Reluctant to throw hard

[Jdeesso]

My 12u first year DD just threw live to her teammates first time ever and first time throwing live to anyone since early November.

She’s been putting in the time with lessons, throwing at practice (to her catcher) and just me and her. Today she looked nervous and didn’t seem to be throwing as hard and seemed to hold back in fear of hitting her teammates. (Of course the first three batters were lefties - she hit a couple). One coach was watching her throw Friday and made a comment about her throwing more strikes and hard when she was throwing to me.

Just looking to see how you may have handled something like this or have any advice. I don’t want her to sacrifice anything and hold back bc it’s her team or fear pitching to them.

After practice, I asked her how she thought she did and her response was not so great. I mentioned its been quite a while throwing live and it’s not easy to throw to teammates. I told her to focus on the good things and emphasize the positives and not to worry and enjoy the rest of the day and hope she has that short memory and gets back at it best time.


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[HunterMO]

My first piece of advice is to not dwell on it. As she continues to throw with hitters in the box the more comfortable she’ll become. Not a big deal.

I will say I didn’t realize the difference having someone stand in the box can make until I started to pitch. So if she hasn’t thrown at anyone in awhile it all makes sense. It will come.

 

[Traps71]

My DD is first year 16U. What your DD is experiencing is completely normal and she will grow out of it as she gains more experience and confidence as a pitcher. I wouldn’t worry about it. Other than setting a solid mechanical foundation that she will build upon as she further develops, there is little worth worrying about at 12U. I will be the first to admit that this is easier to see in hindsight than when you are going through it for the first time.

Even now, my DD is reluctant to throw inside against her teammates…especially in an indoor, offseason setting. In games, she doesn’t worry about it. It was a process to get comfortable throwing inside—and especially up an in—against batters.

 

[Shiloh]

I mentioned its been quite a while throwing live and it’s not easy to throw to teammates. I told her to focus on the good things and emphasize the positives and not to worry and enjoy the rest of the day and hope she has that short memory and gets back at it best time.


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Excellent response.

It'll work itself out. She just needs to spend more time throwing to live batters.

 

[Jdeesso]

Excellent response.

It'll work itself out. She just needs to spend more time throwing to live batters.

Thanks. I’m learning along the way myself. Even a few months ago I may have pressed her too much on what she did wrong. I’ve learned a lot here as a parent and how to handle things.


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[El Oso]

Even a few months ago I may have pressed her too much on what she did wrong.

Been there done that. Focus on the positive first then talk about the negative from an analytic standpoint. Keep emotion out of it. Analyze and make mechanical changes from there. Keep expectations of improvement low. Best advice I ever got --- It's a marathon, not a sprint. First practice of 12u means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. In 12u my DD was strictly pitching Rec ball and All stars. Now she is pitching 18u Gold for a nationally ranked team. It's a marathon, not a sprint. Stick to trying to improve mechanics, results in games be damned. If the coach is going to focus too much on results, you're on the wrong team. 12u is for development.

 

[Vertigo]

Another thing you can do to help during practice with you is to set up garbage cans in both batters’ boxes. She can keep throwing hard and try to hit her spots without worrying about hurting someone in the process. Just having something there visually helps a lot with transitioning to live batters.

 

[Jdeesso]

Another thing you can do to help during practice with you is to set up garbage cans in both batters’ boxes. She can keep throwing hard and try to hit her spots without worrying about hurting someone in the process. Just having something there visually helps a lot with transitioning to live batters.

I was thinking about doing something like that. I Think the visual object will would definitely help her.


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[El Oso]

I was thinking about doing something like that. I Think the visual object will would definitely help her.


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Just make sure the catcher has gear on because ricochets off of garbage cans hurt....... Don't ask how I know.

 

[Jdeesso]

Just make the catcher has gear on because ricochets off of garbage cans hurt....... Don't ask how I know.

Haha. Thanks! Wouldn’t have thought about that. Ouch.


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