Slowing speed down during game

[covrec1]

I asked my daughter if she is throwing her hardest in games as she does in practice. She said she doesn't want to walk anyone and hit her spots so she let's up a little. How can I fix this?

 

[quincy]

Start with 1 pitch a batter. She can do what she wants the rest of the at bat but you want to see an all out pitch at least once a batter.

Hopefully she will figure out that all out pitch is her best pitch.

 

[RetiredCoach]

My oldest DD normal pitching speed is a few miles per hour slower than her fastest. She believes that she has more control and can better hit her spots at the slightly reduced speed. I've heard of pitchers slowing down their pitches because they believe that they get better movement at the slower speed. On a high FB out of the zone I coach my DD to let it go with everything she has. It is then almost like a reverse CU since it is a few miles per hour faster than her "regular" pitches and helps setup her other pitches. I'd say that unless it is quite a bit slower than her regular pitching speed that you might not have a problem. If it is it might be a matter of needing more practice.

 

[covrec1]

Thanks that makes sense. She is 10 years old and just want to make sure I am telling her the right way to handle this.

 

[RetiredCoach]

Thanks that makes sense. She is 10 years old and just want to make sure I am telling her the ruight way to handle this.

I've raised two pitchers from nine years old thru, currently, 14 and 16 years old. Patience is the key for you. Practice is the key for her.

 

[guero_gordo]

I'd suggest bringing the C into the equation and letting her go out to the circle if she's holding back.

 

[DNeeld]

Thanks that makes sense. She is 10 years old and just want to make sure I am telling her the right way to handle this.

In my experience this is typical of younger pitchers who haven't yet developed complete confidence in themselves or their abilities. Along with taking speed off the pitch, another thing to watch for is her starting to to try to steer her pitches after a few balls. Games are tough on young pitchers because they receive instant and often incorrect feedback every pitch when the umpire calls ball or strike.

With my DD we got through this by stressing not being result orientated and focusing on correct mechanics at maximum effort. She was constantly reminded it was possible she could throw a strike with horrible mechanics and throw a ball with generally correct mechanics. A strike didn't necessarily equate to a good pitch and a ball didn't equate to a bad pitch. The important thing was how well she performed the pitch, not what the umpire called.

It took a lot of time and patience to get her to realize this, especially since at the time she was a new pitcher and on a horrible rec team. She felt the game was totally dependant on how well she pitched so she would abandon mechanics to achieve good results. It was a long couple of months.

 

[Top_Notch]

I like the one pitch per batter idea. We have a pitcher who throws hard on DD team. The coaching staff termed a pitch "The Ultra" which has more pep on it than her normal fastball.

 

[mothgirl]

I like the one pitch per batter, I'm going to try that one


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[Jojo]

Start with 1 pitch a batter. She can do what she wants the rest of the at bat but you want to see an all out pitch at least once a batter.

Hopefully she will figure out that all out pitch is her best pitch.

This is what I use for mine, they get a few games of this then increase to one whole batter per game, then later 2, treating it as a goal with a reward.