Mound Time?

[sluggers]

We practice hitting spots and pretend batters and counts. I also have set up a tee and a net and have her pitch to the tee and try to hit the ball that is sitting on it

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That isn't going to get it.

Repeat after me: THERE IS NO STRIKE ZONE. THERE IS NO STRIKE ZONE.

At your DD's level, the strike zone varies depending upon umpires and size of the batters. It is going to move all over the place. So, being able to "hit a ball sitting on a tee" is a pretty useless skill

She has to learn how to "move the ball around the zone." She does that by practciing throwing into quadrants...high and inside, high and outside, low and inside and low and outside.

Step 1: Learn how to move the ball up and down. Have her throw a low pitch than throw a high pitch. In the beginning, it doesn't matter if the low pitch bounces and the high pitch is 5 feet over your head.
Step 2: Learn how to move the ball left and right. Have her throw an inside pitch and then throw an outside pitch. Again, it doesn't matter at first how far inside and how far outside.
Step 3: When she can do those two tasks on command, then move on to throwing quadrants. Start low and inside. When throws a pitch low and inside, move to low and outside, and then to high outside and then high inside. As she gets better, make it harder to throw an acceptable pitch.

You have to do quadrants a lot.


*ALSO* ... IR isn't the solution for throwing strikes. Brush interference (BI) is necessary for throwing strikes. That is, the arm should brush the hip just prior to release. There are lots of posts about BI on the board.

 

[Jday]

Thanks we practice quadrant. I guess I wasn't clear. When pitching to a "batter" I will call pitches and spots. Low and inside etc and change up outside . I do appreciate the advice. Please keep it coming been a fun journey so far. I guess wild is a relative term. She has struck out all batters in 3 straight innings before. Next game will walk 2 or 5 in an inning. Or wild pitch that scores a run. To be expected for sure for 10u pitcher. Thanks for all the help. I love this forum. Even introduced coach to it. She is addicted now. Lol


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[1bucketmom]

What's this "mound" thing you guys are talking about?

I get that all the time!! Play with the boys and this is what you remember. I also love it when I talk about a play at the dish and get blank stares. Lol

Go for the mound time now yo build that quality pitcher for the future.

 

[sluggers]

Brush interference is the key to control. You need to ask her if she is brushing her hip immediately prior to release.

She needs to think in terms of "moving the ball around the zone". A pitcher is constantly adjusting up/down and left/right throughout a game. (Even in college, the umpires are inconsistent.) So, have her practice alternating between high and low pitches, and left/right pitches.

One of the great ironies is that control at 10U and 12U pitching is more demanding than 14U and up. At 10U, uou can have a 5'10" girl followed by a 4'1" batter followed by a 5' batter. The umpires are usually awful.

You need to be aware if your DD is wild (throwing the ball 3 feet over the umpires head) or if she is struggling moving the ball a few inches up or down.

 

[grcsftbll]

We have 2 girls on our 10U team who are teensy tiny. They get walked a good bit because their strike zone is the size of a postage stamp.