batters head is acceptable for the upper left quadrant.
When the pitcher can locate the ball in the quadrants, then you start tightening what is acceptable before she moves to a different quadrant. E.g., you might say a pitch counts if "the ball is in the quadrant and the catcher catches the ball", followed by "a pitch in the quadrant that the catcher catches without moving her/his body", then to "a pitch in the quadrant that is over the plate" then to "a pitch in the quadrant that is 12 inches above the plate and no more than 3 feet above the plate".
It takes a long time to develop good control. But, if you work on it, it can be done. I used this approach with my DD and she went 32 innings without a walk as a HS senior...and the girl she finally walked was an intentional walk.
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sluggers, the only thing I would worry about is if the 10 year old starts with that regimen they may start "aiming" the ball instead of pitching it. My DD was kind of an aimer. There is a lot of pressure even at that age to throw strikes and if you can "aim" you can get pitching time.
Whereas speed and control tend to be byproducts of good mechanics.
My DD's pitching coach didn't start teaching to pitch to location until my DD had the mechanics down first (for example). This was after a complete breakdown and rebuild of her motion which worked great for throwing strikes but was horrible for gaining speed.
Whereas speed and control tend to be byproducts of good mechanics.
My DD's pitching coach didn't start teaching to pitch to location until my DD had the mechanics down first (for example). This was after a complete breakdown and rebuild of her motion which worked great for throwing strikes but was horrible for gaining speed.
Good point EP...I hear you.
Egor, you must not forget the mechanics. You do the quadrant drill, but you also do all the other stuff to make sure her mechanics are good.
Egor, you must not forget the mechanics. You do the quadrant drill, but you also do all the other stuff to make sure her mechanics are good.
Try practicing both speed and control in your workouts. By this I mean locate the ball for 10 pitches then throw hard for 5 pitches. I define it as 'smooth' fastball for spots, 'hard' fastball for speed. Then alternate, 1 smooth and 1 hard. I think that it is good for pitchers to 'aim' at spots, you cannot target the ball unless you have the intention to do so. But you have to make it clear that they cannot use their arm or hand to throw to a spot, they cannot 'steer' the ball. Hitting a spot starts with intention to do so. I tell them that they aim with their eyes, they have to put the 'crosshairs' on the spot they want to hit, I also tell them "aim small, miss small." At that point they have to release and trust their body and motion to deliver the ball where they intend it to go. One game I play is to move the glove at the moment they start their motion, I do this to get their attention and keep it focused on the target. I agree that you don't want to sacrifice speed for location at an early age but it is also good to introduce the idea of targeting the ball. At 10U strikes are good and balls are bad but at the higher levels it's the pitches down the middle, no matter how fast, that get hit.
A couple of suggestions:
1) Get her to a professional pitching coach. You cannot teach her how to pitch. Sorry just being honest with you.
2) DD always finishes practice with "pitch sequences". Pretend there is a batter at the plate and you keep track of balls and strikes. She has to "strikeout" 6 - 10 batters before she is done. No cheating, she throws a bad pitch its a ball.
3) To mix things up without a catcher, I used to set-up a batting tee on home plate with an empty 5 gallon bucket placed upside down on the tee. Pitcher has to hit the bucket "x" number of times before the drill is over. This way she gets immediate feedback when she hits the target.
You have six months, have a plan and execute it with your daughters input. She has to want it as much as you. Good luck!
