Pitching and staying sharp in-season

[El Oso]

w/o having read the article, I read that sentence as something that strengthens ArmWhip's interpretation. If we're talking arm speed in BP vs game, is it really a different motion? Take out the full windup - is the arm circle really going to be any different? The effort / arm speed will be, but the motion / arm circle itself should be nearly identical.

"The aforementioned results suggest that consistent movement by a pitcher plays an important role in maintaining accuracy during pitching."

So your definition of movement doesn't include the speed of the movement. Fair enough. But realize if that's the case then the study is irrelevant to the discussion. Because we weren't talking about altering the movement, only the speed of the movement.

 

[_MIA_]

Those words bolded above indicate to me that there's no concrete conclusions that came out of the study.

Says someone who has no idea how to read an introduction..

 

[Sliced Bread]

400-500 pitches a week. That’s an hour a day 4-5 days a week.

 

[uncdrew]

I agree, we shoot for 5 times a week. It has served us well, and we have learned how to take advantage of the sessions more as well. More form and spin wo incorporated with velocity as well each week. You don't have to throw a ton of pitches each day.

Us too.

We take off every Monday and Friday. I don't want her pitching the day before or after a tournament. Those days she rests, perhaps lifts weights but no softball. Then we pitch just us two on Tue/Thursday. Team practice Wed. Lessons squeeze into weekends when we don't have tourneys.

 

[Hillhouse]

Us too.

We take off every Monday and Friday. I don't want her pitching the day before or after a tournament. Those days she rests, perhaps lifts weights but no softball. Then we pitch just us two on Tue/Thursday. Team practice Wed. Lessons squeeze into weekends when we don't have tourneys.

Is that because you worry about an injury the day before a tournament, as to not wanting her to pitch? I don't know what level of team your DD plays for, and I'm only saying that in relation to whether she flys to tournaments on weekends or is driven. If flying, would you think it'd be a good idea to pitch a little after a flight and arriving in town with enough time before the 1st game, to get the blood flowing? I suppose you could say the same about a long car ride too.

I don't know. All I can tell you guys is, when I was a kid I pitched every single day that I could...all summer long. Our next door neighbor had installed a pitcher rubber in his yard for his boys, who played baseball. That small section of his yard was right next to ours and I don't think I ever saw his kids using it. Thankfully it wasn't an elevated mound for baseball, in fact the "rubber" that he put down wasn't regulation for either softball or baseball, it was just a piece of wood. But my brother and I were out there EVERY single day. Usually multiple times per day. Please don't misunderstand, I'm not saying that's how everyone should do it or go about it. But I can't overstate how much we loved fastpitch softball and how it dominated our lives. The only thing worse than rainouts for us was winter. Of course then it became winter pitching in the YMCA. This truly was our life. So again this is what WE did, because of our obsession. I'm not saying it's for everyone and I'm not saying it was the safest thing we could've done. But we just couldn't get enough of it. Personally, I think it made me a stronger pitcher, even throwing on days before tournaments.

 

[uncdrew]

Is that because you worry about an injury the day before a tournament, as to not wanting her to pitch? I don't know what level of team your DD plays for, and I'm only saying that in relation to whether she flys to tournaments on weekends or is driven. If flying, would you think it'd be a good idea to pitch a little after a flight and arriving in town with enough time before the 1st game, to get the blood flowing? I suppose you could say the same about a long car ride too.

I don't know. All I can tell you guys is, when I was a kid I pitched every single day that I could...all summer long. Our next door neighbor had installed a pitcher rubber in his yard for his boys, who played baseball. That small section of his yard was right next to ours and I don't think I ever saw his kids using it. Thankfully it wasn't an elevated mound for baseball, in fact the "rubber" that he put down wasn't regulation for either softball or baseball, it was just a piece of wood. But my brother and I were out there EVERY single day. Usually multiple times per day. Please don't misunderstand, I'm not saying that's how everyone should do it or go about it. But I can't overstate how much we loved fastpitch softball and how it dominated our lives. The only thing worse than rainouts for us was winter. Of course then it became winter pitching in the YMCA. This truly was our life. So again this is what WE did, because of our obsession. I'm not saying it's for everyone and I'm not saying it was the safest thing we could've done. But we just couldn't get enough of it. Personally, I think it made me a stronger pitcher, even throwing on days before tournaments.

