Pitcher has lost her way

[thecat]

I don't know your daughter, so it's impossible to speculate or offer a solution. These are guesses. I would ask her about what she thinks is going on. Maybe a coaching change is in order. Go back to basics and have her throw only fastballs. Pitching is very tough. I was one and both daughters pitch. Finding guidance at the top level is very difficult.

Also, does she see a pitching coach regularly? Coaches are really good at screwing things ip

 

[BigSkyHi]

Find out if any colleges in your area offer any sports psych programs, give one of the grad students $20 to come talk to your team about Sports Psych and how it can help. EVERY TEAM IN THE COUNTRY SHOULD DO THIS.

I don't know you or your kid, but "aiming" is usually a sign of a fear of failure. Afraid of throwing a wild pitch. You can throw 10,000 pitchers per day into a tarp all you want or do any drills that people mention but this problem is between her ears and that's where it needs fixing first.

If you don't have a school with Sports Psych students, check YouTube and make her watch some 5 min clips. Not an hour long, she'll get bored. Just snips and clips about 5 min each.

Knocking the crap out of a tarp just may be highly recommended by a grad student sports psychologist

 

[marriard]

MIne had a 'fastest ball' signal we used to use

It is "throw as hard as you can; don't really care where it goes" pitch. It helped her for a time in a similar age group where she was trying to be way too precise which often ended up aiming because of it. Totally took her mind off needing to throw it in or near the zone and put her in the 'throw it hard' mindset.

It is still part of her arsenal now but for different reasons.

 

[mmeece]

If her mechanics are sound in practice and she can fix the problem there then I agree with others who have said it is a mental issue. Make her practice time about mechanics, not results. The tarp idea mentioned can help. Be sure that her practice time is at full speed. Give her permission to suck at full speed in games for a while. I sometimes told my dd "make sure fail at full speed!" If you have the option to play at a lower level now and then be sure to get her any low pressure innings you can. Sometimes just one good outing can turn it around.

 

[ArmWhip]

From the picture you posted she looks like she is trying to power the ball past the hitter, maybe I'm projecting here.
If you think this is the case I would focus on the changeup, which calls for a slightly different mindset. Work on the change and throw it often.

 

[Meganhereforyou]

Her physically being able to throw a strike isn’t the problem, it’s her mental state. Mental side of pitching sometimes gets forgotten which is why I’m such a big advocate of teaching the mental side of pitching just as much as the physical. She needs confidence in her pitch. To gain this, she needs to trust her mechanics. This comes from repetition and muscle memory. Make sure to have warm up focused on mechanics. She needs to understand that strikes don’t happen at the plate, they happen during the pitch. Take the focus off of what’s happening on the plate and focus on how it feels to throw strikes.
One thing I noticed to help pitchers who are aiming is to have them throw distance. Typically, when trying to throw strikes a pitcher slows down her movement in hopes of gaining control. But, the opposite is true. Slowing down your pitch equals off timing. Have her work her way back from the mound stepping back each pitch. This forces her to speed up her body. Work back until she can’t reach the plate with her pitch then takes steps in towards normal distance. Doing this encourages maximum power, forces her to make adjustments and overall improves control. Feeling stronger and more in control will boost her mental state. And always be encouraging. And never say “just throw strikes!”