video review -

[K-Pitch]

Looking for some outside eyes and we've been reviewing these boards quite often - lots of great info from some great people. Thanks! 13 y/o niece, playing 12 u travel at this time. working on some technique issues, some more obvious than others. Please take a look and be critical. Also, it would be really helpful if along with any comments/critiques - maybe add any ideas, drills, etc for a specific problem. i.e. the forward lean (obvious) - but any good "drills" to assist with making this change?

Hopefully I am able to attach the video....this is not my strong-suit. I am trying to "embed" it from youtube, but I am just seeing a code....so if it doesn't appear below, here is the site: YouTube - S Pitching

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FErCE5kaLio&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FErCE5kaLio&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

 

[j.k.]

Here are two consecutive frames from the video, she goes from a pretty good position to a not so good position at this point. Her hand is on top of the ball in frame 2. From here all she can do is push through release.

I'll leave it to the experts to suggest drills etc.

 

[sluggers]

She's got the lean, lanky body, which is perfect for a pitcher.

For the lean forward, you do drills that allow the pitcher to feel if she is balanced. If she does any of these drills and leans forward, she'll fall. Usually, kids look like drunken sailors when they first do these drills.

(a) 3-pump: Pitcher gets open, with ball and glove pointed to home. She lifts left foot so that only the toe is touching. She then makes 3 circles, throwing the ball on the 3rd circle. Each time the ball goes to the 12 o'clock position, she lifts her left foot off the ground and then places her left toe back on the ground. She needs to do this with her arm going as fast as possible.
(b) Stork: Pitcher gets open, raises her left foot off the ground and throws, points
ball and glove at the catcher, and throws. She never allows her left foot to touch the ground until after the ball is returned to her from the catcher. This drill is almost nothing for an advanced pitcher, but almost impossible to do for a newbie or mid-level pitcher.
(c) Carolina walk through: Pitcher starts two or three steps behind the rubber. She walks forward and then as she goes over the rubber she pitches. She keeps her *RIGHT* foot up after she throws the ball until the ball is returned to her from the catcher.

 

[remind]

The drag leg is bent toward a wrong angle, like you are about to sit down; that looks strange.

 

[K-Pitch]

Sluggers.....she definitely has the body for pitching and is quite an athlete...we just have some important changes to make this summer (obviously). we JUST started with the 3 circle/tap drill last week, not long enough to see the progress yet. She still looks spastic! BUt I hadn't remembered the "stork" type drill so that will be great, maybe even better than the former. I am wondering how well this will transform into her full motion though - and if there are any "progression" type things we can work on. Honestly, I think that playing travel ball all year is sometimes a "hindrance" to the young players/pitchers who have technique issues to work on. They never have an "off-season" to work on anything...and their competitiveness takes over. If they have a tourney, they just go out and throw hard and want to win, they could care less about working on leaning back! I think that's how we got to this point to begin with in her situation....

As for the Carolina walk-through...I had been thinking that this might not help her because her problem is her weight transfer to her front foot is too early to begin with. But maybe I'm wrong. At 12 o clock, although her front foot still seems to be up....all her weight is heavy on her back foot. I have been telling her that she is "halfway" between "leap and drag" style and a standard stride style. THoughts?

Remind and j.k. Thank you also for your comments and for reviewing. Remind: I think the bad angle on the drag foot is because she has SOOOO much of her weight back there at a time when she should be exploding forward. Just a thought.

j.k. those FRAMES are EXACTLY the ones that I showed to her last month to show her how DRASTIC her changes need to be this summer.

a picture (video) is worth a thousand words, so they say!

Keep the comments coming!

 

[Mark H]

It's the equivalent of lunging in hitting. I'd start by letting her compare video of elite pitchers to her own motion. She needs to have a mental picture of the goal.

 

[K-Pitch]

Thank you Mark H.
Great analogy, the hitting and lunging. I will use that one this morning with her.
Actually watching the videos of elite ones is a great idea..I really do think it helps. I have been "telling" her and working on the lean for a LONG time, and honestly - until I compared HER video/pic to THEIR video/pic SIDE BY SIDE....I don't think it sunk it. Then it hit her....and she thought "wow, I really do it that bad???"
Thanks.

 

[sluggers]

When imitating a great pitcher, pick someone who has a similar body type to your DD. Your DD is long and lanky, so you might want to think about Cat Osterman.

As to "how to get stuff incorporated into the full motion", the process takes a while--as in months. So, you do a drill (e.g., the stork) until she can do it well. Then, she uses a full motion, and you ask her to pay attention to her body lean so that she doesn't lean forward. She will probably throw a few over the backstop. When you see her start the forward lean again, you stop everything, and then do the stork some more.

So, the pattern is: (1) do drill for a few minutes. (2) Let her throw. (3) When she starts leaning, do the drill again. (4) Repeat.

At the next practice, you go to the next drill...like the Carolina Walk through. Same thing--do drill, she throws, when she start leaning, more drills.

When she gets to the stage of being able to throw without leaning, then you increase what you expect from her as far as ball location and speed. So, the first week, what is acceptable might be (a) she doesn't lean and (b) the ball isn't thrown over the catcher's head. The second week would be (a) she doesn't lean and (b) the catcher doesn't have to come out of a crouch. The third week is would be (a) she doesn't lean and (b) she puts the ball anywhere in the strike zone.

Her motion will be slowly transformed. The goal is for her to have a good form without thinking about any part of her motion.

So, I also like to do is a "smoothing drill" at the end of the practice. A smoothing drill is where she just throws. Nothing else matters. She just throws. My favorite is called "rapid fire". In rapid fire, the pitcher throws the ball, the catcher (who is standing up), immediately throws the ball back to the pitcher. As soon as the ball hits the pitchers glove, the pitcher starts the circle and throws the ball. This repeats. You are trying to have the pitcher throw the ball as quickly as possible.

The only way a pitcher can do "rapid fire' for several pitches is to have superb balance and body control. If a pitcher isn't doing all the parts of the motion correctly, the whole thing falls apart in two or three pitches.

 

[Mark H]

When imitating a great pitcher, pick someone who has a similar body type to your DD. Your DD is long and lanky, so you might want to think about Cat Osterman.

MOV 1 of 3, Windmill

 

[Amy in AZ.]

A variation of rapid fire, is to have someone stand beside the pitcher and hold about 6 softballs (depending on age). Have her pitch and immediately reach for another ball.

Catcher is receiving the ball and tossing it aside.