DD just turned 11 and is moving up to 12u. shes only been pitching for a year and we have gone to a few ‘pitching‘ coaches. One of them she sees regularly - he’s more of a overall coach, hes a former TB coach and helps my daughter with pitching, but also batting, slapping, throwing, etc. He’s retired and has been such a positive influence... and only charges $25/hr! we are going to continue seeing him as an overall coach, and Decided that maybe we need to find a coach Focusing specifically on pitching. so we tried 2 different pitching coaches as well. both Are qualified but both have styles that hasn’t clicked with my daughter. One focuses on drills non stop and the other who is a former player is just extremely abrasive. I’m just not sure which to pick? What should we be looking for? Both focus on mechanics but each have different approaches. thoughts?
Pitching coach selection? What to look for...
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JOHNN
Just a dad of 3 girls
If she clicks better with the first coach, have you asked him if itd be possible to mainly focus more on pitching than the hitting, fielding, etc?
We started late with lessons for a couple of reasons. 1) I feel/felt I could get her to a certain level of competency before I started dishing out money for lessons, 2) She wasn’t dedicated enough to work on her own.
We recently at 15yrs of age have been going to two different pitching coaches. One is more about spin, accuracy, and perfecting certain pitches. The other like you mentioned is more about a lot of drills to increase speed.
One is female and has an impressive resume as a player, the other has a daughter that he trained that plays and has been very successful at the D-1 level.
The female is pregnant and due in a couple of months and also coaches a college team. I wanted a back-up plan for when she goes out on maternity leave and then gets back to college coaching.
My DD likes both instructors and sees the differences and benefits both bring to the table.
Now two pitching coaches is not sustainable for my budget for long so we will see how it plays out.
I am seeing improvements in speed, movement, & accuracy so I’m ok at this point with the investment of time & money.
I think you will know the right instructor when you find that person. When your daughter buys into what the instructor is teaching and takes that home with her and practices on her own that will be a good indicator you found the right instructor.
It may take a few different ones until you are both satisfied.
- May 27, 2013
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I would say at your DD’s age you need a PC whose primary focus is mechanics. Having great mechanics is what everything else is built off of including speed, spin, and accuracy which come along as your dd develops physically.
What I personally look for is a PC who has placed pitchers at the collegiate level. They don’t necessarily have to have been players, themselves. In fact, two of DD’s most recent PC were men. One rebuilt her mechanics at age 13 after going to a former D1 HC who taught her HE for 2 years (before I knew better). The other male coach has greatly improved her spin. Both male PC teach IR.
What I personally look for is a PC who has placed pitchers at the collegiate level. They don’t necessarily have to have been players, themselves. In fact, two of DD’s most recent PC were men. One rebuilt her mechanics at age 13 after going to a former D1 HC who taught her HE for 2 years (before I knew better). The other male coach has greatly improved her spin. Both male PC teach IR.
Based on your next sentence, no they are not.
Someone else or no one would be better
- Someone who has actual coaching or instruction skills is the #1 criteria.
It is a sport. It is MEANT to be fun. They are meant to look forward to it. You make it a job or force them to be around people they don't like, they will quit (or worse they will hate you for it).
On to what you are looking for as someone new to pitching; you want to see them teach a nice, loose whippy arm. No forced elbow up on follow through or locked out elbows - something that looks natural. Drills and motions such as the info from this thread are a great start:
A Pitching Primer - What am I missing?
As I am only one person, and not a very good pitching-teaching person at that, I am putting together a little primer for my players (all ages) and parents who show interest in pitching. It's basically going to be a bunch of YouTube videos, plus any other sources (like DFP, Fastpitch Foundations...
Thanks all the feedback! Apparently I have a lot of learn as well - I just had to google what HE and IR is!! It turns out that all the coaches she has been doing IR with her. Appreciate the links and will look that up. With my daughter being so young I also want to make sure that she’s is enjoying it as we are hoping for her to play as long as she can. We are finally just this past year at a stage where she is being more aggressive and really coming out of her shell. Thanks everyone for the feedback and glad I found this forum.
he has been really working with her on slapping since she’s a lefty and she’s small. She’s found some success and was currently the lead off hitter with her 10u team. 12u is much different as the girls are throwing much harder. But we did debate about asking him to do pitching one lesson then slapping on the next.. consistently. He’s been so easy going with her asking her what she would like to work on today.
Where are you located? If you post a city and state, you might be able to get recommendations for good coaches in your area.
DFP is Mr. Worldwide!
Have you asked coach #1 for a recommendation? Explain you intend to have him focus on hitting and fielding while using a specialist for the pitching part. He might have a PC he works with that he can vouch for.
Its actually not that difficult to find a great PC but some people stumble. Look at the top High School programs in your area. Find out who the top pitchers in the state go to. With so many travel teams its hard to know who goes to who, but High School you'll see the top pitchers and by watching them you can tell who has been taught IR vs HE. Just ask the parents of the pitcher. Never heard of a parent unwilling to share who her PC is, especially if the pitcher is good!
Also a good resource is online videos that PCs post. I look for consistency from pitcher to pitcher. You'd be surprised at how some PCs have student's that all have different mechanics. That's not really a pitching coach. You should see consistency.
Then there is the meshing factor which I also think is important. A girl should mesh with her PC and if not gotta find a PC that she can feel comfortable working with. IMO to be successful and grow the student must be fine feeling vulnerable around her pitching coach. Very important that the environment is supportive and not every girl responds to every different style. Also as a pitcher parent you should always be aware of the top 3 or 4 PCs in your area as from time to time it can be healthy to change pitching coaches if after a while you see your DDs progress begin to stall. That could be the major difference in the progression of a pitcher. Many parents allow a kid to continue to see the same PC long after they have hit a stall. Change it up and get a new set of eyes on your pitchers mechanics from time to time.
Also a good resource is online videos that PCs post. I look for consistency from pitcher to pitcher. You'd be surprised at how some PCs have student's that all have different mechanics. That's not really a pitching coach. You should see consistency.
Then there is the meshing factor which I also think is important. A girl should mesh with her PC and if not gotta find a PC that she can feel comfortable working with. IMO to be successful and grow the student must be fine feeling vulnerable around her pitching coach. Very important that the environment is supportive and not every girl responds to every different style. Also as a pitcher parent you should always be aware of the top 3 or 4 PCs in your area as from time to time it can be healthy to change pitching coaches if after a while you see your DDs progress begin to stall. That could be the major difference in the progression of a pitcher. Many parents allow a kid to continue to see the same PC long after they have hit a stall. Change it up and get a new set of eyes on your pitchers mechanics from time to time.
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