Pitching Style Change After 5 years of lessons

[starsnuffer]

Thanks for posting the video.

From what I've seen she can certainly benefit from more modern coaching. She pitches very closed and she is limiting herself from what her body is capable of with her hip, shoulder, and torso lean.

You're going to have to take into consideration how fast she learns and adapts to physical instruction, and then determine the best time for her to make changes. It's very easy for a lot of people to get caught up in "she's the best in her school" mentality and decide that she doesn't need to change. This is really dependent on her own goals and what she wants to get out of softball. There are 25 thousand high schools in the US, and she may have loftier goals then being in the top 25 thousand.

Ultimately every kid is different. Some are like sponges and want to absorb everything they can find to make themselves better (and often confuse themselves in the process) and some are very loyal to a single coach and scoff at anything different then what they've been conditioned to believe (and often stagnate from it). You know your kid best.

-W

 

[Redzone71]

Redzone, I changed my DD's hitting and pitching styles when she was freshman in high school. Everyone told me I was crazy and I agreed. But I felt it was the only way she was going to rise to the top. Smartest decision I ever made.

Everyone locally I've talked to about this tells me I'm crazy to change style...Even her HS coach says not to do it.

 

[Redzone71]

DD loves softball and want's to play college very much...It's all she talks about. I'm very proud of the way she approaches softball and she is not content with being best player at her HS...She wants a lot more. DD plays 10 months out of year and trains the other two so I believe she will do what it takes to make a change. I just hope she doesn't get to overwhelmed and set herself back.

 

[Jojo]

Everyone locally I've talked to about this tells me I'm crazy to change style...Even her HS coach says not to do it.

I think what finally convinced me was at the time, Tiger Woods was changing his style. Everyone was telling him how crazy he was and that his skills would suffer during the change, and he'd lose some tournaments. He said he didn't care, he needed to change to be better for the long run. I used this advice. May hurt her a little at 14, but it would pay off in the end and it did.

 

[humpty]

Redzone tough to see drom the LH box angle. I dont see a HE finish. What kind of wall has she hit? Speed? If so how fast is she throwing?

 

[Ken B]

DD loves softball and want's to play college very much...It's all she talks about.

If anything needs changing, the above indicates she has what it takes to get there and be successful. The video from distance and the front makes it hard to see what's going on. Can you post a short video from the side and relatively close throwing a few pitches. A FB would be good.

 

[Redzone71]

Redzone tough to see drom the LH box angle. I dont see a HE finish. What kind of wall has she hit? Speed? If so how fast is she throwing?

She has been taught the HE finish and does it when she is at her lessons but when she gets in the game she doesn't always finish with the elbow up...She says it's not comfortable to do it and I don't force it. She was clocked at the state tournament at 61 but she averages 58. The wall I'm talking about is really my DD's frustration with her coach and herself cause she doesn't think she is going to get any better. Seems like every time we go to lessons her instructor says lets try this and lets try that...Constantly changing

 

[Redzone71]

If anything needs changing, the above indicates she has what it takes to get there and be successful. The video from distance and the front makes it hard to see what's going on. Can you post a short video from the side and relatively close throwing a few pitches. A FB would be good.

I'm at work and don't have one with me but I will take a video tonight and post it tomorrow.

 

[JJsqueeze]

as a general question-what is the danger of trying to change her delivery? is there a significant chance that this will break her motion and she will find herself stuck between motions and hence she will perform worse, or is the danger that she just won't get the new style? I know when I work with changing something with my DD that she doesn't get, I don't see a performance degrade, I just find she keeps doing the same old thing.

 

[Doug Romrell]

If you do try to switch her, I suggest you get with it NOW, if your high school softball is in the spring.