Pitching coach selection? What to look for...

[fanboi22]

IMO i think that you can take your DD a long way into her journey by reading all the stickies here and working on 'throwing the ball underhand' vs trying to teach her how to pitch. Alot of my DD's current routine is just throwing, working on mechanics, spin and location. That feel then needs to translate into the pitching motion. Too many times my DDs mechanics break down completely going into a full pitch. The original IR in the classroom stickie is the bible. As well, you have to make sure there is brush at the very beginning. Monkey butt without brush will kill your DDs progress. Once the base mechanics get there just continue to 'throw' underhand. Then see where you go from there. You will then know somewhat what to look for when a PC comes in. Throw overhand, throw underhand, throw overhand, throw underhand. Just my 2 pennies.

 

[radness]

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?

What type of style/approach does her first coach use?
See you mentioned he's a positive influence.
This may tell you your answer.

As to instructors and drills.
They all should have some to use.

Approach of the instructor~
Thats going to be a decision you make.
Go to watch more lessons of other instructors.
My suggestion
*Watch/Listen first~
If you like what you see
Set up a meet and greet without the lesson!
Its good if your daughter is comfortable on the first day meeting the instructor...and....the instructor speaks to your daughter.
Not talking heavy conversation.
Simply exchanging some dialog. Generally can get a lot from a meet and greet. Without the added 'pressure'
of both meeting first, not exactly knowing the other, or what to expect. And go from there.

Side note,
Possibly the knowledge you gather from the 'all sorts information available' will be equally important as any instructor.

 

[Tech Control]

I would say there are a few things to look for. The most important, IMO, would be the PC’s experience then, a very close second, chemistry between the two. When I say experience, I mean not only the coaching experience but actual pitching experience. I’ve seen the difference when my DD (12U 2nd yr) and PC talk about the previous week games, and her PC references when she was in that situation pitching in HS or College. I feel that type of one on one discussion is incredibly important. The mental game of Softball is just as important. Having a PC that’s been there and passes on her knowledge of her experience is a great plus. My DD went through about 4 coaches before we found one that clicked.

Good luck!!!

 

[Beeg]

#1, make sure the pitching coach teaches IR (Internal Rotation). We did tons of research when DD started pitching at 8, and it was so natural for her. We moved last year and found a new team, HC has two daughters (twins) who pitched. I told her about IR, and she said no wonder her DDs were fighting the Hello Elbow motion. Her daughters now go to pitching lessons with our daughter, and switching them both to IR helped them become better pitchers.

At a younger age, find a PC who isn't focused on speed but on the correct motion instead. Speed will come with maturity. Think about it, you are throwing a small ball about 40 feet away. Every little incorrect movement will amplify by the time the ball reaches the target. So an inch off when the ball leaves her hand will be about a foot off by the time it reaches the plate. So focusing on the correct movement is so much more important at the beginning. Once she master the movement, you can then add different drills for accuracy and speed.

Another thing is to make sure the PC isn't focused on pitching inside and outside at the beginning. When DD started pitching, her PC had her pitch down the middle of the plate, focusing again on her motion instead. Her teammate, on the other hand, was learning how to throw inside and outside the plate. When you just start to learn pitching, that's not so easy to control a ball to go either a foot left or a foot right. When it came to game time, her teammate was throwing wild pitches. Her father mentioned to me that he wished he just had her focused pitching down the middle first.

 

[Snotbubbles]

My daughter has been going to a Tincher pitching coach for about 5 years now. No complaints whatsoever except that she's really expensive. We started with her she when she started doing private lessons and only had a couple students. Now she has almost every top arm in the area coming to her and just getting a time slot is hard. I'm sure there is probably a Tincher coach in your area, it might be worth it to go to an evaluation session to see what they do.

 

[Ken Krause]

Lots of good advice here. I would add to take a good look at the first coach's pitching qualifications. Maybe you're under-utilizing him. Just because he does other things doesn't mean he's not a good pitching coach. Maybe there's more to him and you don't have to seek out someone else.

If that's not the case, then first look at what they teach and then how they teach it. A "nice" instructor teaching the wrong things won't do your daughter a whole lot of good and is likely to put her behind where she should be. On the other hand, a "nasty" instructor teaching the right things may make your daughter hate pitching or even softball in general. You don't want that.

The point is, don't settle for one or the other. It may take you a little more time but it's likely you'll find someone who can teach her good mechanics in a way that makes her look forward to the lesson. Resist the desire to "just get it over with" and pick someone. The choice you make today, whatever it is, can have a long-term impact.

 

[ANNASDAD]

I didn’t read all the posts here, I’m just going to jump in. The PC we used in the 11th and 12th grade was D1 pitcher and was the 2nd or 3rd winningest pitcher at her college. And she is pretty hard to get in with.

I get her number from a college coach who actually played with her in college, this coach described her as tough as nails and she was actually scared of her! Her words!

So I call her, tell her our situation and she starts asking me the normal questions.......then she asked if I’m familiar with Internal Rotation? Why yes, yes I am! Then she told me she works with Rick Pauly and asked me if I’m familiar with him? Why yes I am, when can we get started??

This coach is awesome! She actually texted me this morning. She commanded laser focus, and when Anna wasn’t up to the task she found interesting ways to get that focus back! She called them “activities“.....which included running, jumping jacks, and burpees, and they worked!

But most importantly, she could walk the walk and back up any and everything she said, with authority! No telling how many drop balls, curves, and rise balls I’ve caught of hers? But I also loved how she would put Anna in certain situations in certain counts, making her a pitcher and not just a thrower! And she ALWAYS expected Anna to rise to the occasion in whatever scenario she put her in! I’m definitely a fan of hers!

I’d have to say my favorite lessons were when there was another girl in there (she had a two pitching lane building) that was comparable to Anna’s age and ability, she would put them in a competition against each other for the last 20 minutes of the lesson, you did NOT want to lose!! That’s when the focus was at it’s highest! I’m a huge fan of one on one competition, teaches grit!

 

[Bernmoll]

Thanks all for the comments! We decided to stick with the PC she loves seeing and also start being more consistent with going to him. One important piece we realized is how he has really nurtured her love for pitching and we would love for her to continue playing the game for as long as she can and so, we need to make sure she enjoys practice. i don’t think I mentioned in my original post that she cried the entire car ride home when we tried the other pitching coaches. She just turned 11 and we just thought that she was being overly emotional and maybe she was, but we realized that this is not about us, but her and her journey. So we will continue down this path until she matures a bit more and evaluate again in a year. Her PC is a Hillhouse fan and recommended his videos - shes still working on a lot of things -here she is just yesterday. I do love that she wants to initiate getting in practice as much as she can! I always welcome feedback If anyone sees anything obvious.

 

[efastball]

Buy a radar gun. Make sure she is getting faster as a result of instruction, not just a result of mass/age increase.

If your instructor is not using radar, then they are probably not going to increase her speed. (note that you don't need to worry about speed for the first few months when you are first learning movements and grips)

 

[Bernmoll]

Buy a radar gun. Make sure she is getting faster as a result of instruction, not just a result of mass/age increase.

If your instructor is not using radar, then they are probably not going to increase her speed. (note that you don't need to worry about speed for the first few months when you are first learning movements and grips)

Yes! DH bought one this summer. She was at 37 last summer then progressed to 41 around fall. She’s consistently in the low 40s but this was 10u.. we have been focusing on controlling her pitches and moving up to the bigger ball 5’ back.. so we haven’t measured her lately.