What are some tips I can use on teaching my DD the difference between an 0-2 outside pitch and a 2-2 outside pitch? There are times when I almost wish she had control issues. We have all seen our teams struggle hitting the pitcher who occasionally sails one over the batters head. My DD is just the opposite. She pounds the strike zone on every pitch. Rarely goes beyond a 2-2 count. How do I teach her that throwing a ball is not a bad thing? I would like to see her start getting hitters to chase with 2 strikes. Last weekend, she is pitching to a girl who was bigger than I am. Gets her 0-2 in the count. Coach calls for the drop low and out. That is a pitch I would like to see well off the plate. Go figure, my DD throws it for a strike and the girl gets a base hit. I try to explain after the game that she needed to move the ball even further out. She just tells me that she hit the corner. I understand this is just part of the learning process, but as she faces better and better hitters, she will need to learn not to give them 3 good looks at her pitches. Is there any drills that can be used that have been effective in the past? I know the catchers should be setting up differently. Maybe I should video some of her game action and give her examples that way.
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- Thread starter joemcq51
- Start date
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Did she try to throw it low and away but failed? Or, did she simply now throw it where she wanted it?
Is it a lack of execution or a lack of understanding what is required?
Is it a lack of execution or a lack of understanding what is required?
- Dec 19, 2008
- 164
- 0
Good question. My DD went through the same thing last year (14 yoa at the time). We got her coach and pitching coach to convince her to throw more balls, based on the count. Even had her walk one batter an inning in pool play.
Seemed to work.
Seemed to work.
- Jun 20, 2008
- 235
- 0
joemcq51, how old is the pitcher? Many times this is a maturity issue, we spend many of the early years preaching throwing strikes and as soon as they get a good handle on that we have to start preaching the opposite...She needs to learn that early in a game especially when ahead in the count that she should push the limits of the strike zone and see just what the Umpire will give her on the inside and out side, and when she learns that she needs to live there and 1 or 2 ball widths in or out from there...If you are asking this question it is time to start transforming her from a pitching machine into a pitcher...some pick it up right away, some it takes longer and some rely on the coach or catcher and just hit the glove...
Good luck because I can tell you from experience nothing is more frustrating or aggravating than seeing your DD get taken yard on an 0-2 pitch! You will be like OMG are you kidding me right now, did that really just happen?
Except for watching both of your DD's strike out Back to Back, thats a bad one that will have you looking for the xanax bottle!
Good luck because I can tell you from experience nothing is more frustrating or aggravating than seeing your DD get taken yard on an 0-2 pitch! You will be like OMG are you kidding me right now, did that really just happen?
Except for watching both of your DD's strike out Back to Back, thats a bad one that will have you looking for the xanax bottle!
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Little backwards but let her keep pitching like she is to 1 – 4, 5 -9 setup some specific pitch sequences for her. She should be able to get of a jam if she gets into one. After each inning discuss how it went for her, what worked for her, what she was not comfortable with. When you think she is ready remove the sequences and let her control the sequence. When she feels comfortable on her own, or better yet with the C's help, let her loose on the entire lineup.
Sluggers- The pitch was called for low and away and she hit the spot. I just think "the spot" should be about 4 inches off the plate. In her mind, if she throws for a corner, it needs to be in the strike zone. I am a firm believer that she has enough command at this point, that she should be able to go well off the plate, and work back in, as the count dictates.
Bucketdad- She is 13. She has good command of her pitches. Averages less than a walk a game.
Screwball- We practice throwing at small targets a lot. The issue is, in the game, she will not allow the targets to be outside the plate. I like the idea of side by side plates for practice. That may be a great way to send her the message.
Bucketdad- She is 13. She has good command of her pitches. Averages less than a walk a game.
Screwball- We practice throwing at small targets a lot. The issue is, in the game, she will not allow the targets to be outside the plate. I like the idea of side by side plates for practice. That may be a great way to send her the message.
- Dec 7, 2011
- 2,368
- 38
This one hits close to home....
My DD is first yr 16U and I think after this last Halloweens Chattanooga tourney she finally gets the urgency of knowing what ya gotta do at 0-2. (no rhyme intended...)
In Chattanooga we got up against a team that we later found out was a next year 18U squad with mostly already committed players.
Well DD get's in there and starts throwing strikes right off the bat. DD had multiple 0-2 counts, and if my memory allows without grinding teeth here, multiple "going to yards" on that count.
DD came off the field early with a deer-in-the-headlights look and it took all I could to stay calm and much later ask "what the &^$#& were ya thinking throwing so many hittable pitches at 0-2? Bottom line is she needed this hugely impactful moment to have it register. That is ....."you're not going to blow three strikes past good hitters regardless of different pitches being thrown".
