loading the pitch/wind up

[starsnuffer]

Quincy,

as the pitchers get older they can adapt to change a lot faster, without "messing them up" for very long at all. Part of this is simply because they are older, more experienced, and more in tune with their bodies, and part of it is because at this point they are used to having 5 different coaches telling them 5 different things.

I understand where you're coming from and I would agree if the pitcher were 12 years old. If they're in high school, they should be ok. My own kid changed her "windup" a few days before HS tryouts (she now does it hillhouse style) and she managed to do it without missing a beat. It took about 30 minutes of pitching for her body to adjust.

-W

 

[Ken B]

Many changes from bad to good can have an immediate positive effect. Some take longer and can be initially disruptive. Bad to good is usually the key. There must be a positive benefit.

 

[Ken B]

Clarification on my post: There must be an immediate positive effect. If a kid can make a positve change and go with it, then give it a whirl. If not, then it may need to be a post-season thing. Ideally, the pitcher shouldn't continue reinforcing the poor mechanic, however, this late in the season...

Thanks Screwball!

 

[coach james]

Quincy, As to your question, would I correct or change your dd? Well, I guess that would depend on what was going on. I would first get a full evaluation to see all aspects of her stride, circle, timing, release, and body posture. And based on what I see, I would make suggestions to the TWO of you. From there, we could discuss the whys of whatever was needing adjusted. I'm not saying I'm a better coach than him, however I am saying that the style and fundamentals that he employees are what dd and I have worked our tails off for months to change! I've spent countless hours studying the highest level pitchers, and attending clinics and camps, paying pro coaches to get her as good as she can. And I'm not going to allow this guy to try to "fix" her back to what we ran away from!

 

[knightsb]

as the pitchers get older they can adapt to change a lot faster, without "messing them up" for very long at all. Part of this is simply because they are older, more experienced, and more in tune with their bodies, and part of it is because at this point they are used to having 5 different coaches telling them 5 different things.

I agree with starsnuffer. DD is 14 and we have changed her pre-motion many times, and it does not take her very long to adapt.

Carly has a really good series on pre-motion here. Well worth the read.

An image from Carly's article:

 

[leechristensen]

my dd is 15. she had shoulder problems and we took the backswing out of her premotion and no more shoulder problems.

 

[Perfect Circle]

How a pitcher loads is "style". The fact that a pitcher loads is an absolute (sorry Pefect Circle). I have to question why someone would want to waste energy on swinging her arms back when a simple movement with hands together can achieve the same thing. But again, that is style, and as we all know a girl will "play good when she feels good" as opposed to a boy who will "feel good when he plays good". A change in style can really change how someone feels, so change for the sake of change is not neccessarily a good thing.

No problem... what your talking about is the "double pump". Right or wrong, he is limiting even it. Coach sounds like this guy is going to nit pick you to death. I'm thinking you are the better Coach. I recommend to quit... spend all you time getting DD pitching as you were. See to it that you are playing against his type or even the real pitches he uses in TB. Get him on here.

 

[lhowser]

she'd be hiding her grip from both the batter and third base coach (assuming she's a righty), and also giving the batter less time to see the ball. For the 99.9% of us who aren't built like Jennie Finch but would like to be successful pitchers anyway, hiding the ball can provide an advantage.

Can someone on here say they personally have had an easier time hitting a quality pitcher because they could see the ball on a back swing and it tipped them off vs. a similar pitcher because it was hidden in the glove. Or is this just legend. Curious because so many over the years have had the huge backswing.

 

[halskinner]

Can someone on here say they personally have had an easier time hitting a quality pitcher because they could see the ball on a back swing and it tipped them off vs. a similar pitcher because it was hidden in the glove. Or is this just legend. Curious because so many over the years have had the huge backswing.

MY own opinion here. There are some grips that I do not believe you can hide no matter what, knuckleball and cicrcle change as examples.

An advanced hitter CAn be taught to watch the muscles in the lower AS the grip is being applied. Depending on the build and arm strength, it can be a huge giveaway without ever seeing the grip at all. However, there are ways to defeat that also.

 

[knightsb]

Can someone on here say they personally have had an easier time hitting a quality pitcher because they could see the ball on a back swing and it tipped them off vs. a similar pitcher because it was hidden in the glove. Or is this just legend. Curious because so many over the years have had the huge backswing.

lhowser, I know what you are saying... however, DD, who is a pitcher, has started studying pitchers to see if they do anything to give their pitch away and/or give her and advantage while batting. One of the things she looks for is the type of grip on the ball. For her, the knuckle sticking out, four fingers on the ball, a circle grip, are clues to the pitch about to be delivered. Other clues she looks for are patterns in the pre-motion, like not going back as far in the rocker motion for certain pitches etc... That being said, we are still at a fairly low level of play, so the better rocker motion pitchers are probably much better at disguising their pitches.

I was replying the same time as you Hal... I agree about the certain types of grips...