Srheebner
Savannah Heebner
Hello Everyone, I will be starting pitching lessons come this fall in Houston, Tx. Message me if you are interested
Pitching Lessons
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Srheebner
Savannah Heebner
I will be giving pitching lessons, and as for IR, I have never heard of that terminology until today. I feel as though people are trying to overcomplicate pitching and giving a lot of terms to try to make people choose sides on how pitchers should pitch. What I teach is an arm whip (which is what I believe you are all calling IR) with a motion and release that feels natural to whoever is throwing the ball. Not every pitcher pitches the exact same way there are variations between how pitchers throw the exact same pitch. I teach how to throw the pitch and let the student have a feel for how the pitch works with their motion and what feels right to them.
Srheebner
Savannah Heebner
I am not trying to discount the value of IR, but, to this point I have not spent a lot of time reading forums about this pitching style, I have just been pitching and doing it naturally.
- Sep 29, 2014
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- 113
First off...Congrats on a great career at Houston and hopefully things continue to go well with the Bandits....
I don't like the overemphasis of a term like IR because like you said maybe you never heard it described that way....we should talk about what we mean but that's a long list of stuff so its easier for us to just say IR because we all know what we mean.
We only ask because we truly value quality teaching from people who have an understanding of proper pitching mechanics.
Things we really focus on our good leg drive and proper arm circle with pitcher correctly holding the ball at 3, 6 and 9 o'clock then getting proper brush and front side resistance through a natural release that takes your arm across your body.
We are not so much a there is only one to pitch group as a...let's look at exactly what all elite level pitcher have in common when you break down their pitching mechanics...it turns out they all do the vast majority of things the same way, no matter what they say or how they describe it. That's one thing about being an instructor you have to be a student of your craft to understand what it is you do when you pitch.
We use the classic example of Jennie Finch she has obviously really great mechanics and I've used her as a model or sample of the correct positions to be in...the problem is when you listen to her describe how she pitches she describes what she is doing one way but then throws a different way. What she does is correct what she teaches is not and we find this not just in pitchers but when teaching hitting as well...doing something correctly does not equal being able to teach someone else how to do something correctly.
What we run into a lot of pitching instructors who start with wrist flips, then teach getting your hand behind the ball and following through to a hello elbow finish...simply put these mechanics are not correct and if you actually have the instructor who just taught that throw a few pitches or get old video of themselves pitching they don't actually pitch like that either but they teach that way because it is how they were taught.
If you get on youtube and can find Denny Tincher or Bill Hillhouse or Rick Pauly instructional video these will give you a good idea of what we consider good instruction.
While we love to do critiques on this board we always recommend finding a local instructor that teaches proper mechanics and we also let them know what that means. If you go to this boards pitching forum and find the IR in the classroom sticky thread it should give you a good idea of where we are coming from, maybe even find a couple threads where we have given feedback to a pitcher as well.
Good Luck and hopefully you will plug in for a while and see what we are all about..
I don't like the overemphasis of a term like IR because like you said maybe you never heard it described that way....we should talk about what we mean but that's a long list of stuff so its easier for us to just say IR because we all know what we mean.
We only ask because we truly value quality teaching from people who have an understanding of proper pitching mechanics.
Things we really focus on our good leg drive and proper arm circle with pitcher correctly holding the ball at 3, 6 and 9 o'clock then getting proper brush and front side resistance through a natural release that takes your arm across your body.
We are not so much a there is only one to pitch group as a...let's look at exactly what all elite level pitcher have in common when you break down their pitching mechanics...it turns out they all do the vast majority of things the same way, no matter what they say or how they describe it. That's one thing about being an instructor you have to be a student of your craft to understand what it is you do when you pitch.
We use the classic example of Jennie Finch she has obviously really great mechanics and I've used her as a model or sample of the correct positions to be in...the problem is when you listen to her describe how she pitches she describes what she is doing one way but then throws a different way. What she does is correct what she teaches is not and we find this not just in pitchers but when teaching hitting as well...doing something correctly does not equal being able to teach someone else how to do something correctly.