We fly to a few tournaments, but usually not many (two a year). And we arrive early to warm up - I agree that a flight can change things. I'm happy her team does long and slow warm-ups before their first game each tourney. She's on an A-level team that has won some national tournaments.

Mostly we don't pitch Fridays for two reasons:

1. On Saturday her pitch count is 100-150 and same Sunday. I don't really want to add to that by making the 3-day total 400. And with school on Friday, our Friday pitching would be Friday night, perhaps only 10 hours before she has to pitch Saturday.
2. I like her to have downtime, mentally and physically. I don't have a ton of proof, but if we had a bad session Friday, I'd like more time for her to forget it. Just more time to process and such. She's still a kid.

I'm pretty cautious with pitch counts. Seen several girls in our circle with injuries that they attribute to over-work.

 

[Hillhouse]

We fly to a few tournaments, but usually not many (two a year). And we arrive early to warm up - I agree that a flight can change things. I'm happy her team does long and slow warm-ups before their first game each tourney. She's on an A-level team that has won some national tournaments.

Mostly we don't pitch Fridays for two reasons:

1. On Saturday her pitch count is 100-150 and same Sunday. I don't really want to add to that by making the 3-day total 400. And with school on Friday, our Friday pitching would be Friday night, perhaps only 10 hours before she has to pitch Saturday.
2. I like her to have downtime, mentally and physically. I don't have a ton of proof, but if we had a bad session Friday, I'd like more time for her to forget it. Just more time to process and such. She's still a kid.

I'm pretty cautious with pitch counts. Seen several girls in our circle with injuries that they attribute to over-work.

fair enough. I don't know how old your kid is but, it sounds like your methods and approach to this is working if she's winning tournaments and getting better each time. I'm happy for you both. While it's her that puts in the work and has all the pressure on her to do well in games, Parents deserve credit for the opportunities they give their kid(s) and providing all they can to help them achieve success. So, you and your spouse deserve some credit too.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

Here's my struggle with my daughter for school ball season. Because she's really the only pitcher, she has to do 95% of the pitching. With 19 games on our schedule, and an average of three games per week, it's really difficult to get any lessons or practice time in. Her travel coach insisted she learn a drop this winter, which we worked on a lot in our sessions. The problem is the catcher refuses to call it in games because she hates catching them.

Next week, she has games on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. She'll barely have enough recovery time, let alone practice time, so how are you supposed to work on different things?

Honestly, I've always been a staunch defender of school ball, but I am beginning to change my mind. In fact, I'd be delighted if she dropped it. We'd throw five days a week, including a lesson, and prepare for the season when coaches will actually see her.

To make matters worse, her HS team stinks this season. If she doesn't throw a shutout, their chances of winning are slim.

 

[Tango]

Here's my struggle with my daughter for school ball season. Because she's really the only pitcher, she has to do 95% of the pitching. With 19 games on our schedule, and an average of three games per week, it's really difficult to get any lessons or practice time in. Her travel coach insisted she learn a drop this winter, which we worked on a lot in our sessions. The problem is the catcher refuses to call it in games because she hates catching them.

Next week, she has games on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. She'll barely have enough recovery time, let alone practice time, so how are you supposed to work on different things?

Honestly, I've always been a staunch defender of school ball, but I am beginning to change my mind. In fact, I'd be delighted if she dropped it. We'd throw five days a week, including a lesson, and prepare for the season when coaches will actually see her.

To make matters worse, her HS team stinks this season. If she doesn't throw a shutout, their chances of winning are slim

That's tough and see that a lot in our area. My DD is on the opposite end, her team has three legit future college pitchers and getting enough innings is tough. DD has committed (15-3 over three years), other kid has offers (used the most), and third is high 60's as a freshman.

I would try and make her warm up routine as important as possible and work on things in limited time and reps of course.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

That's tough and see that a lot in our area. My DD is on the opposite end, her team has three legit future college pitchers and getting enough innings is tough. DD has committed (15-3 over three years), other kid has offers (used the most), and third is high 60's as a freshman.

I would try and make her warm up routine as important as possible and work on things in limited time and reps of course.

Well, she woke up this morning and informed me she has a dead arm, so it appears the decision was made for her. I'm shutting her down until we can get it looked at.