Pitching Controversy

[Bish2]

As a former college player I have found that being able to hit your spots consistently with 3 or 4 pitches is key. Forget the fastball, you can hit your corners all you want but great hitters are going to hit the ball where its pitched every pitch needs some movement.
I would tell your daughter to work on a drop ball this is huge. Rises are great but if you miss your spot there is potential for the long ball and it will carry do to the spin on the ball. At least with a drop you will keep the ball on the ground.

As far as college goes, make video and send them out, show the pitches that she has the most control over and keep it simple. Sometimes its not how many pitches you have its how well you throw the ones you have. Play with the batters, get the catcher more involved with the pitches and spots. As a pitcher she should know every batter and where they hit the last at bat, watch their feet, see where they stand in the box, watch their hands and the quickness of the wrists. As a pitcher you have to observe everything, watch them taking soft toss and warming up. Its all mental in the game, he coach can call the pitches but its up to her and the catcher to use that pitch to mess the batter up. Sometimes a coach can't see those things from where they are. Tell her to use her discretion, do not defy the coach but maybe sometimes she will have to take matters into her own hands. She is the stud out there she makes the calls, the game doesn't go if she doesn't throw the ball, this is a great learning experience for her there will be a lot of this in college. I hope that this helps.

 

[ang4yanks]

Bish...great post! Thank you for sharing it. Within the forum there have been several points more specific to speed vs. location.

You should check it out. Probably in Pitching Forum.

Thanks for sharing,

Ang

 

[qwikvr6gti]

Bob Todd, Who is in the Softball Hall of Fame was the most dominant pitcher in Mens Fastpitch Softball for nearly two decades threw 3 pitches. The Rise, The Screw Ball and the Change-up. My daughter went to him at VIP in Artesia CA until I could not afford it any more. He just says you can't teach power. Throw it by them. They can't hit what they can't see. You can find his instructional videos on line.

 

[Coach Stan]

I threw against Bob and coached against him when he was at Dominguez Hills. And yes he was a very dominate pitcher. But in all the times I pitched and hit against him he never threw a screw ball. But most men pitchers ony threw 2 to 3 pitches. They try and stay away from flat pitches such as curve and screw. But trying to tell parents that all their daughter needs is 2 to 3 pitches that are consistent does not go over very well. If you watch the pitchers who take their team to the college world series you will find they throw 2 pitches consistently and use other pitches to get outs.

I threw a drop, drop curve, rise, and a knuckle change. Did pretty good with those 4 pitches. But in reality most of the times I only had 3 pitches working at one time.

I would talk with your pitching coach and figure out her dominate pitch. Most pitchers fall into 2 categories either a up or down pitcher. Once the determination is made concentrate of the pitches that will assist her getting to college. This does not mean she should not work on the other pitches because she will need another pitch to use to off set the batters timing. I was known for my drop and drop curve my rise was not that good but I threw it to let the hitters know I had one. Good luck