Pitching Mechanics Conflict at Tryout

[fistafury17]

This evening my DD and I visited with coaches at a tryout after she was offered a spot on the team. Their resident pitching coach was convinced my daughter should be rotating the ball toward third at 9 o'clock and have her hand behind the ball at the bottom of the circle. I give a lot of credit to my 14 yr old for being firm on her belief that she should be palm up at 9 o'clock whip the ball instead of pushing as was basically being suggested. Both the pitching coach and head coach were in disbelief that anyone would purposely use these mechanics and the session ground to a halt when my daughter couldn't convince the coaches her mechanics were similar to the most successful pitchers in college softball. I feel really bad because my daughter really wanted to play for this team but we cannot see this going well when there is a glaring conflict in proper pitching mechanics.
If their offer is still on the table, how can this be salvaged or should it?

 

[Shiloh]

It's a no go.

 

[fanboi22]

Depends, a lot of teams assume you have your own hitting and pitching coaches. So they don't usually try to tell you what to do as you refer back to your own personal coach. If they say 'my way of the highway' then sure, not a fit.

 

[Veryzer]

It sounds like your daughter did a great job of advocating for herself. If you get the call, I'd lay it all on the table, backing up DD and get assurances that it won't be a point of contention. You could even slip in that it replicates the mechanics of Abbott, Ueno, Osterman, Finch, Feigner, etc. If they're open-minded and you're delicate maybe you could change their minds.

I had a similar issue with my DD this past season and the coaches were willing to allow her to pitch in what we know is the correct way. That said, this misunderstanding of pitching mechanics revealed a broader lack of softball IQ on the coaches' parts. I'd be concerned about this as a red flag for more general issues.

 

[Wildfire]

Was she throwing strikes and hitting her spots? If so, then they shouldn't have anything to say. They're evaluating her, not coaching her. Clock her pitches, mark your clipboard and let me know if my daughter is on the team or not. Kthxbye

 

[heman1202]

Why would they offer her a spot and then critique her mechanics. I’d stay away from that situation. It won’t end well.

 

[jdint]

Are they looking for something like Abbot does in the below pics or are they looking for an actual push type release? If they are just looking for the ball
to be pointing to 3rd at 9 o'clock with a IR type release it seems like you could find a solution. I ask this because generally (in my experience) hello elbow style coaches want the hand behind the ball earlier than 9 o'clock usually at 1 o' clock or so.

Whether the ball should be pointing up or at 3rd at 9 o'clock is a different discussion and wouldn't be an automatic deal breaker for me.

 

[sluggers]

This evening my DD and I visited with coaches at a tryout after she was offered a spot on the team. Their resident pitching coach was convinced my daughter should be rotating the ball toward third at 9 o'clock and have her hand behind the ball at the bottom of the circle. I give a lot of credit to my 14 yr old for being firm on her belief that she should be palm up at 9 o'clock whip the ball instead of pushing as was basically being suggested. Both the pitching coach and head coach were in disbelief that anyone would purposely use these mechanics and the session ground to a halt when my daughter couldn't convince the coaches her mechanics were similar to the most successful pitchers in college softball. I feel really bad because my daughter really wanted to play for this team but we cannot see this going well when there is a glaring conflict in proper pitching mechanics.
If their offer is still on the table, how can this be salvaged or should it?

Tell them she dances with who brung her...so, she'll stick with her current pitching mechanics, thank you.

Then, you could give them the DFP url and tell them to post their questions here.

 

[Gags]

Their resident pitching coach was convinced my daughter should be rotating the ball toward third at 9 o'clock and have her hand behind the ball at the bottom of the circle. I give a lot of credit to my 14 yr old for being firm on her belief that she should be palm up at 9 o'clock whip the ball instead of pushing as was basically being suggested.

What type of spin does your daughter get on her fastball? We had a few pitchers who would have a nice arm bend in the back of the circle, but stay inside the ball at release, resulting in lots of bullet spin. Maybe this is what they were trying to correct? (Doubtful...but maybe?)

 

[Eric F]

"We have an instructor we have been working with for a long time. We are happy with the development we've seen, and believe that the instruction matches what the best in the game do. Your interest tells us that we are on a good track. However, if being part of this team requires a change in mechanics, and a change of instruction, this team may not be the right fit."

Or something like that...