Pitching velo

[_MIA_]

I'm sorry I can't help you. My dd was throwing 60+ at age 8.

Why so blue?

 

[GunnerShotgun]

She strength trains and has a personal trainer. Do some girls just never get over that hump? Does this mean her dream of pitching in college is doomed? Any advice?

She could be at the upper end of her potential. There is no magical strength training for pitchers or increased velocity. Two things that have some research behind them are long toss and over/under training (lighter and heavier balls).

All is not lost though as there are more college teams than pitchers. Lots of good advice from others. Switch pitching coaches and start long tossing would be my first moves.

 

[ArmWhip]

If you haven't tried light/heavy balls they are worth a shot. Just keep in mind that generally people think of heavy balls as a strength training exercise and that throwing them hard or at full speed is how you use them. A primary purpose of heavy and light balls is to allow the body to self organize and find a better, more efficient way of throwing/pitching. Light balls you can throw as fast you can because you are trying to recruit fast twitch muscles and also to train the arm/hand to move faster.

There are also some mental tricks you can play around with. When she does the velocity training part of her practice (assuming she does have one, if not she should) what is her intention? Some pitchers will tighten muscles and put the wrong type of effort into the pitch. I frequently remind my students that 'loose is fast', this is where light balls can help. An external cue that takes the focus off the body can also help, I like 'move the ball through the circle as fast as you can'.

And as others have said 57 mph can work especially if she wants to go D3. In my area I have seen some very effective D3 pitchers at 54, with excellent command of their arsenal.

 

[steve1244]

As much as it may pain you and your DD....this!! Made a HUGE difference with us, and I absolutely loved our first pitching coach! It really sounds like you're stressing over nothing at this time!

I would second the suggestion to see another coach. We've been with the same coach now for 3 years and have no plans to leave, because she and my daughter get along great, my daughter's improved a ton with her, and because the lesson location and time is convenient. However, we have over the last couple years taken lessons from a couple other coaches too, on a one or two off basis. It's been helpful to get another coach's perspective on various aspects of pitching, and to learn from a coach who emphasizes and stresses different things than our usual coach. If you decide to do that and ask the new coach about the velo issue, I bet the new coach addresses the issue a little or maybe a lot differently. That may resonate with your daughter and get her over the sticking point you feel she's been at for a while.

 

[FP26]

DD was 54-56 throughout high school and cruised at 58 in college (D3). To my knowledge she only hit 60 once, but I didn't witness it. Her pitching coach clocked her at a lesson. She never overpowered people but she had some success with location and movement. Most of the pitchers in her conference were mid to upper 50's as well with only a few that were over 60.

 

[SunnySkies]

If you haven't tried light/heavy balls they are worth a shot. Just keep in mind that generally people think of heavy balls as a strength training exercise and that throwing them hard or at full speed is how you use them. A primary purpose of heavy and light balls is to allow the body to self organize and find a better, more efficient way of throwing/pitching. Light balls you can throw as fast you can because you are trying to recruit fast twitch muscles and also to train the arm/hand to move faster.

There are also some mental tricks you can play around with. When she does the velocity training part of her practice (assuming she does have one, if not she should) what is her intention? Some pitchers will tighten muscles and put the wrong type of effort into the pitch. I frequently remind my students that 'loose is fast', this is where light balls can help. An external cue that takes the focus off the body can also help, I like 'move the ball through the circle as fast as you can'.

And as others have said 57 mph can work especially if she wants to go D3. In my area I have seen some very effective D3 pitchers at 54, with excellent command of their arsenal.

What would a workout with light-heavy balls look like?

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[SunnySkies]

Don't get too wrapped around the axle regarding her speed. Continue to focus on great mechanics, spot, spin and changing velocity at will. Her max speed will likely pick up with time and she can have great success without throwing 70.

We just feel like she doesn't have the time, she is 17. We feel like the recruiting door is closing. Yes, she has college coaches interested in her, but I feel like if she continues to not throw as fast as she can and has that they will lose that interest.

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[Lobster Birch]

Throwing 57 isn’t going to keep her from playing college ball.

 

[ArmWhip]

What would a workout with light-heavy balls look like?

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Something like this: regular-heavy-light as a rotation, the number can be anywhere from 2-2-2 to 10-10-10, I usually start at the lower numbers. The number of rotations varies from as many as 10 at the lower number to maybe 2-3 at the higher number. I like 70% effort at the off weights, the centrifugal force on the shoulder joint worries me as the effort goes up. It's tempting to want to keep the same mechanics as she uses when she pitches but you have to allow some room for reorganization, so it's okay to play around a little. And be warned if you are catching for her, the heavy ball will likely go low and the light ball over your head until she gets used to them.

 

[Rolling Hard]

Post a video and one of the pitching gurus will 2 or 3 mph with a slight mechanical tweek.