question about a 9 year new pitcher

[littlereddeer1]

My daughter has been learning to pitch for about 6 weeks now. She has had one lesson from a paid instructer and gone to one clinic that had 30mins with a ptiching instructor at the end. The guy that is working with her now is an umpire in the slow pitch league I play in and has had several girls go to school on pitching scholarships. Here are some of the things I am questiong. He is teaching her to not push off from the mound, to shorten her stride, to pitch slower until she can hit strike 5 out of 7 pitches. He has also never taught anyone younger than High School. Keep in mind he is doing this for free and is very eager. I just don't want her to start off with bad instructions. Thanks for any tips.

 

[sluggers]

First, are you *sure* he taught girls that got pitching scholarships? Have you checked his references? Why does this guy think he can teach pitching? Did he pitch previously?

The easiest way to check if the guy knows what he is doing is to ask questions. Pitching is really not a mystical art. It can be understood by anyone. A good pitching coach will be able to explain "Why".

Some girls do over-stride. If your DD was sending 9 out of 10 pitches over the backstop, then yes, she should pitch slower. There are drills where the pitcher doesn't push off--such as when a coach might want her to really focus on the arm circle.

It is really hard to tell without seeing her pitch if the advice is good.

 

[tojo]

I would ask if the scholarships were fastpitch softball. It sounds to me that he is having your daughter place the ball for strikes which is not a good habit. If your DD learns proper mechanics and good fundamentals she will be throwing fastball strikes with speed in due time. If you practice using proper mechanics the control and speed will come. Patience and hard work on both your parts.I would suggest that you find a PC and attend lessons weekly so she does not develop bad habits or you will spend valuable time breaking bad habits and not progressing at your next lesson.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Is she pitching currently? If so, then, I think it is OK. She won't ever get in a game if she can't throw somewhere hear the plate.

If you had 2 years of just letting her take lessons, and not pitch, that would be different.

Has she only had one lesson? Or do you mean your friend has worked with her a lot?

If I have a student that has only been to me for 6 weeks, we might not even be throwing the complete distance yet.

 

[littlereddeer1]

DD has only had 1 paid lesson with a known PC and has had several about 3 weeks worth of practices with this friend. DD went to a travel ball tryout and helped pitch the batting practice and they said she has good fundamentals. I will try to get a video and post so that everyone can critic her. By the way she did make the travel ball team.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I will try to get a video and post so that everyone can critic her.

Well, that was a freudian slip.