The pitching journey

[commish]

My daughter is a ten year old. She has been pitching for 2 years now. The progress has been pretty constant with the occasional bumps in the road. Last night at pitching lesson you could tell she was in beast mode from the start, I knew right away this was going to be a great lesson. She was fast and the control was great for a ten year old. I would say 4 out of 6 pitches were with little to none glove movement. Not only was the fastball around 48mph the change up was good and the drop ball finally was dropping more than just spinning.

So here are my questions.

1.) Pitching coach is great but teaches hello elbow. I want to look into changing to I/R but am afraid of messing with my DD since she is above the norm now. Should she switch or not?

2.) How do you know which technique is the best for each girl? I am concerned that not all girls have the same ability as others and HE may be better for her.

3.) If we do decide to switch can anybody give me a PC to see around the Indianapolis area?

 

[grcsftbll]

You should post a video, I wonder if she's really I/R to an extent already with that kind of speed at that age. From all the reading and videos and everything else I've done I don't think HE is better for anybody. JMO!

 

[Angus]

I've read/heard some conflicting views on this. Is HE a completely different style of pitching, or is it the difference between a fast ball (which is not commonly thrown at the college level) and other types of pitches? My DD is just starting to pitch (as an 8 YO) so just learning about this myself.

 

[djcarter1966]

I promise HE is NOT better for her.

Here is the thing nobody and I mean none of the top level pitchers throw with HE. It does not matter what comes out of their mouth it is not how they pitch. Look at this still from Jennie Fitch at release the biggest HE proponent most people will recognize. Take a still right after release of anyone you want HE simply does not exist at the elite level. You simply can not throw with the speed and movement required at that level with a HE motion. I don't know whether she is just afraid to admit she was wrong all these years or it is honestly the cue she uses. I think she does believe in HE on some level I'm going to attach as well a still from before she pitched this ball when she was going over mentally what she wanted to do.

What she really does




What she thinks she is doing

 

[FrozenRope]

Video would help determine if she's actually pitching HE or if it's just an artificial finish. Here's my take on the "Difference" in the technique as you call it....it's quite simple in my head.

IR promotes a "Whip" at the release.
HE promotes a push.
Top end velocity will be limited by how fast your arm can go in a circle.
Limits the ability to get correct spin on all pitches but the drop.

I have put some thought into how you introduce IR to a HE pitcher. I have a parent that wants me to work with his DD after their spring season is over. I've already come to the conclusion that I can't tell this young lady that she has been doing it wrong for 2 years. It will be too frustrating for her. Instead of starting over, we're going to learn a new pitch. We'll call it a cutter or a slider... just something to get it out of her head that she is going backwards..... and all it will be is an IR fastball. She's an incredibly athletic kid. So the theory on it being a "New Pitch" will be to set her mind at ease and to get her to stop "Fighting" it. Accept that it will be worse than her existing fastball.... because it's a new pitch and she's JUST starting to work on it.

 

[FrozenRope]

I've read/heard some conflicting views on this. Is HE a completely different style of pitching, or is it the difference between a fast ball (which is not commonly thrown at the college level) and other types of pitches? My DD is just starting to pitch (as an 8 YO) so just learning about this myself.

You're correct...there are conflicting views in the pitching world. I doubt you've read them here, unless of course you were hanging "Out in Left Field". I think I speak for the masses when I say the common thought here is that there is an Optimal way to throw a ball underhand... and then there are "other" ways. As DJ pointed out....Optimal is what EVERY high level pitcher does..... which is throw with what we've all come to understand as Internal Rotation.. or IR.

 

[JJsqueeze]

I don't think Jenny Finch could throw a ball 48 mph using true HE, much less a 10 year old. Your kid is already throwing with I/R regardless of where she points her elbow but find a better PC anyway.

 

[quincy]

She should be in season or pretty close to starting, I might just leave her alone if she is pitching for her Team.

Cactchup with it when she has some down time, in the mean time look for a PC.

 

[grcsftbll]

In my area finding a good PC is really tough. There are a bunch but they all love HE. I drive about 45 minutes each way for mine. Totally worth it though.

 

[corlay]

Instead of starting over, we're going to learn a new pitch. We'll call it a cutter or a slider... just something to get it out of her head that she is going backwards..... and all it will be is an IR fastball. She's an incredibly athletic kid. So the theory on it being a "New Pitch" will be to set her mind at ease and to get her to stop "Fighting" it. Accept that it will be worse than her existing fastball.... because it's a new pitch and she's JUST starting to work on it.

There is strong suspicion in our little community here,
that pitchers like Jennie developed IR when she became a riseball pitcher.

Throwing a riseball really promotes a palm-up position at 9:00 that really sets up the IR motion *into* release.

When you really think about it, ALL underhand pitches use an IR motion - they HAVE to. It's a bio-mechanical absolute.
(unless you sling-shot, I suppose...)

The real criteria becomes WHEN in the pitching motion the IR occurs.

Striving for palm-up at 9:00 DELAYS the IR "response",
to happen just before and at the release phase of the pitch.
It creates stretch and "loading" that energize a whipping action of the forearm down to the fingers.

True HE pitchers just IR up around the 12:00 position.
They've essentially "spent" potential energy that could have been used to power their pitch,
way before they release the ball.
A good Horseshoe change up is really a slightly modified HE delivery, for example.