What we run into a lot of pitching instructors who start with wrist flips, then teach getting your hand behind the ball and following through to a hello elbow finish...simply put these mechanics are not correct and if you actually have the instructor who just taught that throw a few pitches or get old video of themselves pitching they don't actually pitch like that either but they teach that way because it is how they were taught.
If you get on youtube and can find Denny Tincher or Bill Hillhouse or Rick Pauly instructional video these will give you a good idea of what we consider good instruction.
While we love to do critiques on this board we always recommend finding a local instructor that teaches proper mechanics and we also let them know what that means. If you go to this boards pitching forum and find the IR in the classroom sticky thread it should give you a good idea of where we are coming from, maybe even find a couple threads where we have given feedback to a pitcher as well.
Good Luck and hopefully you will plug in for a while and see what we are all about..
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Srheebner
Savannah Heebner
I appreciate your feedback thank you very much. I am still a student of the pitching game and have been learning my whole life from the best of the best, right now I am going to work everyday at 27 Jennie Finch, Rosemont IL. That should tell you something. Playing in the pro league for one season so far I am still learning a lot from my fellow professional pitchers, as well as teaching them things that I have learned along the way. A pitchers entire life will never know everything and they need to understand that early, I am still learning new things about pitching everyday and implement them in my bullpens. You can never stop learning the game as it is always changing and growing. I will continue to learn new things and continue to help other pitchers grow. I don't believe in a cookie cutter approach, but believe with working with individuals to maximize their full potential.
Since posting my first post I have been reading forums about IR vs Hello Elbow, and realized that I have been taught and utilizing IR the whole time without realizing the name for the style of pitching.
I really enjoy working with kids and they love working with me from my experience running camps and giving lessons. One of my favorite parts about college and playing professional is at the end of every game is getting to interact with the kids in the autograph lines, I love to inspire and to help young players.
Since posting my first post I have been reading forums about IR vs Hello Elbow, and realized that I have been taught and utilizing IR the whole time without realizing the name for the style of pitching.
I really enjoy working with kids and they love working with me from my experience running camps and giving lessons. One of my favorite parts about college and playing professional is at the end of every game is getting to interact with the kids in the autograph lines, I love to inspire and to help young players.
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Savannah - welcome to the forums, and congratulations as well on the amazing success you've had. As incredible as this forum is, it does lack contributions from current / former college pitchers. More a fault of "life" than anything else - scouring the internet for softball-related message boards to join is understandably not very high on the list of recent college graduates. (Internet message boards...the original social media!)
On the other hand, when your wife says "I signed our daughter up for softball, but they need a coach...", and a few years later, your little girl says "Dad, I want to be a pitcher...", well, there's a much more likely chance that you end up here, surrounded by other Moms, Dads, and Coaches who are either going through the same thing, or already have the t-shirt (and mug, and hat, and empty wallets) proving they've done it.
Wish I was in TX - your comment "I am still learning new things about pitching everyday" really says a lot - I see many successful students in your future. Hope you're able to join a few of the discussions in the off-season.
And of course - good luck!
On the other hand, when your wife says "I signed our daughter up for softball, but they need a coach...", and a few years later, your little girl says "Dad, I want to be a pitcher...", well, there's a much more likely chance that you end up here, surrounded by other Moms, Dads, and Coaches who are either going through the same thing, or already have the t-shirt (and mug, and hat, and empty wallets) proving they've done it.
Wish I was in TX - your comment "I am still learning new things about pitching everyday" really says a lot - I see many successful students in your future. Hope you're able to join a few of the discussions in the off-season.
And of course - good luck!
Srheebner
Savannah Heebner
Glad you got to come out and watch!
Srheebner
Savannah Heebner
Thank you so much for your support I really appreciate it. Like your daughter I didn't start pitching till later, I started pitching when I was 12 years old and that was when my dad would look up videos on pitching techniques and I had to go from there. when it comes to finding pitching coaches, definitely do your research, I went to someone when I first started and she just taught the same thing to everyone like a robot, that way did not work for me and I did not see much improvement I was not accurate at all, but I was able to throw hard with just pure God given talent. When I finally went to a new pitching coach that was recommended by some people, I really started to shine and improve. Thanks for your response and best of luck to your daughter and her softball career.
P.s. My dad understands the empty wallet aspect
