I think I may cry

[jmkst58]

Hi, I am the mom of a 10year old daughter who pitches. This is my first post, but I'm sure not my last.

I think I may cry. I only came to the site tonight to see if there were tips to help her pitch harder and faster- my husband nor I know ANYTHING about pitching. I thought we were on the right track and well on our way to success though.

I've only started reading, but from what I've read so far, we've just spent the last year and a half sending her to pitching lessons to learn the "Hello Elbow" pitching instruction method. And that is the wrong track? And we'll have to go backward with her instruction now (start all over with another coach and learn another method- internal rotation?)

We've spent so much time and money to get her here. I am honestly going to cry.

She is amazingly accurate. She has some size to her, so she does pitch with some speed and force. Last year when she was 9, everyone commented that they thought she pitched harder/faster than the top 10 year old pitcher in our town. We noticed that she looked totally different than the 10 year old pitcher (our daughter has ZERO negative move in her pre-motion and her "leap" was just a really huge step, and then of course there was the hello elbow). I think we maybe started thinking the 10 year old's mechanics were bad, since everyone told us that our daughter was so much better than her.

So we just kept on doing what we were doing. We were practicing the exact same way over and over hoping she would eventually evolve into the drive/leap and drag, but she never really did. Everyone (ie- her pitching coach) kept telling me "She's so good for 10- she's a really good pitcher." I just kept thinking I was expecting too much evolution too soon.

After reading the boards tonight- I think she needs to go back to square one - and with a different coach. sigh...

It wouldn't be so bad and I'd be willing to start right away... but being that she is almost the only 10u pitcher in our small town- let alone by far the best one... I am afraid to switch her right now, in case she can't be "fixed" before our all-star season. Is the switch to a new coach and "internal rotation" going to throw her off for awhile? Her accuracy or speed could suffer for awhile? There may be a steep learning curve for awhile? The other problem is that they "moved her up" from minor league to Little League even though she's only 10. Little League had no pitchers so they wanted her up there. 3 teams- and pretty much only 3 pitchers (my daughter-10, the 11 year old, and then one 12 year old). So I really can't even wait until June (allstars) for her to be "operable" again. It'd be nice if she could be fixed in one month instead of 2. But if it can't be accomplished in one- I will even hold out hope for 2.

Sorry to ramble so much. It's really tough to put so much time and effort in, and think you MAY not have it all figured out, but at least you're moving forward. Then- a few hours later you find out it was all wasted and you have to start over. ???? arggggghhhhh. That was a pretty big downer- wow. Thanks for any help and advice that you can offer. It would be very much appreciated. I have so much more to read. To say that I wish I would have found these boards sooner would be a very huge understatement.

 

[JJsqueeze]

I wouldn't sweat it too much. First of all she is 10 so it is not like she has to correct 10 years of ingraining the wrong mechanics. Second, many, many pitchers finish with a Hello Elbow finish but they actually have good I/R mechanics through release so the H/E finish has no effect on the pitch. The best thing you can do is to post some good quality video for feedback. Even if she is pitching with HE, it is not that big of a deal. All you will be doing to correct her is teaching her to throw underhand with a natural motion. it is actually pretty easy.

 

[WaSpeed02]

I second what JJ said. Take a deep breath and realize she'll be fine. There is a very good possibility that she's already whipping the ball and she doesn't even know it. There are countless examples of elite pitchers whipping (I/R) and then finishing HE simply out of habit.

Post some video and let the instructors here take a look at her. One thing is for sure: you've come to the right place and you're on the right track. Also, keep in mind that none of the time she's spent pitching thus far has been a waste. Just realize there may be some modifications to her approach that you'll need to make. You're not reinventing the wheel, you're just getting new tires.

Best of luck!

 

[Eric F]

"Wow! She is such a good pitcher/hitter/catcher/fielder..." is great to hear, but at 10, the road ahead is still very long. The mechanics that are successful at 10, may not be very successful at 12, 14, 16...however far she may want to take it. A couple steps back now are less detrimental than an increasing rate of failure as she progresses.

