Can you help start me out?

[Mr T]

I come from baseball. The pitching is foreign to me to say the least.

Who knows their stuff? Is there much consensus?

Our league does clinics and they are at least consistent in what they teach but I have no idea if it's good or not.

I've been poking around here and see some immediate differences with names that have been thrown out.

For example, our league definitely teaches a fingers straight down, wrist snap type of a pitch, and straight up follow through.

I saw Bill Hillhouse's name thrown about, so I watched some of his interviews and lessons, and it was pretty mind-blowing. I can see his argument for following through across the body. I have a very hard time believing our 8U girls could have the strength to even come close to throwing pitches with their thumb to 3rd, but I could be wrong.

Another reference point is our league supplies coaches with Michele Smith fastpitch softball for beginners. Is it considered sound?

I guess I'm asking who to believe, although maybe I should first ask if beginning pitching is different than advanced pitching.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

What state are you in? We may know someone that can help you.

 

[Mr T]

I am in Sunnyvale CA.

 

[starsnuffer]

Mr. T,

Cuttingedgesoftball.com is a great resource. A few of my players take pitching and/or hitting lessons there. The instructors are all recently graduated D1 players and current NPF players. The owner, Leann Emery, is an excellent instructor, and while I may not agree with every little detail of what she teaches, I'm very much in favor of what she DOESN'T teach and for what is a non-teach for her. She's great with kids as well.

I know they offer both private lessons and group lessons for leagues. They're located in San Jose but work with a lot of Peninsula leagues as well.

-W

 

[Hillhouse]

When the hell did I say an 8 year old should point her thumb to third base???

 

[Mr T]

When the hell did I say an 8 year old should point her thumb to third base???

Never that I know of. I didn't mean to imply that you did.

I watched a video of you teaching the rise ball. Then I saw another where you instruct a few teen girls in a batting cage. You talked about that grip and spin again, and I don't even know my stuff enough to know if you were doing that in the context of a rise ball again or a general technique. But at least I know I don't know.

Bill I liked your stuff very much. Again, though, I do not know how to sort through info and apply age appropriate techniques.

 

[Mr T]

@star thanks much I will definitely check them out

 

[Hillhouse]

I saw Bill Hillhouse's name thrown about, so I watched some of his interviews and lessons, and it was pretty mind-blowing. I can see his argument for following through across the body. I have a very hard time believing our 8U girls could have the strength to even come close to throwing pitches with their thumb to 3rd, but I could be wrong.
.

This quote makes it sound like it's something I've said. You'll have to pardon me, I'm a little hypersensitive to being misquoted, it seems to happen to me a lot.

While I often begin the beginning phases of a riseball to pitchers younger than what a lot of people think is normal, I can't recall ever teaching it to an 8 year old.

Bill

 

[Mr T]

This quote makes it sound like it's something I've said. You'll have to pardon me, I'm a little hypersensitive to being misquoted, it seems to happen to me a lot.

While I often begin the beginning phases of a riseball to pitchers younger than what a lot of people think is normal, I can't recall ever teaching it to an 8 year old.

Bill

I can only imagine what it must be like to be a well known coach and have things you didn't say attributed to you.

And I was going to say I could see how you took what I said the way you did.

It looked like throwing into your own mitt in the various ways you showed would be a very useful thing to get my young ones doing.

 

[starsnuffer]

Bill's video's are excellent.

If you can get lessons from Bill, definitely go with that!

The place I referred you to teaches similar basics to what Bill teaches, and didn't change what my daughter learned from his videos. Once the movement pitches are taught there is a big divergence (peel vs rollover, 2 seam vs 4 seam, ect), however for beginning pitchers that is a non issue.

FYI I agree with Bills way of doing things in all the stuff mentioned above, however I also teach my daughter to keep an open mind and learn what she can, so she's currently doing things the way her instructor teaches her, as long as they're healthy and safe mechanics, I'm fine with it.

-W