Seeking advice on how to help my daughter not fall apart on the pitching mound during games! She does really great in lessons, but is having all kinds of issues getting it together at the mound during games. She is 12u and only pitched maybe 3 innings but has been pulled twice. She feels so defeated and my heart breaks for her. I also wanna say I never played softball so I try to help her but I am terrified of her hard pitches. She has a great strength it’s just getting that girl to the game not this other person that takes over. Any advice would be helpful!
Advice to New pitching parent
- Thread starter Stu0529
- Start date
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Practice, practice, practice. Set up a net in the basement, garage, or backyard. She can practice on her own. Even at 16u when my daughter goes to pitching lessons, she throws into a net at least half the time. The net is about 15 feet away from where the pitching rubber would be. Get her a pitching mat.
Thank you! We have a pitching net and mat for her at home and she does great! It just seems like she can not hold it together at games!
- Apr 14, 2022
- 649
- 63
It takes time to get comfortable. Goal 1 for first year to relax and own the circle and be confident.
Focus on next pitch.
- Jun 18, 2023
- 544
- 63
aside from practice, which only goes so far..
pitching is a mental skill too. What works for one might not work for another. The 'goal' is to get to a place where you're approaching the next pitch as sort of like the first pitch. as a puzzle. Doesn't matter if it's actually the first pitch. after a home run. a 3-2 pitch after a ball with the bases loaded.
Make the next pitch. You can't unthrow the last pitch, so what are you throwing next? repeat your mechanics. make a good pitch. Softball has 8 or 9 other fielders, and also a lot of luck. Balls land in on good pitches.
pitching is a mental skill too. What works for one might not work for another. The 'goal' is to get to a place where you're approaching the next pitch as sort of like the first pitch. as a puzzle. Doesn't matter if it's actually the first pitch. after a home run. a 3-2 pitch after a ball with the bases loaded.
Make the next pitch. You can't unthrow the last pitch, so what are you throwing next? repeat your mechanics. make a good pitch. Softball has 8 or 9 other fielders, and also a lot of luck. Balls land in on good pitches.
Sounds like the issue might be mental...maybe too much pressure on her self? She needs to recognize and accept the fact that she is going to get hit, hit hard, give up home runs, hit batters, walk in runs...all part of the game. Have to reset and focus on the next pitch.
I used to make my DD pitch to "batters" at the end of her throwing at home. We'd pitch through at least a half inning until she got 3 outs. I'm no expert but I think it helped her get into the mindset of pitching during games and not just throwing pitches.
I used to make my DD pitch to "batters" at the end of her throwing at home. We'd pitch through at least a half inning until she got 3 outs. I'm no expert but I think it helped her get into the mindset of pitching during games and not just throwing pitches.
Is she practicing real scenarios in practice? Do you have someone standing in the box, are you keeping counts/walks/outs/simulated runs?
Sometimes we even have 1 parent catch while the other hits when she pitches in practice at home. Making it most like game situations is best. (And don't call balls as strikes to be nice, or she will never learn. So many parents do this. Be a harsher umpire than a real umpire, even.)
If you're going to practice real scenarios, please be sure the catching parent or brother/sister wears proper catching equipment.
Sometimes we even have 1 parent catch while the other hits when she pitches in practice at home. Making it most like game situations is best. (And don't call balls as strikes to be nice, or she will never learn. So many parents do this. Be a harsher umpire than a real umpire, even.)
If you're going to practice real scenarios, please be sure the catching parent or brother/sister wears proper catching equipment.
Thank you! We do not do real scenario practice at home, but she does twice a week at team practice. She does well there, which makes it even more frustrating.
What upsets her? Is she giving up hits, walking batters or hitting batters?
