Parents: leave your child alone when she pitches.

[_MIA_]

I agree. My preference is that it comes from a coach. Not a parent outside the fence. Not that you were insinuating that. I'm fine with a parent talking with a coach outside of the game with "We've been working on "X". If you see her do "Y" multiple times, you can use the queue "Z" and she should make the adjustment".

My opinion is that parents should be made to sit in a sound proof echo chamber with a one way mirror set up (can see out, cannot see in).

I tried to stand closer for the one game I went to this weekend and had to leave after an opposing coach got tossed and the fans were acting like they were at a Roman coliseum. I walked out to behind the LF fence. Then again these particular fans have been obnoxious since first year 9U (3 or 4 kids have stayed together through multiple team changes) so I shouldn't have been surprised.

 

[Rolling Hard]

In the circle is not the time to work on mechanics. Its time to pitch. Just like its not time to work on hitting mechanics in the box. It is time to see ball, hit ball. Anything else is a distraction and will most likely cause loss of focus and the task at hand (creating a line drive). That being said, pitching is slightly different and if well informed coach notices a flaw he might be able to help with a 2 or 3 word cue. "stay tall" or "push off" but anymore would probably cause harm.
"Focus is a huge one. I don't know if you can teach focus."
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[lostcreek1]

I will give her a queue from time to time during or between innings. These are one word that we have discussed prior with a specific mechanical meaning. She is very young and from time to time will struggle with the simple mechanical things from time to time. So I don’t see a problem with that. Her coach has no clue about pitching mechanics so he can’t do it. His advice was usually along the lines of slow down and throw strikes. I can see this slowly fading away as she gets a few years older, and the mechanical flaws get less and less. Never give any instructions in the box other than maybe a don’t suck as she walks by.

 

[joe720]

Used to be the over bearing guy when DD was younger. By 12U i found a nice spot in the outfield, where i sit with my cooler. I enjoy the game from the outfield. She's now pitching in just HS and is still fun to watch. She stopped pitching in club a couple years ago, she said she lost the love of it.

 

[uncdrew]

I am not pushing back on this but, does this opinion or idea change if the Dad is also the coach? We all know the fine line that the Father/coach walks. Does coaching your kid change the way you talk to her on the field? If so, how?

I'm sure others see it too, I see a lot of parents talking to their kids during OUR lessons, sometimes over taking the lesson. And who's the kid gonna listen to, me or the person who they ride home with, serves them food, and they spend the majority of time with? So the kid becomes dependent on the feedback. After every pitch, they look to dad for approval or affirmation. It's very hard to watch.

I've seen many dads do this during lessons. In my head, I'm usually thinking "You're really giving instructions on pitching while your daughter is here with a pitching instructor?!?" Seems insane.

Fortunately I've always kept my mouth shut. Mostly because I don't want to look like an idiot.

 

[ArmWhip]

Focus is a huge one. I don't know if you can teach focus, but I do think conversations about it help.

Focus is a subtle concept, it can be difficult to grasp, it's kind of fuzzy. "Focus", on what?

I prefer to use 'intention'. it's clearer and goal oriented.

 

[BigSkyHi]

Focus is a subtle concept, it can be difficult to grasp, it's kind of fuzzy. "Focus", on what?

I prefer to use 'intention'. it's clearer and goal oriented.

For pitching focus, have had success with the young ones making their target smaller than the ball.

 

[Sonerai]

My DD is giving pitching lessons to young girls just learning. One of the dads just can't stop telling their DD what to do during the lesson. Afterwards she reminded me of basketball games where they had designated quiet games. The only thing allowed was clapping and coaches could only instruct them when they were off the court. She told me those were the funnest games!

 

[Pitch248]

Just wanted to say as a mom, coach, & former pitcher, thank you for reminding me of this! My daughter takes lessons & we practice almost every day. I'm also the coach of her team & it's so hard for me to just shut up sometimes. I read this thread last night & in our most recent game I just let her go for it & kept my mouth shut. She felt so much more confident at the end of the game & was proud of what she accomplished & thanked me for letting her figure it out on her own & work out of the jams.

 

[CoachJD]

Focus is a subtle concept, it can be difficult to grasp, it's kind of fuzzy. "Focus", on what?

I prefer to use 'intention'. it's clearer and goal oriented.

I think maybe focus isn't the word I should've used.

Don't let stuff you can't control (missed call, error) affect the next pitch. I talked to this pitcher for a while yesterday about this because I've noticed that if something goes wrong that was not her fault, she'll often throw a few bad pitches before getting it back. It may have been the umpire's fault for missing a swing, but the pitch she threw next that hit the batter was on her. She could not control the missed call. She could control how she approached the next pitch, and she could've made a better one.

So when I say she loses focus, I think I mean she lets some stuff rattle her for a couple pitches. I don't know if it's the same thing, but I do know the issue is mental (which affects the physical).