Pitching Plan for 11 old DD

[rakestdn]

Looking for advise on building a 3-5 year pitching plan for DD. She is 11 and has been at it fairly hard of 18 months. Pitching coach twice a week. In the performance center (our travel team org has a nice performance center) 2-3 times a week in winter months. Otherwise have semi circle in back yard. Recently (2 months ago) changed styles from a more closed release point to a more open (similar to I/R) release point with power line. Been working on fine tuning the new approach. Probably still 3-6 months from feeling comfortable with changes. Has decent fast ball (cruises at about 47-49). Good change up. Other pitches have changed with new style so still learn proper body/hand positions. Any advise on goals or plans that have worked for other bucket dads or moms?

 

[javasource]

rakestdn,

I like your style of thinking into the future, but rather than give you a generic plan - is there anyway you'd feel comfortable posting a short clip of these new mechanics? Any plan that is not specific to your dd's physical traits and existing movements is just... too generic.

I'm not side-stepping your post at all... it's just difficult to tell where someone is heading, if you can't SEE where they've been.

Cheers,
JS

 

[rakestdn]

JS - No worries. She has a pitching lesson this evening. I'll grab some videos and post later tonight.

 

[javasource]

Awesome! Can't wait to see 'em!

 

[rakestdn]

But beyond mechanics - which I'm always open to constructive advice and will post later. I was wonder about things like keeping DD's engaged and focused. She's getting to that point where big strides are hard to come by. The first 12 months huge gains, now its small victories. Would like advice on the small victories. Ways or practices that worked for other bucket folks to keep the DD train moving along.

 

[LeftiesDad]

Something I adopted with my DD that seems to have helped. Keep the pitching practices short and intense. She will get more out of a 45 min practice where (after warming up) she is throwing every pitch with the intent to throw hard than a 1.5 - 2 hour practice where she throws 75%. All throwing a lot of pitches 75% does is train her body to throw 75%, she may get very good at locating that 75% pitch but it would be more effective at 90%+. In my experience it is difficult for younger kids to really know what full effort is and what they are fully capable of but it is the off season, go a little crazy and get used to a higher level of effort. The other benefit I have found is that 45-60 min is easier to work into a schedule and after a shorter period she is eager to get back in and work because she know that when she is done, she is done and that is ok.

In the off season we do drill work in the garage 15 min every other day and throw as above every other day (the muscles need a day to recover after a good hard throwing workout) and a day of rest. This schedule may be a bit much for an 11 year old, adjust to her ability to focus, my DD is 16

 

[javasource]

k, gotcha. Still post those vids though!

I find that one of the most helpful things is to set a purpose to a practice. A lot of bucket parents just get a list of drills, maybe mix them up, and then just set out to getting through them.

At any age, I think the most critical piece is the pre-routine... and I get my dd and students into a resistance band routine that emulates all the movements of i/r, and isolates all of those muscles. I'll sit in with them from time to time, and they get to pick the music. (which often makes me cringe) From there, we also find a good cardio and plyo routine, even some yoga (great core builders). To me, these non-pitching routines are what help a lot. They establish a positive self-image, instill the importance of routine, and get them off of pitching for a bit.

After the resistance routine (which is part of every session), I'll design or add drills that only serve a purpose for that pitcher. Nothing else... I don't advocate adding drills for the sake of... "Hey, that looks cool".

But, as far as the practice part... I believe that there needs to be a very attainable goal agreed upon before every practice. When a pitcher knows their goal, and knows that it is attainable, they walk away from every routine having accomplished something. Know what I mean? What is the reason or point for today?

At your dd's age, and really any... for that matter, your involvement, outside of mere observation will help a lot. Learn with her. You'll both have fun the whole way... and she'll be asking you to practice... rather than you begging her to.

mike s has a great point below... turning it over is very important. Your effort in the beginning will be much greater in establishing a routine, but over time, she should take over.

 

[mike s]

My biggest suggestion on the 3-5 year plan is to slowly turn control of her sport over to her. As bucket dads we will always motivate, push, cheer for and hopefully inspire our DDs. But as they get older their level of effort will be determined by them. The more she feels in control, the better. When I finally turned control over to my DD two things happened, quantity of practice went down but quality of practice went up. With her in charge she is better than before. This as Javasource has already alluded to is generic advice. Give the board here some video, sit back and enjoy the ride, they will slice and dice with your DD.

 

[halskinner]

COACH HAL’S ‘SHOOTOUT’.

This is a game and drill that I use with all my students regardless of age or experience level.

