Need some help

[Gags]

A good way to tell is record from behind her. The other is to setup a horizontal string about 6ft from the net or “plate”. The string needs to be at the height of her release.

If a “drop” the ball should just skim the string and then move down. If just a low placed fast ball it will most likely go below the string.

Hope that makes sense. DD’s PC uses this during lessons and we’ve adopted it at home. Great tell when you’re trying to avoid getting hit by a moving ball.

Are you doing this at 43' or 40'? Should I change the distance from the plate if she's throwing from 40'?

 

[wheresmycar]

Are you doing this at 43' or 40'? Should I change the distance from the plate if she's throwing from 40'?

Practice at the distance she pitches from. A good drop at 40', will bounce in front of plate at 43'.

 

[HunterMO]

Practice at the distance she pitches from. A good drop at 40', will bounce in front of plate at 43'.

It can. But it doesn’t have to. A drop just needs to start moving down about 6ft from the plate. It needs to look like a fastball until it’s not. Creating a swing & miss or a weak contact grounder.

A drop can be practiced as close as 30ft. Maybe even 25ft. Obviously the severity of the movement will be different. But if it’s thrown hard enough with good spin it’ll drop noticeably even from 30ft.

For new pitchers being closer gives them the perception of more control. It’s closer so it’s “easier”. The mistakes seem less severe opening them up to feel more free to throw hard. Just my opinion.

 

[HunterMO]

Are you doing this at 43' or 40'? Should I change the distance from the plate if she's throwing from 40'?

This comes from personal experience with DD and working with her PC. Use the string and practice from 25ft - 30ft out. Once she's throwing consistently there then move and practice out at 40' - 43', but leave the string. Let it be a focal point to throw a fastball with drop ball spin. The string gives a target in terms of plane for the ball to travel down. Any continued upward movement above the string lessens how much drop there is. Some will say that a drop ball has to hit the dirt/plate. My personal opinion is that a drop ball has to look like a fastball as long as possible until it's no longer a "fastball". Deception is the goal. At that point the hitter has made the decision to swing on plane with the "fastball". But about 8-6ft out the ball should start to move down and create a miss or weak contact. The severity of the movement depends on pitch velocity + rotation speed in the correct direction (12/6, 11/5). The faster a pitcher can get the ball to rotate the heavier the drop will be.

Those with more experience may advise otherwise. Which is great, because that's what makes pitching fun. But, that's how DD's been taught and I agree with it.

My only additional note on the string is that whatever objects you have it tied to......keep them decently wider than the throwing "tunnel" so an errant pitch doesn't ricochet unexpectedly into the catcher. Been there. Had that bruise.

 

[Cdillon58]

Does your pitching coach ever work on hitting spots? Just wondering.

Yes we work on hitting spots with the fast ball, all four corners plus a chase pitch, Change ups we work in and out, as well has throwing a screw ball.

 

[Cdillon58]

Leaning over which way, forwards, or to one side? I don't especially like the rollover drop, because you can get good topspin with a more natural fastball type release. If rolling over works for a pitcher I prefer the curve over the drop. When I teach the rollover I like to get them down on one knee (pitching arm knee on the ground), put the ball on the ground, and roll the fingers over the ball so it spins out in front of them. This is to give them a feel for the hand action, bent wrist position, and finger release.

She is leaning forward

 

[Cdillon58]

We made the switch from a HE to IR and a much stronger leg drive than what she was doing as well.

 

[ArmWhip]

She is leaning forward

When pitchers throw a lot of balls up in zone they often compensate by leaning forward as a way to get the ball down. Usually you see this in HE pitchers. You also see the forward lean when a pitcher thinks she has to 'get on top' of the ball to throw top spin or a drop. Some pitching coaches teach this lean when they teach the drop, what does her pitching coach say? If her fastball has top spin even close to 12-6 I would try to perfect that.
Also, I can't help but cringe when I see or hear the word 'screwball'. Coaches who study spin know that it is almost impossible throw true screwball spin, at best you get slightly tilted bullet spin with little to no break.

 

[fanboi22]

Your DD might want to try this drill. My DD lived and died by her drop ball in college. She came up with the drill to get her release point correct.

The "tricky" part of the drill is to know which throws are good and which are bad.

The object of the drill is for the ball to come straight back up. The object is *NOT* to have the ball shoot forward due to the top spin. If the ball shoots forward, then the release was late.

So:

Throws 1, 4, 5, 7: Good.
Throws 2, 3, 6 Bad

I really don’t mean to rehash and old argument, but Sluggers do you think this ‘roll over drop’ has the hand rolling over the front side of the ball before release? Or are you just stating that this drill is helpful to get the ‘feel’ of the release??

 

[sluggers]

@fanboi22, No, the hand doesn't roll over the front side of the ball when pitching "for real". My DD describes the release as screwing the ball into the ground.

The animation might help. The large gear is the hand, and the small gear is the ball. In an IR release, the hand is rotating counter-clockwise (for a rightie), imparting down spin on the ball.

So, the key to throwing a drop ball with a sharp break is to increase the IR rotational speed of the hand/forearm/arm. The result of quicker IR is the characteristic "hand down" follow, as opposed to the "magician" follow through.

The usual spin of a fastball is around 15RPS. It is possible for a pitcher to get up to 28RPS (or more).