Technique question

[RandomDad]

Hey guys. This is my first post. My 8 yr old daughter started pitching about 10 months ago with a coach. She is the first real student for her coach and I know nothing about pitching, other than what I've picked up on YouTube and from watching a few games.

I've noticed recently that my daughter's form seems to be different from some of the pitchers I've seen lately. Would you all watch the video and let me know what you think?

This is the only video I have right now. I have not been able to get a speed of her pitch, but she has good velocity for an 8 yr old in my biased opinion.

 

[Lozza]

Very nice!

Two things I noticed straight away.

1. She doesn't hide the ball at all. This won't matter at her age (she'll only have a fastball) but I would personally LOVE to face a pitcher like that. You could see exactly what was going to be thrown to you. You need to fix that now, purely so she gets used to it.

2. Her drive leg does to the side when she pitches. That needs to be straight towards the catcher. That nice bit of cardboard/plywood would be perfect to put under her when she pitches. She has to have her leg land on that when she steps forward. When she gets better at that, paint a line so she has to step on the line.

If possible, a side on video would be better, but good work!

 

[RandomDad]

Thanks Lozza. I noticed other pitchers hiding the ball and that was one of my main concerns. Her coach told her that she has to 'present the ball' and that she did that by holding it to the side like that. I did wonder how she would change her grip for different pitches without tipping it off to the batter. Yes, she only has a fastball right now and I have no plans on her learning anything else until she has better control.

I'll try to get a side view video when we practice tonight.

 

[druer]

If she keeps doing exactly what she's doing, that is practicing in the backyard, she's going to become an awesome pitcher. Best of luck.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I have a few comments, just to clean the motion up, a little. There is no need to bring the ball up over her head and bend the elbows, there. That is extra work on the shoulders and elbows. It doubles the work that the shoulders are doing each pitch.

Also, she brings the glove down and slaps her hip. This is another unnecessary motion that adds nothing to the pitch.

I would have her toe the rubber, bring the hands together, get her grip, get her sign - and pitch. Just bring the ball up out of the glove and wind mill. In a year or so, she can experiment with a pre-motion.

This is a good thing that you are doing with your daughter. I wish that all of my parents were like you.

 

[Lozza]

Thanks Lozza. I noticed other pitchers hiding the ball and that was one of my main concerns. Her coach told her that she has to 'present the ball' and that she did that by holding it to the side like that

That is correct. She does need to present the ball, but after she does that, she needs to bring her hands together. Batters assume the pitcher is changing her grip in the glove. That's what we do! Even if I'm throwing a fastball, I'll still fumble in the glove, so they think something else is coming.

Amy, is the backswing part of the pre-motion, or part of the pitch itself?

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Amy, is the backswing part of the pre-motion

Yes.

Presenting the ball, is discussed frequently. In this area, that means bringing the ball and glove together and hesitating, not holding the ball at your side. You can approach the rubber and hold the ball in your glove as long as you bring both hands together and act like you are getting a signal.

I recently, had a student called for an illegal pitch, because she kept the ball in her glove and not the hand. But, I don't think that the umpire was correct.

 

[Lozza]

So in effect the backswing does nothing for the pitch? It's something I've seen only recently here and I've never quite understood how it improved the pitch.

 

[RandomDad]

I have a few comments, just to clean the motion up, a little. There is no need to bring the ball up over her head and bend the elbows, there. That is extra work on the shoulders and elbows. It doubles the work that the shoulders are doing each pitch.

Also, she brings the glove down and slaps her hip. This is another unnecessary motion that adds nothing to the pitch.

I would have her toe the rubber, bring the hands together, get her grip, get her sign - and pitch. Just bring the ball up out of the glove and wind mill. In a year or so, she can experiment with a pre-motion.

This is a good thing that you are doing with your daughter. I wish that all of my parents were like you.

Thank you Amy. I never have liked the leg slap thing, but her coach has been okay with it. Our season starts next week and even though at 8U, the kids only pitch 2 innings a game, I don't want to change too much until the season is over. I do think I may try to change her slowly. The raising the hands over the head and getting her to come out straight should be fairly easy. I may wait til the off-season to work on the hip slap and ball hiding.

Thanks for the good advice. I'm so glad I found this site!

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

A couple of observations:

- I like that she gets into the same pre-motion routine everytime, which is very important when working on her accuracy. Most 8YO video here shows the pitcher all over the place with no set routine.

- Never have her pitch unless she has gone through all of her warm-up drills in the correct sequence. For example, a) overhand throw, b) wrist snaps (optional), c) "T" or "K" drill; d) arm circles, lower body stationary; e) "walk throughs".

- as suggested, have her slow down her pre-motion, once her hands come together, have her pause 1 to 10 secs before she pitches (ASA rules). She shouldn't pitch until she is ready and concentrating on each and every pitch.

- Only introduce the next pitch (change-up) once she has control (not necessarily command) of the fastball.

- Once she gets fairly accurate, pretend there is a batter at the plate and do pitch sequences using balls and strike counts.

- If possible, have her pitch 3 x week (even if its only for 30 mins each time). If she wants to be a good pitcher she should never take more than a couple of weeks off in the off-season.

- I don't see a pitching plate for her to push off from? If not, get one. Same goes for a portable home plate. You want to replicate the pitching environment she will be pitching in during the game.

- If she loves to pitch, she will be very good in a year or two. Enjoy!