Live pitching practices VS bullpens/lessons

[dogpatch]

Live batting practice is the absolute best and only way for your hitters to learn. Soft toss and tee work is only a feel good session. Difference between block training and random training or performance versus learning.

It takes wise use of all the tools available to create productive batting practice and mechanics improvement. Whether its soft toss, front toss, tee work, pitching machines, players learning to hit fungos, or live-arm BP, each tool contributes. Hitters need reps, which means they need to see lots of strikes. BP pitchers need to be able to deliver lots of hittable pitches. Using your pitchers for BP is not the best practice. Do the math... 12 players on a team x 10 hittable pitches per batter = way more pitches than any young pitcher should throw in a single session. Best case scenario is having a coach who can pitch with full windup. On those occasions when you do use your pitchers for BP, pay close attention to pitch counts, productivity of the session, and how it all interacts with your game schedule.

 

[RADcatcher]

Best case scenario is having a coach who can pitch with full windup.

(Other than College)
What is the percentage of those? 1%?

This example~
*would rather have teams pitchers doing atleast near good mechanics that are what the Batters will see in games
versus
coach don't know how, just trying...and its funky.

2 weeks ago watched a very enthusiastic coach of a 12u team who was using slingshot bowler method. The ball was arcing up and down basically bouncing on the plate (like it was slow pitch but not quite as high as slow pitch)
It was a terrible situation for the batters.

If the coach can't do it,...hopefully at least the pitchers who have had some lessons (who still need to throw some sort of workout) would be okay to get them in their to throw some pitches. And rotate them out with the other pitchers on the roster.

If a Coach can't observe what they're doing is that terrible then practices are going to be in a bad situation anyway.
Give the players the time to improve.

To those that are concerned about elapsed time. Coaches can really waste the most time by running unfacilitated practices. Doesn't have to be that way.

Put a bucket of balls next to the pitcher and let them throw one after the other.

 

[sluggers]

TO BE CLEAR: This is throwing BP, not competing.

It takes about a week to learn to throw windmill. You aren't trying to learn riseballs or throw 70 MPH. You're trying to put the ball over the plate from 35 feet.

A more athletic coach than me watched me throw windmill and picked it up in a couple of hours.

It just ain't that hard.

 

[uncdrew]

We had our three pitchers pitch to girls in our practice a few days ago. We just haven't seen good pitching in a long time (due to winter time-off and a lame last tournament).

It was good for our girls and we rotated the pitchers so none were over-worked. However, it only gave each batter 2 full at bats and took over an hour. It's just not the best use of practice time. When not pitching, catching or getting your 2 at bats, you can do slow toss in a cage, tee work, have a few shag balls, etc.

We have coaches/parents pitch to the girls every practice. Girls pitching to the girls is pretty rare. Like a few times per year.

 

[RADcatcher]

TO BE CLEAR: This is throwing BP, not competing.

It takes about a week to learn to throw windmill. You aren't trying to learn riseballs or throw 70 MPH. You're trying to put the ball over the plate from 35 feet.

A more athletic coach than me watched me throw windmill and picked it up in a couple of hours.

It just ain't that hard.

Pardon I didn't read all of your posts. Maybe you already explained why you wouldn't want pitchers throwing BP.
Good thing there are options for hitting practice.
I find no reason they couldnt/shouldnt.
( other than staying in healthy perimeters of pitch counts for the week)


IF you're making the Point that coaches should be able to do it. Then you are suggesting a whole bunch of people that haven't already tried to learn should.
Ok! The more people that know how to pitch underhand the more live/better batting practices we will have!

 

[CoachCeetar]

2) live BP at 10U is terrible. There are not enough strikes at 10U to make the time worth it.

yeah but like, so is live pitching? It DOES mimic what they're going to see and it might be a decent way to instruct them to swing at everything and teach them what is hittable and what isn't. There's a psychological different between a kid your age pitching and your coach too. Plus a coach windmill is going to come in a little higher.

TO BE CLEAR: This is throwing BP, not competing.

It takes about a week to learn to throw windmill. You aren't trying to learn riseballs or throw 70 MPH. You're trying to put the ball over the plate from 35 feet.

A more athletic coach than me watched me throw windmill and picked it up in a couple of hours.

It just ain't that hard.

imo, not even a week if you've been paying any attention to how pitchers pitch. full grown adults are strong enough to throw it over the plate with just their arm, so you don't even really have to worry about mechanics like brush contact, staying tall, and opening/closing the hips properly and all that. Hold the ball in front of you and take a step, move your arm up and around and release as you step, once you get that timing down that's basically it.

 

[RADcatcher]

We had our three pitchers pitch to girls in our practice a few days ago. We just haven't seen good pitching in a long time (due to winter time-off and a lame last tournament).

It was good for our girls and we rotated the pitchers so none were over-worked. However, it only gave each batter 2 full at bats and took over an hour. It's just not the best use of practice time. When not pitching, catching or getting your 2 at bats, you can do slow toss in a cage, tee work, have a few shag balls, etc.

We have coaches/parents pitch to the girls every practice. Girls pitching to the girls is pretty rare. Like a few times per year.

I see it as a useful tool that can be worked in as a hitting station rotating with others. Which actually lot of college camps have a live pitching station.

You did at bats? Balls and strikes?
Try it again with just throwing 6 to 10 consecutive pitches to each batter.

Can even have the pitchers just repeat throwing say a curve over and over to one batter at a time.
Gives the Batters the opportunity to learn how to read that body language of the pitchers mechanics.

Or fastball changeup fastball Change-Up. Great thing to work on that timing!

 

[Cannonball]

To add:

I thought it the easiest to teach other coaches to throw from the "K Position." Then, I make sure that they know to stay behind that net and not the hole in the net. LOL I can get it up there OK wrt speed. I move a little closer to last longer. When in mid-season form, I can hit the strike zone with a couple of pitches fairly accurately. I am not athletic but I am very competitive.

 

[Northball]

It's also fun when you've got the windmill motion down and you sucker them on a change-up or dramatically ring them up when they freeze on a strike pitch. Let the good-natured trash talk begin.

 

[uncdrew]

I see it as a useful tool that can be worked in as a hitting station rotating with others. Which actually lot of college camps have a live pitching station.

You did at bats? Balls and strikes?
Try it again with just throwing 6 to 10 consecutive pitches to each batter.

Can even have the pitchers just repeat throwing say a curve over and over to one batter at a time.
Gives the Batters the opportunity to learn how to read that body language of the pitchers mechanics.

Or fastball changeup fastball Change-Up. Great thing to work on that timing!

We did game situations. 0-0 count, coach calling pitches. Bat until an outcome.