First Inning Jitters?

[BT3100]

DD is a pitcher on her 12U TB team. She's worked really hard in the off season and has made it a tough decision for her head coach as to who is his #1. She still has a lot of work to do but has made great progress. The problem that she is running into now is first inning trouble. In pregame warm ups she has great command of her pitches but when she gets into the game she struggles a bit to pull it together with the first 2 batters. Her walks have gone down tremendously from last year but she seems to walk one in the first inning. We played a game against her best friends team this week. Her best friend was lead off. DD got ahead of her 0-2 then threw 4 balls
She settled in and gave up 1 run that inning and after the first inning she was fine.
I asked her what she thinks it could be. She said "I need to warm up more" We tried that... still not the same.
I am thinking about doing a simulated inning during warm ups to shake off the jitters a bit?

Anyone with similar experience? Any advice? She is missing a bit in the 1st inning but after that just cruises along.. Her mechanics do not change.

 

[RetiredCoach]

My advice, and it may not sound like a lot, is to not make a big deal about it. I have two DDs that pitch and pitch well. The bigger the game the bigger they play. They may get nervous but it only seems to add to their performance. I think that how I've helped is that win, lose or draw, I am there for them. If they have a bad game I am not on their case. They are there to play hard and have fun and they know that I am there for them, regardless.

 

[quincy]

Remember too that she is facing the best the other Team has in the order they want them, sometimes the 1st inning is hard to get out of without a little damage.

 

[CoogansBluff]

I asked her what she thinks it could be.

I wouldn't ask.

My advice, and it may not sound like a lot, is to not make a big deal about it.

What I'm thinking.

 

[JJsqueeze]

It's pretty common for a young pitcher to need to settle into a game. As they get more experience this goes away. Nothing to worry about but you can work on it by helping her develop a routine in the circle and making sure she is actually breathing out there. I like the idea of a cleansing breath before a pitcher takes the rubber.

 

[BobInMadison]

I don't know if this would work or not:

DD #3 used to be VERY tense pitching in tournaments. She was relaxed in rec ball, and in warm ups, but as soon as she went into the circle in a tournament, she was a bundle of nerves. Her HC said it was painful to watch.
Meanwhile, her PC complained that DD #3 tends to rush her pitches.

HC made a rule that DD #3 has to take a couple of deep breaths before throwing a pitch. DD's pitching improved enormously.

Not long ago, I took DD #3 to a B1G softball game, and DD #3 spent most of the time sitting with her TB HC. I noticed the Badger pitcher used the same deep breath technique.

I mentioned this to the mother of a girl who is probably the #2 pitcher on DD's rec ball team, and maybe the #4 or #5 pitcher on the TB team. That other girl was using the same deep breath technique, after I told the girl's mother about it. It really helped her pitching a LOT.

Would this work for OP's DD? I don't know.

 

[BobInMadison]

It's pretty common for a young pitcher to need to settle into a game. As they get more experience this goes away. Nothing to worry about but you can work on it by helping her develop a routine in the circle and making sure she is actually breathing out there. I like the idea of a cleansing breath before a pitcher takes the rubber.

JJ managed to get this in while I ran off to check something before posting my reply. If JJ and I agree, either this is great advice, or head for the hills.

 

[sluggers]

Any advice? She is missing a bit in the 1st inning but after that just cruises along.

Stop calling it "first inning jitters". You are making her emotional state sound bad, when it is actually GREAT. She is excited about pitching. The day she stop being excited about pitching is the day she should quit.

The problem is not that she is excited. The problem is she is letting her excitement affect her performance. The way she controls excitement is to channel that energy into specific tasks.

Have her focus on two specific tasks that first inning:

1) "1st pitch, 1st batter, 1st inning". This is simply a challenge to her: "Can you do this: (1) Throw a first pitch strike to every batter. (2) Get the first batter out. (3) Do not allow a run the first inning. Can you?"

After the first inning, you then say, "How well did you do? Did you accomplish your goals?" This is also teaching self-evaluation.

Explain why she wants to do this:

1st pitch strike--you are telling the umpire that you can throw a strike whenever you want.
You are telling the other team that there are no walks this game. The only way they are getting on is by swinging the bat.

1st batter: A batting lineup is designed to score that first batter. You get the first batter out, and you disrupt their entire plan.

1st inning: With no runs scored with their best hitters at the plate, the rest of the team will be intimidated.



2) Draw the strike zone Tell her that at the end of the 1st inning, you want her to draw the umpire's strike zone on a piece of paper for you. Then, have her do it. That will get her focused on finding the edges of the umpire's strike zone.

 

[Rocketech1]

I would also remind her that the other team is nervous too! It's not easy being the lead-off batter(s) in the first inning. There is a lot of pressure and nervous energy on them to perform just like the pitcher. The other point I will make is that she will feel a little bit more comfortable the more reps she gets in games throughout the season(s). It's like public speaking for the first few times, you are going to be nervous and make some mistakes but it gets a little easier every time you do it.

 

[BT3100]

You all offered excellent advice. Ray, thanks for the tips. Will try the techniques you offered.