Teaching how to pitch

[JJsqueeze]

This is not a mechanical thread. My DD is at the point where she is both more accurate and a bit faster than most pitchers her age, but seems to be stuck in the strike=good, ball=bad mentality. How do you teach a pitcher how to start playing the chess game ?

 

[quincy]

IDK, it is a game.

Ask her what the umpire will let her get away with, or not, after she pitches. Have her tell you what the stirke zone was.

 

[SoAZDad]

I liked what someone in DFP said in a fairly recent thread. I interpreted it something like, throw strikes until 12U, and at 14U and up, throw balls look like strikes.

 

[Top_Notch]

This is not a mechanical thread. My DD is at the point where she is both more accurate and a bit faster than most pitchers her age, but seems to be stuck in the strike=good, ball=bad mentality. How do you teach a pitcher how to start playing the chess game ?

As an outspoken bucket dad and fan, I always clap and yell "Good pitch!" on good pitches that aren't strikes. I typically get weird looks from casual fans and the dugout. But just because a pitch isn't a strike doesn't mean it wasn't a good pitch. There are tons of reasons why a pitch can be good but not a strike. A good pitch is a good pitch. So, just try to reinfornce that when you can.

 

[corlay]

We play simulated innings. If she gets ahead in the count, we then focus upon change-ups that hit home plate, or fastballs just outside the zone inside-or-out, high-or-low. If she misses for a strike, when the glove/target location is calling for a "chase pitch" - then that's a hit! Ghosty on 1B, or maybe 2B if she left the pitch waaaay fat...

Typically, she "wins" if she can K three batters before a ghosty scores a run. If she gets on too big of a win-streak, I modify the rules to keep the odds in favor of the House - if she throws a strike too far away from my glove target (wrong quadrant) that's a hit, too. That usually evens the score back up...

Sometimes we'll play a few innings where I just keep my glove centered, and she has to "work the batter" on her own. I like this becasue it's a good gauge of how well shes applying her pitches to the situation, and if her change-up is deceitful enough. I figure if her high/inside FB surprises me or her change freezes me when catching her (when I don't know it's coming), then it'll work for her in a game, too.

 

[SoAZDad]

We play simulated innings. If she gets ahead in the count, we then focus upon change-ups that hit home plate, or fastballs just outside the zone inside-or-out, high-or-low. If she misses for a strike, when the glove/target location is calling for a "chase pitch" - then that's a hit! Ghosty on 1B, or maybe 2B if she left the pitch waaaay fat...

Typically, she "wins" if she can K three batters before a ghosty scores a run. If she gets on too big of a win-streak, I modify the rules to keep the odds in favor of the House - if she throws a strike too far away from my glove target (wrong quadrant) that's a hit, too. That usually evens the score back up...

We do this too. I call the batter's position in the order, whether she's RHB or LHB, big & strong or smaller and fast, the runners, number of outs, and let DD call the pitch and location. We go from there using off-spot pitches that advance runners and on-spot as strikes...

 

[corlay]

and on-spot as strikes...

oh yeah - I forgot.

if she hits the glove on an out-of-the-zone pitch,
that's a "swingsy" for a K...

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Along with what has already been said, I teach them how to walk someone. I say "put her on."

 

[WillyT812]

We play the exact same game, but modified as she got better. All batters have to see change-up for a strike per at bat, strikes without the proper spin don't count (no flat pitches). As she masters this we will add more complexity: inside, outside, high, low.

 

[NorthMS]

I'm at a similar spot with my DD. Although I doubt she's as advanced as your DD, but I still want her thinking about the game. 2 things we do that has SLOWLY got her to thinking more....

#1 During each session, will do simulated AB's. I will describe the hitter before the AB starts and have her tell me what her plan is. If she leaves one fat to a good hitter, it's counted as a double. At first, the answer was ALWAYS, "I don't know.". Now, she'll give some answers. Many times, they are wrong, but that's ok. It shows she's thinking.

#2 During our drives to and from practice, games, and anything else, we go over situations. I've done this for years with my kids. It's usually about base running and fielding different positions. Now, with DD#1, we go over more pitching situations. Also, she likes to watch college softball, and a couple times per game, I'll ask her "what and where would your next pitch be to this hitter?".

As a side note: DD is getting better at pitch locations. We've started working on throwing "2 balls" off the plate. She's really struggling with this. Like it was said above, it started with just throw strikes, then throw to the black, and now I'm asking her to throw it 2 balls outside. I figure it's a mental block, but I'm open to any advice.