11 year old feedback

[Fitz1210]

She has only had a handful of lessons. Se is learning I/R. Any tips for her would be appreciated.

Slow motion - YouTube

Here is it in real time....

http://youtu.be/o5eTvs2YpiY

 

[corlay]

looking pretty good for a newbie!

two things that jump right out at me:

1) She's purposefully arresting the continuation of her follow-through at the point of release. Maybe she's concentrating too much on "locking the elbow" to her side? Follow-through should be comfortable, relaxed, and natural. I'd say she's robbing herself of precious MPH halting her delivery like that. More of a "flick' than a "hurl" right now. Some PC's teach this when throwing a change-up, but I'm guessing she's just throwing standard 4-seam "fastballs" at this point?

2) Be careful with that footwork/rocking pre-motion. Back foot loses contact with pitching plate, and is illegal re: ASA rulebook.

 

[Fitz1210]

Thanks Corlay!

Yes, I did notice her losing contact with the plate. She does the "whip" when she is doing warm-ups, but as soon as she goes to full motion she doesn't follow through. Any advice?

 

[corlay]

Thanks Corlay!
Any advice?

having a "target" to throw to might be to much of a distraction, causing her to do this, thinking it'll help her not "miss"?

some folks here are advocates of throwing into a old rug or tarp hung vertically, about 20 feet away.
just have her hurl the ball at the barrier HARD.
Don't let her move on from this until she appears "Fast and Loose".
Try and advise her not to think at all about where her arm/hand goes after she releases the ball.
Let her experiment with understanding the feel of an un-restricted motion.
Keep an eye on her so that she doesn't fall grossly out of proper form with respect to the rest of her mechanics.
Return to this drill whenever she starts arresting her follow-through, again (she may revert back for a while. Muscle-memory is a hard thing to overcome sometimes...)

Might help.

 

[Fitz1210]

Very helpful!! Thanks again!

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Like 90% of my new girls, she is pitching and moving directly back to the pitcher's plate. Encourage her to stay out there and become a fielder. Also, I tell them to help the catcher out, by moving closer to her.

 

[Fitz1210]

Amy,
Please elaborate...are you saying when she plants her foot she shouldn't go back?