"Just throw strikes" Is there an alternative?

[mike s]

When my DDs were first pitching I developed an acronym RSVP which meant Relax, check your Stance, Visualize the pitch and Pitch. This worked for both DDs. As they developed and I learned more about the whole game and pitching. I would look at their form and if I saw something out of wack I would give a cue word. Now with only younger DD pitching my first cue is DEEP BREATH, then GET GREEN(check your mental status and do what is needed to get back to a mental green state). My other cue is Check Your Form. She has a physical cue she gives me if she wants my opinion on what she is doing wrong. No unsolicitated advice allowed, well i'm still working on this. We just laugh when we hear Just Throw Strikes. As she said to me any girl after her first game has figured out that is what she should be doing. She has gotten the point on the mental side of pitching. Was struggling a bit in a game last week. She called time, brought the in field in to get all of them refocused. I was very impressed, they quickly got out of the inning after that. I use the DEEP BREATH with the other pitchers as well. It usually results in the next pitch being a good one.
DD just started HS and got to play a few games with the Varsity HS team over the summer, looks good for her to pitch Varsity.

 

[PEPPERS]

When my DDs were first pitching I developed an acronym RSVP which meant Relax, check your Stance, Visualize the pitch and Pitch. This worked for both DDs. As they developed and I learned more about the whole game and pitching. I would look at their form and if I saw something out of wack I would give a cue word. Now with only younger DD pitching my first cue is DEEP BREATH, then GET GREEN(check your mental status and do what is needed to get back to a mental green state). My other cue is Check Your Form. She has a physical cue she gives me if she wants my opinion on what she is doing wrong. No unsolicitated advice allowed, well i'm still working on this. We just laugh when we hear Just Throw Strikes. As she said to me any girl after her first game has figured out that is what she should be doing. She has gotten the point on the mental side of pitching. Was struggling a bit in a game last week. She called time, brought the in field in to get all of them refocused. I was very impressed, they quickly got out of the inning after that. I use the DEEP BREATH with the other pitchers as well. It usually results in the next pitch being a good one.
DD just started HS and got to play a few games with the Varsity HS team over the summer, looks good for her to pitch Varsity.

I really like what you are doing here, sounds like good solid advice.

I never say anything to daughter when she is on the mound, before a game my advise to her is commit to every pitch, stay relaxed deep breaths before every pitch (relaxed muscles are quick tight muscles are slow) and trust your training. Pitch with your heart first, your head second and your body last!

 

[dao]

I think the most important thing a coach can do is to make sure your pitcher has the proper mechanics. Proper mechanics lead to speed which in turn leads to accuracy. If you know the mechanics and accuracy are there during practice time then you should encourage the pitcher to "trust her motion" during the game. Trust the fact that her practice motion will bring the ball over the plate if she stops thinking about strikes and turns her attention to what her body is doing instead. Just trust it! That's what works for me.

If she can't throw strikes during practice time, she shouldn't be on the mound in the first place. You don't learn to pitch during a game.

The worst thing you can say to someone in a game is "just throw strikes"!

 

[Momo'sDad]

I find it odd, that hitters and fielders have more time to develope than alot of pitchers. Seen many games where ex. 1st basemen drops 2 balls and 4 hole hitter goes 0 for 2 they are not pulled. But if a pitcher walks a couple some coaches pull them. Pitchers need to learn to work out of jams. The bad part is that it does not always win the team games. My dd pitched on the rec teams that were new and did not have any other pitchers. WE put winning aside to get expierence that she would not have gotten being 1 of 3 pitchers on a good team. She learned she could handle any situation and eventually became #1 on all the tb teams she played for after that. That being said sometimes walks are not just mechanics. Mentality is very important.

Yesterday, my young #2 pitcher gave up 3 runs in the 1st, then struck out 3 of 4 in the 2nd and was cruising. With an 8-3 lead in the 3rd, she hit the 1st batter on a 1-2 pitch. In the next 5 batters, she hit 3 and walked 1. She wanted to be anywhere else but in the circle at that time. I requested time and went out to have a quick chat. She was hurting emotionally. I knew she wanted to come out, but I wanted to see her try to recover. I let her know I'd come get her if she lost the next batter and she was fine with that. She hit the next batter a few pitchers later and we made the change. She was so relieved.

We had the game in hand, so no need to go to our ace. Another would-be pitcher had already warmed up and was able to face 12 batters in finishing off the 3rd and 4th innings. She threw some strikes, walked 9, and hit 3. No big deal at all.

Getting #2 out of there had nothing to do with not giving her a chance or whatever negative connotations people may want to assign to it. My pitcher was hurting and she wanted her coach to rescue her. At that moment, that is what I was there for. It was good for another potential pitcher to be able to get some work, too.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Yesterday, my young #2 pitcher gave up 3 runs in the 1st, then struck out 3 of 4 in the 2nd and was cruising. With an 8-3 lead in the 3rd, she hit the 1st batter on a 1-2 pitch. In the next 5 batters, she hit 3 and walked 1. She wanted to be anywhere else but in the circle at that time. I requested time and went out to have a quick chat. She was hurting emotionally. I knew she wanted to come out, but I wanted to see her try to recover. I let her know I'd come get her if she lost the next batter and she was fine with that. She hit the next batter a few pitchers later and we made the change. She was so relieved.

We had the game in hand, so no need to go to our ace. Another would-be pitcher had already warmed up and was able to face 12 batters in finishing off the 3rd and 4th innings. She threw some strikes, walked 9, and hit 3. No big deal at all.

Getting #2 out of there had nothing to do with not giving her a chance or whatever negative connotations people may want to assign to it. My pitcher was hurting and she wanted her coach to rescue her. At that moment, that is what I was there for. It was good for another potential pitcher to be able to get some work, too.

Its great that the pitchers got game experience cuz you'll need them down the road, but sometimes you also have to consider the team's needs as a whole. Does watching at least 8 HBP and 10 walks help your field players improve? Sometimes its a trade off. Hard decisions, no easy answers!