How to break sidearm habit?

[aksaunders]

I was away for two weeks military training and my daughter got into the habit of throwing sidearm while I was gone. An opposing coach complained and as a result she was called for several illegal pitches. Coach didn't allow her to pitch after this and now her confidence is waning. She was the "ace" on the team before the illegal pitches and wants to break this habit so she can get back on the mound again. Any pointers would be appreciated.

 

[Sparky Guy]

She has a lot of different issues going on. The sidearm is just a symptom of the other issues. She is closing too early, leaping and losing contact with the ground with her pivot foot, she is turning her pivot foot sideways prior to launching, bending the elbow too much, her arm circle is going behind her and she is not finishing her pitch. All of these are contributing to her losing her balance at the end of the pitch and falling off to the her left.

I'll bet she'll tell you she started to hit her hip with her arm. So she's trying not to hurt her hip.

You need to start her over with her base mechanics of getting and staying open till her arm passes in front of her. With everything she has going on several sessions with a pitching coach would help get her back on track.

 

[Lozza]

Like Sparky Guy said, you're going to need to start her all over again. Unfortunately I'm really not seeing a lot right there.

She's leaping, her arm circle is non-existent, she's jumping to the side when pitching and she's side arming.

Do you have any pitching coaches near you? Any high schoolers who can help?

First off my advice is she needs to learn the arm circle. She only wants a very *slight* bend. VERY slight. I would focus on that. Have her stand on her side and do 100 rotations of them.

She also needs to do slow walk throughs so she can understand that she needs to be going straight towards her catcher. No jumping, no leaping, no moving to the side. For that you can get a bit of plywood and have her pitch on that. Even 1mm off the ground is enough for her to feel the difference. Or you can get two of those pool noodles and hold them either side of her head. If she moves away from the catcher (to the side) she'll hit the noodle. Once again she'll feel the correction.

Good news though, if she's her team's gun with the current issues she has, think how awesome she'll be once they're corrected!

 

[NVfishing]

When your having her work on getting open to pitch make sure she follows through with the side of her forearm brushing her stomach. She seems to be short arming the ball. Her release point is above her waist and it should be below the waist. You can also use the noodle as a pitching release guide. Hold it just above where she should release so she pitches under it. Just make sure she follows through and doesn't try to stop at the bottom of the circle. At the top of her circle she barely clears her head with the ball. As noted above she should have a slight bend in the arm and there it's almost completely broken down.

 

[SoftSocDad]

It's possible to develop a bad habit pretty quickly, but as the posters above have noted, there's a lot more wrong than right, I'm afraid. Do you any video of how she was pitching prior to your going away? I ask, because it seems like the absence of a real circle as well as the leaping would've shown up before now. She has trained herself to sidearm the ball into the target area, so in normal rec play, her style may have been encouraged and rewarded because umps were giving her strike calls, which meant success for her team. Is it only an issue now that the IPs have been called?

Also, has she had an actual pitching instructor, or is she self-taught? Either way, my suggestion is to have her work with a local PC once a week for several weeks in a row until you both have learned the basics of pitching. She may not ask for your help or feedback often (if at all), but if you're going to be a pitcher's dad, then you've got to know what to watch for as well. Props to you for seeking advice on how to help your DD and also for being willing to sit on that bucket for her.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

When you find a good PC, see if you can hire him or her, for 7 days in a row. This would take some work, time and money to correct.

 

[starsnuffer]

As mentioned, this looks like a kid who was taught to close and "slam the door", probably by an older male coach or someone who learned from one, and then began to get older and started banging her hips, and tried to compensate.

I suggest a new PC and a complete reboot, teaching her to pitch open and how to close in a figure-4 to stay open.

-W

 

[aksaunders]

Thank you all so much for the responses. Obviously, this was my first post so I appreciate the speed with which you responded. My wife and I got her pitching lessons for her birthday last year from an older male coach just as starsnuffer predicted. She worked with him for about six months but stopped when she started to play for 10U team since there was a former college pitcher who was assisting and with whom she connected very well. Unfortunately, this young lady was unable to continue helping the team and my daughter did not want to go back to the coach. The one thing that she has going for her is that she is determined to be a great pitcher. So it seems I will be spending a lot of time here posting video, seeking advice, and doing my research. Thanks guys.

 

[ArmWhip]

If you are going to attempt to fix this 'in house' start with simply having her lengthen her arm (and her arm circle) and stay open. To lengthen her arm she might have to give up coming out of the glove at the start of her motion. What does she say when you show her the video?

 

[Sparky Guy]

So it seems I will be spending a lot of time here posting video, seeking advice, and doing my research.

Even if you have to drive a ways. You need to find her another pitching coach. There are so many little things that can be corrected on the spot during a lesson. That will enable your DD to advance much quicker.

Posting videos and waiting for responses is akin to a blind guy behind the wheel with his seeing eye dog navigating. You may get there, you may not, but it won't be easy either way.

Hal Skinner has a list of PC's around the country. He may have someone in your area.