Where to being building a well rounded player?

[dinosaur]

So, i'm fairly new to softball. And forgive me, i've not figured out some of the lingo (don't know what DD or AC means). I have a 7 year old daughter who played last spring and summer, and this spring. She has been to a few camps, and her skill level is about as good as any girl playing 7U. She can field the ball well, she can throw the ball on a rope from SS to 1st, she can catch well and played 1st much of the time this past season and she makes good contact with the ball. She also recently showed some interest in pitching. I have helped her with some fielding, throwing and hitting drills, but don't know how to proceed really with pitching. Anyway....I have searched the forum for more beginner-type threads and have been reading, but I was wondering if anyone remembered, or bookmarked, any particularly good threads for young players that are ready to take a step up.

Thanks.

 

[LadybacksCoach]

The advice I was given regarding pitching, if you dont know how to pitch - dont try to coach them to pitch. Get out the wallet and pay a professional. Pitching is technical and for maximum effectiveness takes a lot of coaching.

 

[redhotcoach]

So, i'm fairly new to softball. And forgive me, i've not figured out some of the lingo (don't know what DD or AC means). I have a 7 year old daughter who played last spring and summer, and this spring. She has been to a few camps, and her skill level is about as good as any girl playing 7U. She can field the ball well, she can throw the ball on a rope from SS to 1st, she can catch well and played 1st much of the time this past season and she makes good contact with the ball. She also recently showed some interest in pitching. I have helped her with some fielding, throwing and hitting drills, but don't know how to proceed really with pitching. Anyway....I have searched the forum for more beginner-type threads and have been reading, but I was wondering if anyone remembered, or bookmarked, any particularly good threads for young players that are ready to take a step up.

Thanks.

Coaching and parenting, I would say that the largest jump in skill in the shortest amount of time with dd and her teammates that have gone to any is getting to a camp. A lot of colleges are holding them in the next few months, and almost every college has one for fundraising. Check them all, and bigger is not neccessarily better, some of the best teaching coaches are d3 and junior college.

 

[Mylil32]

DD = Dear Daughter

AC = Assistant Coach

 

[starsnuffer]

Be her dad. Give her the opportunity to play softball. If she falls in love with the sport, she'll build herself. You're a parent not a horse trainer.

-W

 

[dinosaur]

FYI Being = Begin

The advice I was given regarding pitching, if you dont know how to pitch - dont try to coach them to pitch. Get out the wallet and pay a professional. Pitching is technical and for maximum effectiveness takes a lot of coaching.

Great!! I didn't grow up playing softball, so i'm a little lost with the game in general, much less all the technical aspects of pitching. I know we have some very reputable coaches in the area to get lessons from. I've basically just been letting her "practice pitching" by pitching the ball to me however she felt like it. Her little windup cracks me up. What is a rough guesstimate of what lessons cost?

Coaching and parenting, I would say that the largest jump in skill in the shortest amount of time with dd and her teammates that have gone to any is getting to a camp. A lot of colleges are holding them in the next few months, and almost every college has one for fundraising. Check them all, and bigger is not neccessarily better, some of the best teaching coaches are d3 and junior college.

She has been to a few high school camps here in Oklahoma and I do see a jump in her play every time she goes to one. At the most recent camp she won the throw/catch competition and the batting competition and was called out in front of everyone for being the most coachable player. I had to explain to her what that meant when she was done but that's what really made me proud. I'll look for some college level camps in the area. I know Oklahoma State's is close and we have relatives we can stay with in Stillwater, but our schedules didn't allow that this year. Hopefully next, and i'll start looking at college camps that are closer.

Thanks mylil32. Seems SO obvious now.

Be her dad. Give her the opportunity to play softball. If she falls in love with the sport, she'll build herself. You're a parent not a horse trainer.

-W

Got it. That's not my angle at all. We rarely practice more than 15 minutes a day, but having done that over the last 20 months or so, she's turned into a good little player. The only time I show frustration with her is when she's not focusing, but that's why we only do 15 minutes or so at a time. For the record, I call her on not focusing no matter what she's doing. We homeschool, and teaching reading was a real chore. She had no confidence. Actually, playing softball, which was all her idea, gave her the confidence to overcome her fear of reading. Once she realized that work put in pays off, and you get BETTER at stuff you practice, she kicked it into gear and is now reading like a champ. Softball, for us, was a means to a bigger end.....teaching her about competition, working hard, etc. And she has also learned that softball is fun, but it's a whole heck of a lot more fun when you get better. When she first threw the ball to and really put her body into it and snapped her wrist and it flew at me about 35 feet on a rope and went POP into my glove the light bulb went off for her and man, she wanted to PRACTICE!! She'll practice for sometimes 30 minutes now, but she always dictates, for the most part, what practice will consist of, or if we do it at all.

My concern is that b/c i'm going to teach her the wrong way to do things, especially pitching. I've watched YouTube videos, but there are quite a few different schools of thought....that's why I was wondering if anyone remembered any good threads about the proper techniques to teach a younger player who's basically just starting to play and ready to take some real steps to getting better, without learning stuff that she will have to unlearn later. I've read some good threads about pitching and hitting, but much of it goes right over my head....so I can't really break it down for her. So.....I guess what i'm asking is if there are any good threads anyone remembers re: drills, technique that a seven year old could understand. D'oh.

 

[Coach-n-Dad]

I would highly recommend you get a pitching coach for her if she really wants to pitch. If she picks up bad habits now (which she will with no coach) they will be very very difficult to break later on.

Welcome to the crazyness that is otherwise known as "Pitchers Dad".

Has she hit 60 yet? (juuuuust kiddddding!)

 

[LAdad]

DD was 8 when she decided she wanted to pitch. At that time I thought I could just teach her; not that I had any relevant background, but I figured I could just look at what others were doing. How hard could it be? At that age having a private coach seemed completely over the top. When two years later we decided to find a pitching coach, it quickly turned out that I had been wrong on pretty much every single aspect of the pitching technique. Based on that, I recommend that you start by at least going to a pitching clinic or having a few lessons, so you can get some of the basics right.

On the other hand, I think that 7 or 8 years old is too young to commit to year-round lessons and practice. I think a clinic or a few summer lessons by a college pitcher are good alternatives.

As for us, despite my misdirection DD is doing fine, and it is hard to argue that any permanent damage was done. I figure that whatever problems remain after 10 years of pitching are all her own.

Cost? I think a college pitcher is probably happy with $15 - $20 for a lesson. I've seen experienced coaches charge from $25 to $35 per half-hour lesson. I assume this varies with the area where you live.

 

[dadonachair]

If your DD wants to pitch you better make sure this is what she wants to do. A pitcher has to practice, practice, and then practice some more. At 7 or 8 not so much but sooner or later you will be spending more time on a bucket catching for her than you realize. You will have to find a way to make it fun for the both of you.

The first thing you should do is talk to some parents of older pitchers and find out where they go for lessons. Go to games and you will quickly be able to see the good pitchers from the girls that pitch. Those are the coaches you want. Then contact the coach and find out when they are having a clinic. Have your girl go to a clinic and see how it goes. If you guys don't like it then keep shopping. Find a coach that you like as well as is a good coach. Looking on YouTube will just make you and her confused if you do not know what you are looking at. Listen to the coach and practice what they preach. Realize there are no shortcuts and that some things will take some time. Learn how to catch a drop ball with out killing yourself and hating her too much.

Good luck and welcome to the bucket-dad club.

 

[sru]

Be her dad. Give her the opportunity to play softball. If she falls in love with the sport, she'll build herself. You're a parent not a horse trainer.

-W

Well said.