Pitching high

[Crystal Brown]

My dd has been working hard on her front side resistance(as some of the members suggested)and as a result her speed has increased. Her fastball recently been clocked on average 53-56 mph(a few were 60 but not enough to say she pitches 60) and her drop ball was 47-51 with the changeup 38-43.I know these number may not be perfect but it does gives her something to use for comparison as she progress. The problem she is having is pitching high and sometimes she pitches too far inside(for right handers)which she prefers pitching inside. She also pitches to the other corner but she normally hits the outside corner(right hand batter).

 

[GunnerShotgun]

Pitching high is due to a late release.

 

[Crystal Brown]

Pitching high is due to a late release.

She knows that she is pitching high. My dd don't know how to fix this. The high pitches only started happening recently when she stopped walking through her pitch after releasing the ball. It seems like 2 steps forward and 1 step back.LOL. Thanks for the input

 

[Crystal Brown]

Quite normal and high is good/natural. Lots of them only like inside because they are used to having to pitch around the hip ...(I wish that closed style was never taught.) I would get a PC for the correction because it can be issues like stride length, timing, and blending of pitch mechanics (after they start learning new pitches).

No one can time the release point, between mind and hand, you will always "overdo" the correction. It is a release zone BTW.

She has been working with a PC. My husband normally catches for her, pc mentioned giving her a lower target and working on using a visual window that she has to imagine closer to her.(I hope this explains it well enough )

My dd slowed pitched for 3 years before using the windmill. It was hard teaching her to open her hips when pitching.

 

[javasource]

Frontside resistance should be worked on if the stride leg isn't firming properly, not just because she has a forward lean. I've seen too much of an emphasis on maintaining a back-angled posture... and at times this persists into release of the ball. By doing so, you change the trajectory path of the pitch... which is not the same as release. Check her rear shoulder coming into release... I would imagine it is lower throughout the process.

On a rise, you do want that rear shoulder lower... but on other pitches, it's best to work the pitcher towards a vertical posture when the ball is released.

As far as her release... where is the ball normally releasing from her hand... in correlation to her rear leg?

As far as her posture... is she getting a good posture set early in the pitch? Like... where is her posture at the beginning of the upswing? Is her stride leg knee at a 90-degree angle to her torso at the start of the upswing (ball is at 6)? Good hip flexion engages the glutes, which helps set posture, and gets the stride leg ready to receive the energy from the ground when it posts.

Hopefully, a couple things for you to consider...

 

[riseball]

A short stride will definitely bring the ball up. Which is why when a batter squares to bunt we teach our pitcher to short stride, bringing the ball up making it more difficult to bunt. It is also why pitchers may get rocked in the later innings. They get fatigued, stride shortens, the ball comes up, ball gets hit hard...

 

[CLM265]

Nice avatar riseball!

 

[Jojo]

Just from the fact that you say she throws between 53mph to 60mph, indicate there are a lot of inconsistencies going on.
No doubt she has timing inconsistencies.

What is she doing different on her 53mph days compared to her 60mph days?

 

[Crystal Brown]

She has went from standing straight up to pitch to pushing her hips back and then pitch.(I don't know if I explained the movement well since it is a small movement that she added to the beginning of the pitch). At release, she is no longer pitching off balance(she was falling forward). Her faster days are when she is doing speed drills, where she pitches and take a step back.She will do this for 2 minutes straight. Not only is she faster but also very accurate. When she just pitches, she let go of the ball in front of her back leg. If only she knows why the speed drill works for her, it will help dd a lot.

 

[riseball]

Nice avatar riseball!

Thanks! Weather in Columbia was terrible but we had an awesome weekend.