Some advice please. 09 pitcher has lost some velo. Was 57-60mph. Lately 54-56mph

[RiZzBoTt]

I know her speed is still good as long as she is hitting her spots. But just curious why a sudden drop. Shes currently at about 200 to 300 pitches a week at practice; 400 to 500 tournament weekends, that’s practice and tournament reps. I'll post a video. Thanks for all your help.

 

[RiZzBoTt]

pitch sequence. backdoor curve (still in the works), curve, change, rise.

 

[Cannonball]

Is your avatar of her? If so, she is not getting into that position in the provided video.

 

[RiZzBoTt]

Is your avatar of her? If so, she is not getting into that position in the provided video.

Yes it is. Ive also been thinking maybe there is a hint of complacency. Maybe go back to the basics. Thanks

 

[Jeffrey]

I know her speed is still good as long as she is hitting her spots. But just curious why a sudden drop. Shes currently at about 200 to 300 pitches a week at practice; 400 to 500 tournament weekends. I'll post a video. Thanks for all your help.

Taking the lead from @Cannonball (good catch!) typically I see drops in velo coming from injury/overuse, burnout/complacency, and timing. Something has changed in her drive mechanic where she is now driving perfectly straight into a heel plant where her still shot in the avatar shows her left knee turned in indicating she was previously opening then closing her hips. I would start by purposefully practicing a crow hop or replant so she can maybe rediscover that timing with her hips and work on coming down with a mid-foot strike rather than the heel.(shorten the strid a little?) Right now her front side resistance is very late - her elbow and ball are well below the shoulder before she's fully planted.

 

[RiZzBoTt]

Taking the lead from @Cannonball (good catch!) typically I see drops in velo coming from injury/overuse, burnout/complacency, and timing. Something has changed in her drive mechanic where she is now driving perfectly straight into a heel plant where her still shot in the avatar shows her left knee turned in indicating she was previously opening then closing her hips. I would start by purposefully practicing a crow hop or replant so she can maybe rediscover that timing with her hips and work on coming down with a mid-foot strike rather than the heel.(shorten the strid a little?) Right now her front side resistance is very late - her elbow and ball are well below the shoulder before she's fully planted.

Thank you! I see exactly what youre saying about her landing on her heel and her where her elbow and ball are before being fully planted.

 

[ArmWhip]

I agree, judging by the avatar she has changed her mechanics. If you have any other older photos go back and compare. I'm wondering if she has made an effort to get further off the rubber. Sometimes when pitchers attempt this change they lean in more at launch and focus on the stride foot, the end result is that they no longer get open (sideways) enough, and this leads to a less than optimal utilization of the shoulder muscles to propel the arm/hand/ball. Staying open longer leads to a better vertical profile and allows the arm to be pulled into brush/whip using the lats. I would have her experiment with getting sideways more, and use the phrase 'elbow to hip' to help emphasize the pattern of pulling down the backside.

You also mentioned learning the drop curve. Sometimes learning this pitch promotes closing early in an attempt to get 'around' the ball. I think her mechanics are little better with her rise than with either of her curves.

 

[RiZzBoTt]

I agree, judging by the avatar she has changed her mechanics. If you have any other older photos go back and compare. I'm wondering if she has made an effort to get further off the rubber. Sometimes when pitchers attempt this change they lean in more at launch and focus on the stride foot, the end result is that they no longer get open (sideways) enough, and this leads to a less than optimal utilization of the shoulder muscles to propel the arm/hand/ball. Staying open longer leads to a better vertical profile and allows the arm to be pulled into brush/whip using the lats. I would have her experiment with getting sideways more, and use the phrase 'elbow to hip' to help emphasize the pattern of pulling down the backside.

You also mentioned learning the drop curve. Sometimes learning this pitch promotes closing early in an attempt to get 'around' the ball. I think her mechanics are little better with her rise than with either of her curves.

Awesome feedback! Thank you.

 

[Tazman]

I know her speed is still good as long as she is hitting her spots. But just curious why a sudden drop. Shes currently at about 200 to 300 pitches a week at practice; 400 to 500 tournament weekends. I'll post a video. Thanks for all your help.

I'm a bucket dad at best but it looks to me like her near release push foot is going behind front leg in what a bowler would do which may mean she's not getting firm enough front side resistance and therefore whip. Front shoulder also looks like it continues to move towards the target at release vs creating a fixed anchor point which further slows whip. I'm torn on whether she's getting deep into into a sprinter stance to get push but when I slowed it down it wasn't bad. I'm guessing there is 3mph+ in there that someone more astute than me could unpack and explain. My reservation is that I've seen some great pitchers that do both of these things but I know correcting them has helped my DD.

 

[chinamigarden]

400 to 500 pitches on weekends and 300 practice pitches during the week?

Regardless of form I think some rest might be needed.