One of the things this game does is to increase a pitcher’s reaction time to a self-defense situation, a hard hit line drive coming straight at them and that was my line of thought when I first came up with this and started my students doing this.

I see it as a drill that now serves MANY purposes for me as an instructor. My students all simply see it as a very fun game. They don’t care that I see it and use it as a drill and they look forward to it at our sessions. They even ask to play it many times when I don’t bring it up.

Here is how it works. It requires 2 pitchers of similar age and ability.

Each pitcher stand facing each other at whatever their regulation pitching distance is, minus 5 feet.

Each pitcher is wearing their glove and has a softball size wiffle ball in their throwing hand.

Both pitchers have the ball and glove at their side and are in the pitching position as if they were standing on the rubber taking the call.

Both pitchers are staring at their opposing pitcher across from them.

A third person, (coach, parent or player) is standing off to the side out of their view while they are staring at the other pitcher.

The third person loudly claps their hands together.

The instant the pitchers hear that clap, they fire off the fastest pitch they can throw at their opponent, both pitchers firing at the same time.

Whichever pitcher’s ball gets to or hits the other pitcher first, wins that round.

First priority; THROW A FAST HARD STRIKE.
Second priority; DEFEND YOURSELF AND STOP THAT BALL COMING AT YOU FROM HITTING YOU! Get the glove on the ball!

For a very young beginner, this can be a little scary for the first few pitches. However, once they realize they are not going to get hurt when the wiffle ball hits them, they will get a huge grin on their face. They will have a blast and you will be pleasantly surprised when you see how fast they can speed up their overall motions to try and win at this game.

Make sure their mechanics do not go down the drain when playing this game as they try and speed everything up. Many will take a shorter stride length to try and be a little quicker, make sure they keep what they have learned correct, just do them faster.

I use this drill to speed up new beginners motions and that of more experienced pitchers too. It works really well for me in that respect.

After playing this game a few times, even the very young ones get really quick at defending themselves and blocking that incoming ball. In a very short while they will get REALLY good and REALLY fast at defending themselves at a ball coming at them TWICE AS FAST AS ANY HIT BALL EVER WILL.

If you have a pitcher that is “Gunshy”, from being hit by a batted ball, this is a great way to re-instill their confidence. Make sure they realize they are defending themselves from a ball coming back twice as fast as any hit ball will.

My students have even more fun with this when I step in to play and they get to go up against the ole coach! They like it so much that I can use it as incentive for them to work hard and stay focused at our sessions.

WARNING; NEVER PLAY THIS GAME WITH ANYTHING OTHER THAN A PLASTIC WIFFLE BALL (the kind with all the holes in it) OR A PAIR OF ROLLED UP SOCKS! Do not use a softball, tennis ball or ANYTHING else.

Now, how does a pitcher use this on the lines of tactics? Not hard to figure this one out.

If the pitcher’s normal motions or pre-motions are somewhat slow, every so often the pitcher simply thinks to herself “Time to play ‘Shootout”. For that pitch, she takes the call, brings the hands together and EXPLODES into the fastest motions she can, with NO HESITATIONS AT ALL, just like when she plays ‘Shootout’.

The batters get used to a pitcher’s motions and pre-motions and they use it to time the pitch. All of a sudden, for this pitch, the ball is being delivered faster than they expect it to happen and the batter reacts badly.
It’s a very fun game. It improves a pitcher defense and self-defense reaction time and it has a great impact on the batter’s timing.
I will be perfectly honest here and say that I ALSO use this drill/game as bribery with many of my students, especially the youngest ones. One of the first things that they will say when they arrive is, "Can we play shootout today?". My reply is on the lines of "As long as you work hard and stay focused, I think we can find a few minutes at the end". No matter how focused they do or do not stay, I always find 3 or 4 minutes at the end to play a quick round of shootout when they ask to. If they DO start to lose focus, I simply ask them if they still want to play shoot out. That snaps their attention and focus right back to working hard.

Like I said, this game serves me as an instructor in MANY useful ways. Yup thats right, Its a ''Sneaky' tool.

Have fun with it because your pitchers most definitely will.

 

[rakestdn]

From tonight's lesson. Things we are working on
1.) Back leg - use to plow flat foot, working on more toe. Finishing in 4 position
2.) Level shoulders - really arcs back. Trying to level shoulders on fastball. Keep glove arm level
3.) Coach likes hello elbow. DD doesn't do it correctly and verdict is still out for me
4.) Power line. Kinda goes with level shoulders. But still work on driving to front hip

Open for suggestions. Thanks[video]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=K4yideDp-kQ[/video]