The big question: Do you want to invest a little time now - at the possible expense of immediate success - or endure the long struggle later?

Then again, she might be doing more right than you think.

 

[gvm]

i agree with the others. don't worry,everything is gonna be fine,even GREAT !!!! when my dd was 10 people used to comment on how good her mechanics were,and now i watch our 10u videos with my dd ,and we both get a good laugh it does stink that you've spent alot of money,but no matter what your doing at 10,there is something you need to change to get better..."enjoy the journey"

 

[cuzmail]

"She is such a good pitcher/hitter/catcher/fielder..." is great to hear, but at 10, the road ahead is still very long.

^^^ Probably not what you wanted to hear and most definitely not the way you wanted to hear it, but it's true. DD was a monster in 10U with HE mechanics. 12U she was average with HE. This is our first year of 14U and I can tell she will be a formidable oppponent as a pitcher but now with whip mechanics. We switched late last fall because of this board too. HE or pushing the ball wouldn't get the job done anymore and was holding her back.

It took (or is taking) my DD a while to adjust. DD never lost any velocity, but she did lose accuracy and spin rate which affected her ball movement. These two are coming back quickly in the last month. Great move for us and I would do it again if I had the chance.

Don't be afraid. Work with her. There are excellent resources on this board to help. Post video and you will receive feedback. Just keep in mind 90% of the posters here are trying to help regardless of how they phrase it, but you do have the 10% that post just to stir the pot.

 

[FastPitchCat]

my DD was the same. at 11, she started with a HE coach but we bit the bullet last year and switched over and have NOT looked back. as others have said, she may already be doing it "right". post a video and a lot of the guru's here will chime in.
good luck.

 

[ArkFastpitch]

Finally I get to share some inspiration instead of my own panic. My 10 year old DD just made the switch from "Hellow Elbow" to I/R about a month and a half ago. I felt the same way you did before the switch. She has actually picked it up a lot easier than I had expected and we have seen some major increases in her speed. We are still working to get the control back but she is progressing.
I can honestly say it was well worth the switch.

 

[coachbob]

I was watching a HS game the other day, where the pitcher, who is the best and fastest in the league had high level mechanics. She is a 2015 and headed to a good PAC 12 program. I was very surprised to find out she has been with the same local HE pitching coach since 8u. She didn't have the HE I am used to seeing with his kids in the younger divisions and on my teams. I'm not sure when or how the HE was worked out of her motion, but I'm sure the time she spent pitching that way in her younger years didn't keep her from her goal of playing at the highest possible level. This will be a minor blip in no time. Enjoy the all star season, and more importantly, let her enjoy it. Kids pick up on this kind of stress and can underperform because of it. Relax and enjoy; start looking for PC's for August.

CB
five daughters

 

[FP26]

I agree with many of the posters here. At 10, I wouldn't worry too much about it. My DDs first pitching coach also taught HE. When I first started researching this (here and other places) I realized it was not the right path, and my reaction was quite similar to the OP. Then I continued to read, research, and watch DD pitch. What I eventually realized is what JJ said in his post. My DD was actually using I/R but was adding a fake HE finish on the end. Ultimately we were able to find her a new coach although we need to drive 90 minutes one way to get her there... but this site armed me with what to look for, and we have not looked back.

My advice is to continue to read and educate yourself. There are several people that post on this site that are among the best pitching coaches in the nation, IMO. Take your time and find a coach that teaches something similar to the coaches here. And, at 10 years old, I have no problem with OILF's line of thinking. A 3-4 pack of lessons (or once a month) is a good way to start.

As far as an immediate solution.... Either post a video for the experts here to review or find another coach ASAP for an evaluation. If she is like my DD, the adjustments will not take long because she may be using a lot of good things already.