Pitching help

[Ace_88]

I have an 8 year old that will be moving up to kid pitch in the fall and has been really interested in pitching. So i signed her up for lessons every other week with an ex high school coach that came highly recommended. Long story short is she’s not showing much improvement from where we started a few months ago, other than better mechanics. When she goes through the mechanics that her coach is teaching her, she does great, theres just no consistency. And i get it, she’s 8. But its what she wants to do and as her dad, i want her to be successful in everything she does

After watching a few youtube videos, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are many different mechanics/techniques being taught. And when i say that i mean things like shoulder/hip position when jumping out, palm up/down, keeping shoulders closed, etc. So my questions are this…what is being taught by todays pitching coaches? does every pitcher just have to find which mechanics works best for them? is there a YouTube channel that teaches fastpitch mechanics/techniques that is the “go to” mechanics? Thanks in advance

 

[Shiloh]

Hi. And welcome to the crazy yet rewarding and very expensive world of softball pitching!

Check out the “IR in the Classroom” sticky at the top of this pitching forum. And then check out the videos listed under “Model Pitchers”. Those should give you a good idea of where and how to start.

Oh, and bring a shot glass, you’re going to need it. . Enjoy the ride.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

There is only one way to to pitch a ball underhand. Understand that and don't sweat the rest of it.

Make sure that your pitcher is palm up at three o'clock and palm down after release. That's it. She will figure the rest out with the help of her coaches (paid and otherwise).

To make it confusing many "qualified" pitching coaches (and pitchers) will try to teach something else. Move on from those people.

You don't need YouTube you need to hang out here and ask questions.

Again you don't need to be an expert, just understand the one (main) basic thing on how to throw underhand. Once you see it you can't unsee it.

Hope that helps, it helped me....

 

[Shiloh]

You don't need YouTube you need to hang out here and ask questions.

truth

 

[cnardone]

and you can learn with her. So you know just how hard it really is.

This video covers a lot of the IR in the Classroom thread.


If you want to go a little further you can take online lessons from https://www.paulygirlfastpitch.com/
Not expensive and you will learn a lot.

 

[sluggers]

To reiterate what everyone else said--start with the IR in the classroom thread. (IR refers to "Internal Rotation". That is the term we use here on DFP.)

The IR in the Classroom thread has a series of simple drills to get your DD throwing the ball correctly. The video from @cnardone is an excellent companion to the IR in the Classroom thread.

Generally, you have to get the kids arm motion correct first. Once the arm motion is correct, you move on to optimizing the rest of her body. So, be patient, get her arm motion correct, and make sure she has fun pitching.

 

[ArmWhip]

I recently started giving lessons to several 8-10 year olds. I am trying to get the basic IR arm action established and it has been difficult. I would start your daughter with the 'lock it in' drill but do it without a ball. In fact any time you add something to her mechanics do it dry (no ball) first. For some reason putting a ball in their hand changes their focus. At 8 years old she may not be able to consistently reproduce the IR arm action, the youngsters that I am teaching want to revert back to the bowling/pushing action that comes naturally. Since you will have to monitor her arm action I suggest that you have her throw into a fence or a net so that you can see how she is doing it. If you catch for her you won't be able to see her arm. I have a bucket of balls, I hand them to the pitcher one at a time and have her throw them. It takes a year to develop proper mechanics and consistency, at the younger ages even longer so be prepared.

 

[Bonesaw]

If you think of what your doing for the next 6 months-year as "learning to throw underhand" and not "pitching" it will make your life easier.

If you can have her doing the stuff in that Java video in 6 months you will be way ahead. Put the pitching rubber in the closet until she can do those drills EXACTLY like java shows.( feet always 45. Weight always on front foot, arm always working properly, shoulders and hips always still) It's way harder than it looks to do all those things at the same time especially for an 8 year old.

Take lots of video!

 

[Hawk_]

Take a breath. It's been a month maybe two..... you can't teach a kid to throw over hand well in a month. This is a 8 yr project (96 months) you are on month 1 of 96.... that's like 3% complete. Listen to what he coach is telling her and work everyday at home. Others have pointed you in the right direction here.
This take it slow approach was very hard on me in the beginning cause I just expected my kids to be bad A .... forgetting how much work I put into it all to be a good ball player. So enjoy the ride, don't push too hard, and let your DD set expectations.

 

[PJR202]

My first question is...is she practicing between lessons? You can't get better throwing once a week.

My younger daughter (almost 14, 2 years softball, 1 year pitching lessons) throws about 200 pitches per week outside of her weekly lesson. Really it should be AT LEAST 300 but really 400+. Her coach recommended more, but he's a realist. Most of his students only throw at their lesson. We're pushing the number up as the season approaches.

I'm not suggesting an 8 year old throw that many, but 3-4 sessions of 30 pitches, thrown with plenty of time in-between with simple instruction here and there would be pretty solid, in my opinion.

Mine has hit a couple plateaus over the past year. At lessons, he tweaks the form and gives her key points to work on, which usually comes down to arm circle, hips, or release. Everyone has their sticking points. Usually when I feel like I've seen the same pitches for 4-6 weeks we see if theres something that needs altered. He can't see everything when he's the one catching, so I try to keep an eye on her basics during the week, then I tell him what we worked on and usually have questions.