Looking for advice to improve 10 Year Old Pitcher

[Ravenstown]

10 Yr old DD is still working on her pitching and mechanics. It is getting better, but she still has a lot of work to do. I put together a video of her pitching from the front, back, and side angles and would like some feedback. Looking for some constructive critisism, not a crucification! She has only been pitching since last September so we know there is work to be done in order to improve.

 

[Lozza]

There's something a bit 'off' about her legs, but I can't quite pinpoint it. Maybe it's her follow through is odd. (though that could be because she's inside and isn't dragging)

She's not stepping straight through the 'power line'. She is stepping about a foot away to her left side. That would be my main concern.

Very nice motion though!

 

[tomzpc]

She looks pretty good to me for a year in, definitely more consistent than my daughter who is the same age and who started around the same time.

I'll leave the critical stuff to the people who know. Great job with the video btw. Love the background music! I have great memories of rocking out to AC/DC back in HS and college. =)

Sent you a PM also.....Tom

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Her posture, etc. is pretty typical of a girl of her age. I need to ask if she has a pitching coach, though, because I am guessing that she does not. Some pitches are illegal, some begin with her back foot off of the rubber (which is OK in LL.) and she never lands in the same place twice. Then, with some, she isn't dragging at all.

She is putting too much energy into what she thinks a pitcher looks like and she needs to get the basics down and good muscle memory, first. Start with getting her hips open and staying open until the ball is gone. Work on balance from the power K position and lay down a power line. If you do that, I think that you will see the problem with the various places that the lead foot is landing.

One step at a time. I would start with getting the hips open.

Good luck and have fun. The music woke my dogs up. Ha.

I really like your video. Could you PM me how you did that? It would make good Xmas presents for my students. What state are you in?

 

[starsnuffer]

Ditto what Amy said. She's not opening up much at all. I suspect that power K's (with leg movement, never static feet) will help her along. Her stepping to the left of the power line is either a product of her not opening or may be contributing to her not opening. Either way, it's typical for a girl to do this when transitioning from stepping to leaping.

Try to get her to understand that she needs to "throw" everything towards the catchers mitt when she pushes off. Glove, ball hand, left foot, they all go in the same direction towards the same spot. You can have her practice this without actually pitching, and if she's "throwing" her foot she can't help herself but to open completely.

One other thing that bothers me is that she doesn't have a defender's mindset after she pitches. At that age, it's especially important that after she pitches she's made the transition from pitcher to defender. She's going to play like she practices, and if she casually strolls towards the catcher after she releases the ball it's just a matter of time before a line drive takes her unawares.

-W

 

[SoftSocDad]

Nice video. She's got a really quick motion, which is great, but as they've all said, she's not staying in her power line. Yes, she's throwing strikes, but is wasting energy (which translates into loss of velocity) every time she steps to the left instead of directly toward the catcher.

 

[Ravenstown]

Thanks for the responses so far. They are really constructive and definitely something that I agree with. The one thing that I see that she needs to work on is her stride foot. We have been trying to get her stride foot to land a lot closer to 45 degrees, but for some reason she wants to turn that stride foot and land it at 90 degrees. She definitely needs to work on staying back and we will be working on staying on the power line as well.