8u pitching practice...how much is too much?

[chinamigarden]

My dd did wrist snaps her entire career. Even after I told her they were not necessary. She said it helped loosen her up and she liked them. So they certainly didn’t hurt her. I think she liked the 5 minutes of just her and her catcher being close and talking and getting mentally ready.

I think that’s a lot of pitching for 8. I’m not so worried about injury as I am about burnout. In my opinion, if you are trying to solve a fundamental mechanics issue (bowling) I would work on that but not pay attention to balls and strikes. Fix the mechanics and strikes and power will follow.

Also and it’s probably just me. But you need to take me and I out of this process. “I am practicing” “I am working on” … this is her journey and the younger she feels like it’s hers. The better it goes later.

 

[Sonerai]

I agree with all the other suggestions. We I started out with my DD at 7 and 8 yo, it was important to keep it fun and interesting. I had to vary the drills and make up some games just to change things up. I would include challenges if she like to get competitive. An additional thing I would think about adding is long toss, both overhand and underhand. This is important for building arm strength.

 

[Bonesaw]

I agree it seems like a lot of practice for 8. Especially when it seems you are not really familiar with the basics of pitching. That's a lot of time spent on things that are not that fruitful.

I would cut the time you spend with her in half and use the new free time to familiarize yourself with the basics of pitching. Learn how to do all the stuff/starter drills in the "IR in the classroom" sticky thread yourself proficiently. Then make sure her arm works properly when playing catch. Arm action is the most important thing.

 

[Rolling Hard]

Wrist snaps are done to give the pitcher 10 minutes to socialize with the catcher. Coach has to bust up their chat session and remind them that the game starts in 20 minutes.

 

[cnardone]

When I hear T drill I think "uh oh". Get to know the IR In The Classroom Sticky at the top of this forum. Read it closely. Notice the difference in hand / ball placement from the T drill. These two videos cover a lot of that sticky

 

[PerpetualBeginner]

My dd did wrist snaps her entire career. Even after I told her they were not necessary. She said it helped loosen her up and she liked them. So they certainly didn’t hurt her. I think she liked the 5 minutes of just her and her catcher being close and talking and getting mentally ready.

I think that’s a lot of pitching for 8. I’m not so worried about injury as I am about burnout. In my opinion, if you are trying to solve a fundamental mechanics issue (bowling) I would work on that but not pay attention to balls and strikes. Fix the mechanics and strikes and power will follow.

Also and it’s probably just me. But you need to take me and I out of this process. “I am practicing” “I am working on” … this is her journey and the younger she feels like it’s hers. The better it goes later.

Thank you very much for your input! When I use words like I or we/us, it's because I'm also learning about pitching from her coach as well (as well as this board, youtube, etc).

I definitely understand what you mean though. This is absolutely her journey.

 

[PerpetualBeginner]

I agree it seems like a lot of practice for 8. Especially when it seems you are not really familiar with the basics of pitching. That's a lot of time spent on things that are not that fruitful.

I would cut the time you spend with her in half and use the new free time to familiarize yourself with the basics of pitching. Learn how to do all the stuff/starter drills in the "IR in the classroom" sticky thread yourself proficiently. Then make sure her arm works properly when playing catch. Arm action is the most important thing.

Thanks for the suggestion! I actually stopped her from doing hello elbow a while ago after lurking this board. She's been doing IR for 2 months now after we switched coaches. I'll definitely be going back to that sticky again.

 

[PerpetualBeginner]

This board is amazing, thank you all so much for responding.

 

[tomorrow]

The best thing that helped my DD was just playing catch while throwing underhand. This is not pitching it is just throwing the ball back and forth underhand while playing catch. This is where she found the fine motor controls needed to control ball location. This is in a super casual setting.

I would be spending as much time with overhand mechanics as underhand at this age. Austin Wasserman and Dan Blewett are great sources(keyword Waterbottle drill). I would also use baseballs or tennis balls don't let the weight or size of the ball mess with good mechanics.

I would add a focus on fun-throwing days. We would walk through the park throwing rocks at trees or skipping rocks on ponds. To this day I still randomly play "Here Catch this" where I throw something randomly at her to see if she can catch it. Pitchers need quick reflexes when on the mound to defend themselves. The idea is to work skills without it being work.

 

[4Martini]

My daughter will tell her jokes with her catcher during wrist snaps. And that made her pitch better - because it loosened her up mentally.

She has been reading up on pitching and the other day said- I’m not supposed to wrist snaps with IR, am I? But I feel like they are important to my catcher and I starting up.

I ate lots of peanut M&Ms swimming D1. I’m sure that’s not best practice- but I swam better when I ate M&Ms.

Remember to leave room for fun/ weird traditions. It’s supposed to be fun.