Very frustrating night at the ball park

[JJsqueeze]

I need to take up golf.

Taking up golf is a great idea, your day to day inconsistency will make anything any pitcher does on the mound look great. Last time I checked I have never seen a pitcher.

1) Hit the ground on the downswing.
2) Throw a pitch sideways
3) Curve one from going at the plate to the third base dugout
4) Break her mitt over her knee

Try surfing instead if you want something that mellows you out. Golf will make you psycho.

 

[knightsb]

southernchopper, it happens to the best of them.... and it will most likely happen more than once over her pitching life... Sometimes they have a bad day, can't find the zone, or start guiding the ball. If you search the pitching forums you'll find multiple posts echoing a similar theme... we have all been there....

...now what do you do?

IMO, watching the following video with your daughter, now after this just happened, is a great opportunity for you to start discussing mental toughness, trusting her mechanics, and not guiding the ball. I know, I have just recently lived through this with my DD, watching this video and talking about it with her helped.

What you will see is a complete melt down, of one of the most sought after prospects coming out of the class of 2013 Tori Finucane (wearing the white & gold). After being recruited by many of the top D1 programs in the country, she accepted to attend Mizzou. I suggest watching the entire video with your daughter, but the wheels start to come off for Tori between 5:06 and 6:20.

This video was good for my DD for several reasons:
1) She felt like she was the only pitcher in the world that had ever "lost it", meaning just forgot how to pitch during the course of a game. In reality, it started for my DD one inning by walking the lead off batter after a long 9 pitch dual, and missing a corner for a called ball 4. She then walked the next batter after a long dual, and then "it" happened.... she lost trust in her mechanics and started trying to guide the ball to her spots. She started throwing in the dirt, high, low, wide.... even hitting a batter. She alone gave up 6 unearned runs before we got out of the inning. She was devastated. Watching another pitcher have similar issues (this video), helped her realize it happens to everyone, then I told her this young lady went on to become one of the top pitching prospects in the country and all of the sudden you could see the weight lifting off of her shoulders.

2) We talked about how neither pitcher in this video struck everyone out.... that there are 8 other girls out there on the field whose job it was to play defense and make outs. Sometimes, it is just not your day, sometimes, you get a postage stamp size strike zone, sometimes you have to just go with what you got that day, and let your defense pick you up.

3) We talked about having a short term memory. Stay in the moment, don't worry about that batter who you just walked, or got a hit, or hit a home run. Focus on the next pitch and trust your mechanics.

4) Be a leader. If you watch all the way to the end of the video you will see Tori with her shoulder wrapped in ice, at the fence cheering on her team.

For those of you who follow Tori, you know there is more to the story....


There are many lessons to be learned from the game your DD just had. Turn this negative into a positive. I did with my DD, and I sincerely believe she is a much better pitcher today than she was before her disaster game....

 

[rdbass]

Get and install the mound every game. Guarantee her pitching will get better over night. Rules are rules.

 

[James Smith]

Another thing is those permeate plates are awful, nothing you can do about it but you can take some road trips and pitch on them or bang up your home circle a lot. Some of the plares aren't even regulation. My DD pitches in MS too so I have some idea what you are going through.

 

[soupy62]

The day my daughter comes to me and says "I want to practice every day so this never happens again" will be the day that she finally gets what I am really trying to teach her using softball ad a tool. You should be very proud of her reaction. As for the performance-everyone has an off night, really no big deal.

Agreed 10000% some of my proudest moments as a father are my daughters reactions to doing poorly at givin times. TOP dad moment for me was when daughter was 10 running track. Running in the final heat at State in the 100 meter dash. She is in second place right on the heels of the girl in front of her, she falls landing on her knee's and hands skinning all 4 bad enough that all 4 are bleeding. She gets up and takes off passing 1 girl so she finishes 2nd to last. As i walk down to the fence with a towel in hand to clean up the wounds expecting her to be a wreck she says to me..... "At least i didnt get last". The fact that at that point she didnt care about being embarrassed, or care about her scrapped up body parts or the pain she was feeling all she cared about was competing made me very proud of her!!!
chopper her reaction to that poor outing should tell you alot about her passion. I think that kid will be fine!!! Congrats!!

 

[FrozenRope]

Don't bother with the system.... it's one of those things where "It is what it is". You have the right mindset. Prepare for it. Set up her practice area for what she'll be facing in games. With budget cuts in education....you're lucky to even have a middle school sport to participate in. Many schools in our area were forced to shut them down or convert to "Pay to Play", which is the equivalent of a shutdown for the most part.

As for the rough outing, make sure you support her. I went through it this year during out LL all star sectional tourney. She was lights out in Districts, and the first game of sectionals she threw a no hitter. Her next outing consisted of 3-4 hit batters, and damn near a dozen walks over 5 innings. In the No-No, she walked 4 and hit 1 in 6 innings. The hit batters are a result of coaching....right or wrong, when a hitter sets up inside....throw inside. Sometimes they miss at that age.

Bottom line is, if she's got less than a year of experience and she's successful at any level... she's a WAYYYY ahead of the curve and has limitless potential. As dad, even if you're completely clueless to help her mechanically... help her emotionally. Amazing how much they go hand in hand.

 

[undergroundga]

Good advice above. I will just add this. My dd is a good pitcher(maybe not elite, maybe great, who knows, but she is successful) One tournament this year my dd comes in relief, on Fri.. She starts her warm up pitches and throws first pitch almost over the back stop. She gets it down a lil bit, and I do mean a lil bit, but never really finds the strike zone. To my chagrin, I hear parents from other team chuckling and making comments. We had a very quit ride home. Normally, we buy her a frappe as a reward, this time she gets one to make her feel better.
Sat. she gets the start against a team that eventually won the tourney. She strikes out 14 in a 1 hitter, that shoulda been a no-no but catcher didn't cleanly field a bunt. What was the difference? Heck, I don't know, she was 10. It happens.
One thing I can tell you, if she's willing to work to insure that it won't happen again, she's a keeper!

 

[JAD]

has to play on varsity field and school is to cheap to have a portable rubber at 40'

In GA middle school ball moved to 43' after ASA moved 14U TB to 43'.

 

[T.J.]

Get and install the mound every game. Guarantee her pitching will get better over night. Rules are rules.

Totally agree....its a rule, it should be there. Even when you are on the road, away from your home field you can introduce yourself to the other coach and/or umpire and let them know you have a temp pitching plate in your trunk that you'd be willing to offer for the game, if they prefer. Trust me, they would be very grateful you offered.

To do a top notch job make sure you bring a hoe or flat spade shovel (to dig a small amount of dirt out to set the plate in), a piece of 24" long 2x4 (to help hammer the plate down with), a 8"x8" tamper and a rake. Do you best to set the plate down nice & flush. And of course a 50' reel tape, but theoretically you could use a small tape measure and measure 3' from the [permanent 43' plate.

 

[southernchopper]

In GA middle school ball moved to 43' after ASA moved 14U TB to 43'.

I didn't know that. I really wasn't that concerned about the distance.