We practice a "quadrant" drill at the end of our training sessions where I have her hit pitches in the extremes of all four corners without making a wild pitch. This drill of intentionally inducing unhittable pitches I think is altering DD's mindset. (along with the Chattanooga scars....)
My DD is first yr 16U and I think after this last Halloweens Chattanooga tourney she finally gets the urgency of knowing what ya gotta do at 0-2. (no rhyme intended...)
In Chattanooga we got up against a team that we later found out was a next year 18U squad with mostly already committed players.
Well DD get's in there and starts throwing strikes right off the bat. DD had multiple 0-2 counts, and if my memory allows without grinding teeth here, multiple "going to yards" on that count.
DD came off the field early with a deer-in-the-headlights look and it took all I could to stay calm and much later ask "what the &^$#& were ya thinking throwing so many hittable pitches at 0-2? Bottom line is she needed this hugely impactful moment to have it register. That is ....."you're not going to blow three strikes past good hitters regardless of different pitches being thrown".
We practice a "quadrant" drill at the end of our training sessions where I have her hit pitches in the extremes of all four corners without making a wild pitch. This drill of intentionally inducing unhittable pitches I think is altering DD's mindset. (along with the Chattanooga scars....)
My dd used to throw that meaty 0-2 pitch. She was so focused on the K that she just had to throw that 3rd pitch for a strike. We were at a winter college "camp" last winter and the head coach of the college told her that she should strive for 50% of her pitches in the strike zone. He explained that the count favored the pitcher, she has 3 strikes to get before she throws 4 balls, so as long as you get 50% of your pitches called strikes you are ahead of the game. He discussed the strategy of getting the batter to chase, and how that 50% changed during at bats based on count... But the thing that stuck was that 50% strikes overall.
The catcher has to be taught too, I worked with our catchers last year. Based on the count where she should set up. 0-2 and I wanted her asking for the ball off the plate. Take the decision away from the pitcher.
The catcher has to be taught too, I worked with our catchers last year. Based on the count where she should set up. 0-2 and I wanted her asking for the ball off the plate. Take the decision away from the pitcher.
...The coaches calls must not be effective, and have not showed a logic that has become easily learned by your DD. A controlled pitcher will always go to what they know best when in a crisis, and or a completion. Controlling the pitch is the first step in controlling the Game. If she is correctly delivering the pitch with the same mechanics, and not trying to change her position to throw inside or outside up or down, and using only her fingers to move the ball, then she is ready. Ready to developed her own timing call sequences...by changing, and disrupting the timing of the delivery in a thought out game planned sequence, then she will look at a ball as an good investment. She will of course still try to use the Coaches location calls
As someone else mentioned, this is resolved in continual discussion
involving coach, pitcher and catcher, normally on an inning to inning basis.
IMHO-low and away is a good call on a 0-2 count, but this pitch should be nearly
in the dirt and the target is off the plate, this is a 'waste pitch' count. The pressure
is clearly on the batter, and a strike with this count should be a 'swinging strike'.
Watch some major league games with DD paying particular attention to the manner
in which the battery works the count.
This leads back to the old adage regarding pitchers at different age groups:
At 10U-we wish for strikes
12U-concentarte on throwing strikes
14U+ concentrate on making the batter swing at pitches for strikes.
meaning, as the girls get older, they hit much better-thus the need
for movement and pitches placed on the corners and off the plate.
I am guessing that a pitcher with as good of control as your DD, she
should have had a very good K per inning ratio. As she enters 14U and up,
the K ratio goes down a bit, but this is not a reflection of her effectiveness
as a pitcher. This is the message you need to convey to her. Sometimes, even
the best placed 0-2 pitch will be driven by a very good hitter.
pitchers pitch and hitters hit
involving coach, pitcher and catcher, normally on an inning to inning basis.
IMHO-low and away is a good call on a 0-2 count, but this pitch should be nearly
in the dirt and the target is off the plate, this is a 'waste pitch' count. The pressure
is clearly on the batter, and a strike with this count should be a 'swinging strike'.
Watch some major league games with DD paying particular attention to the manner
in which the battery works the count.
This leads back to the old adage regarding pitchers at different age groups:
At 10U-we wish for strikes
12U-concentarte on throwing strikes
14U+ concentrate on making the batter swing at pitches for strikes.
meaning, as the girls get older, they hit much better-thus the need
for movement and pitches placed on the corners and off the plate.
I am guessing that a pitcher with as good of control as your DD, she
should have had a very good K per inning ratio. As she enters 14U and up,
the K ratio goes down a bit, but this is not a reflection of her effectiveness
as a pitcher. This is the message you need to convey to her. Sometimes, even
the best placed 0-2 pitch will be driven by a very good hitter.
pitchers pitch and hitters hit
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