Which is best way to thorugh a fast ball?

[GA42sDad]

My DD is 10 almost 11 and is beginning to learn to pitch. She took some lessons from a very well successful D1 pitcher this past fall. We have gegan to start back pitchinf=g but the young lady who was teaching her has went back to school as a GA.

My question is since i'm new to the pitching side is, she was being taught to try and throw her fastball by griping the ball at the C, with her fingers and thumb on a seam. then she was taught to throw it by using a flip at action. I know that this is the correct way to throw it by all accounts that i have read. She is having a tuff time being consistent with this technique. She has a natural way of throwing her fastball, which i think is similar to the bullet spin.

The way she throws it her her palmis almost facing third base when she releases it. Don't know if this is good or bad. Help!!!!
Hope this makes since.

 

[sluggers]

Watch Sarah Pauly's release:

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This is Sarah Pauly, one of the best pitches around. Watch her forearm at release. Notice that it rotates clockwise (from the pitcher's point of view). This is called "Internal Rotation" (IR).

A flip release is where the wrist flips toward the catcher and the elbow ends up pointing at the catcher. The flip release was taught before high speed video cameras. There are many coaches still teaching this release. The preferred method is IR.

 

[CoachScott]

I don't see the video. I'll have to check at home on laptop I guess.

 

[sluggers]

Here it is youtube:

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In the early 1990s, my DD was taught the "flip release" for a fastball by three different pitching coaches. After struggling with it for a year, I quit trying to teach her "the right way". Her release on the fastball is IR--although neither of us knew that she was doing it that way. It would have saved me and her a lot of grief had I known about "IR".

 

[GA42sDad]

Would the ball rotation be more of a 9 to 3. I would say right now my DD's ball spin is more a 8 to 2.

 

[sluggers]

It is a fastball. It isn't going to move much. So, don't worry about the spin. Worry whether she is throwing the ball with velocity and on target.

At this point in her development, focus on the more difficult things like her arm speed, body position, circle, weight distribution and push-off much more than whether the spin is 12-6, 8-2 or 9-3.

When she starts learning breaking pitches, then focus on spin.

 

[CoachScott]

I can see both video now @ home on laptop. At work only youtube works, must be a firewall block or something. Thanks for posting both videos.

 

[GA42sDad]

Thanks for the input. My DD natural spin when she throws the pitch is what i call a 8 to 2. She has descent zip on her pitches when she throws it this way.

 

[Dusty]

I disagree somewhat with Sluggers about not worrying about fb spin, even on a fastball you want as close to 12-6 as possible and the longer she throws fastballs with no movement the harder it's going to be for her to learn movement later and the harder she's going to get hit as she ages up.

I don't know how your dd is achieving an 8-2 spin but watching this Pauley video reminded me of the problem I had with my dd's spins. From 12 to very close to 6 the ball is facing 3b, it's only at the last possible moment that she gets her fingers behind the ball and thumb facing the catcher and snaps it hard off of those long fingers of hers.

For what seemed like the longest time, both of my dd's would never quite get their fingers all the way behind the ball before release and would throw with clockwise rotating spin. We started putting electrical tape around balls and really placing an emphasis on leading with the thumb, it eventually not only gave them more of a 12-6 spin but improved speed as well.

 

[ArmWhip]

The important thing is that she learns to throw with IR, for some girls trying to pitch with 12-6 topspin makes them bowl or push the ball. The football drill is often very useful for getting a pitcher to start her downswing with the elbow leading, a key ingredient for an IR motion. However a football spiral is bulletspin, but I would rather have this spin/arm action than a 12-6 push motion.