Starting v. Relief

[Jdeesso]

My DD is a 10u pitcher on her team and has probably emerged as the number 1. Gets the starts against the better teams especially in tournaments.

She’s s had success for the most part but recently her last several starts have been so so and had been very nervous for some reason and gets in her head before she starts. One of her most recent starts (against an inferior team) didn’t get out of the 1st inning, only got one out and walked/hit most batters.

However, when comes in to relief she has been much more effective and definitely more efficient. Most recent game to close out the tourney champ game (tight game). Three innings, no walks or runs faced only 10 batters, little contact, throwing pretty hard. (Think this might be one of her best outings and she was excited to even get a couple lefties out - that’s like her kryptonite). The day before she started against the same team and three innings, 3 runs, lots of walks, lot more contact and not throwing as hard didn’t seem comfortable.

DD says she gets very nervous when she starts and has a tendency to overthink and obsess but hasn’t expressed this when she comes into relieve.

Just curious if anyone experienced something similar and how their DD may have overcome or have some sort of mechanism on how to deal with something like this when their DD pitches?

Thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ArmWhip]

'Nervousness' is part of competitive sports and needs to be reframed. It is caused by an adrenaline surge in the blood stream as preparation for a 'fight or flight' situation. Adrenaline has a positive effect physically, you can run faster, throw further etc. When a deer sees a tiger in the forest it gets an adrenaline surge to help it escape, however the tiger also gets an adrenaline surge because it sees dinner. The trick is to be the tiger and not the deer. Try to reframe it as excitement or getting jacked up. Since your daughter is only 10U you need some simple things to employ. I assume that you have talked to her about her 'nervousness'. Tell her that it is perfectly normal and even though she may feel unpleasant it's fine, tell her to be the tiger. Getting nervous about feeling nervous is the problem. On a physical level breathing properly helps. Before each pitch she should breath in through the nose deeply and out through the mouth, and on that out breath tell her to let some of those 'butterflies in her stomach' to come out.

 

[Capone]

I've seen this in the past with my DD. more so for an early morning game start. I think it was more that she didn't warm up as much vs. coming in for relief. last couple tourneys adjusted the warm up before the start. also talked about needing to come out hot vs. working up to it. seems ok so far, so we will see

 

[HunterMO]

My DD at 10u was a slow starter in games. Whether she was pitching or playing the infield. Always needed at least an inning (or two) to get up to full speed. I don't think she even realized it. But she was like clock work. With pitching....the first inning was always iffy. But, the HC would keep her in knowing that the second inning would be way better. For the most part that was the case every time. In relief, she'd go to work right away.

The thing with coming in relief is that the bulk of the pre-game nerves have been worked out, the body is looser, and she's more ready to reach cruising speed earlier. She may even have had some infield or at plate successes to help the confidence. If the team is winning by a good margin when she comes up.....even better for how loose she'll feel. As a starter the body likely isn't at cruising speed yet, she doesn't want to make mistakes, and likely hasn't worked out the pre-game jitters. It can take an inning or two to settle in. You even see it in MLB pitchers.

I wouldn't stress it too much at 10u. That's really young and not many kids that age can manufacture self-confidence. There is a lot of pressure inside the circle. EVERYONE is focused on her and she knows it. She can feel it. And when there isn't a lot of crowd noise (usually common early in the first couple innings especially for those early tournament games) she can hear every conversation going on. IMO, the best thing you can do is to start teaching her how to mentally prepare, focus, ignore the noise, and most importantly teach her how to talk to herself internally. Eliminate the "don't throw a ball", "don't hit the batter", "don't let them hit the ball" and work towards a positive thought process. "Be strong", "Throw hard", "Work fast", "Be aggressive", "My team has my back", etc.

Help her understand mistakes are okay and pitches getting hit are part of the game and learning process. Not all pitches have to be strikes. Weak contact for an out is still a success (and sometimes preferred). When we did that with DD she could relax, her game improved noticeably and the confidence increased.

 

[HunterMO]

I've seen this in the past with my DD. more so for an early morning game start. I think it was more that she didn't warm up as much vs. coming in for relief. last couple tourneys adjusted the warm up before the start. also talked about needing to come out hot vs. working up to it. seems ok so far, so we will see

Proper warmup is a BIG piece. Pitchers shouldn't rely on the five pitches they get before go time to get their feeling. They need to be ready to go full speed ahead before they step inside the circle. Those warmup pitches are the pitchers chance to intimate the opposing team. Or so I tell DD.