Increase pitching speed help

[travelingman]

I am planning to start my daughter on a set of drills with weighted balls over a three week stretch designed to help increase speed. The plan was given to me by her pitching coach. According to her hs coach she needs 3 to 4 mph's at least added to her fastball to get her more opportunities pitching. She does have other pitches she throws such as drop, curve and changeup which helps her cause. Do any coaches or parents out there have any suggestions before starting with the weighted balls? Does anyone have any proven drills which you have witnessed to help high school age girls increase speed?

 

[Ade's Dad]

Long toss.(short answer)

 

[tojo]

I suggest long distance throwing. Starting at the rubber and as long as she can get it to the catcher in the air she earns two steps back. When she can no longer get the ball in the air, have her add a little arc in order to reach the catcher. When she is no longer able to get the ball to the catcher in the air, have her use a reference point such as a tall tree or tall building as her target. When she throws the ball upward, she should have a lean back and use the lat muscles.Weighted balls are good if they are used correctly.

 

[Lozza]

Also use light weight balls, as this does help with speed. There are training programs on the net. (I'm not at home, otherwise I'd link)

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I don't know what weighted balls you mean, but if they are the ones that are yellow, dark blue, black and green, those are too heavy to use with a windmill pitch.

I use softballs that I have driven finishing nails into, so the balls are only 7 ounces.

Also, she could pitch with 14 inch balls and 16 inch rag balls. They aren't significantly heavier, but they require a little more oomph.

 

[Brittany'sDad]

Hi traveling man,
I agree that there is nothing better than long toss to increase speed. I would also say innings on the mound as well. I know with my daughter as she increased speed the ball would rise in the zone or way out to be more distinct. So she would slow her delivery down to throw strikes and the increased speed disappeared. However time on the rubber allowed her to re-harness the speed and adjust delivery to throw more accurately. I would also say the increase of 4 miles an hour will not happen overnight, as with anything it only comes with practice.
Mike

 

[WiZ]

Long toss.(short answer)

There's your answer...... I also set up the rope for her to throw under and still try and reach the plate in the strike zone. We had fun with it and made it a game of "How low can you go" with the rope, still get undr it, and still reach the catcher in the air. Always fun when you secretly give them a great workout without them knowing.

 

[travelingman]

Great advice, thanks and keep it coming. We will start the training in about 2 weeks once the hs season has come to a close.

 

[Wookie]

For me, it's incentivize! DD is 10 and cruises around 44-45 mph. She gets a full keyboard cell phone when she reaches 50. Of course, I didn't mention to her that next year she moves up to a 12" ball and pitches from 40', so I buy myself some time!

But seriously, what I did was have her throw 5 REALLY HARD FAST pitches in a row, no matter of location, during practice every once in a while. What she found was that she actually pitched BETTER by throwing fast, and that it wasn't too much extra effort. Eventually SHE learned that she could break a "mental" barrier on her own.

I'd say challenge her and get her to realize that she has the talent now to do what she needs rather than relying on just drills. The drills mentioned are all great, but that alone will not increase her speed - she needs to break down her own internal barriers to achieve the goal.

Good luck, and tell us how it goes.

 

[Lozza]

I don't know what weighted balls you mean, but if they are the ones that are yellow, dark blue, black and green, those are too heavy to use with a windmill pitch.

Can I ask why? I use the green ball (which from memory is the lightest) and find it helps me significantly. I don't do any movement pitches with it, its just purely the motion. I do agree the other ones are far too heavy to use for pitching. (the men I know who use them, use the blue one, but they're banned from any heavier)