who wants to watch my DD pitch?

[slim00]

JV in high school throwing 38?

Wow.

Yes, 38. I will have to admit that it was cold that day. But I clocked her later in the summer at a travelball tournament when it was hot and she was only throwing 42. The only reason I did this is because her father was crowing so much about her throwing "over 50".

[jofus]

I would expect any pitcher in high school to be able to pitch "over 50", or at least close to it. I guess maybe you could get by on junk and location, but from my observations, the movement on a softball isn't that great until you get up around 50 or so no matter how good your mechanics are.

[ValleyTribe10u]

SHe is cute but she CROW HOPS BIG TIME... Have her drag her back foot.

[ValleyTribe10u]

As far as speed goes I have a 10u Travel team & I have 2 pitchers that can both hit 51 MPH but the average speed of fast balls is 48 to 49 MPH , thier Spin pitches are clocked around 45 MPH

[FPDD_cabbie]

I just another bucket dad, a target for my pitching DD.

I am going to assume your DD plays 12u REC Softball since you said she was 11 yrs. Last year we had a few girls in REC Ball that threw like your daughter. But your daughter does have a hop to her left. In REC ball they will overlook this if pitching is not strong in the league but it looks like its affecting her form. You are right that she is stepping far from the power line if she throwing a fastball. Screwball is another story.

Do you start out with any warm-up drills? Sideways No-Step Throws? Figure K toss (or X toss)? Something to work on the release point mechanics. Ask your pitching coach which drills to use.

When I worked with my DD we worked on Form, Release point, and then Speed. After that learned more pitches and hitting the corners. Not always easy and there were days I felt like we took a step backwards.

Remember, she will listen more to her pitching coach than her Bucket Dad. Maybe ask her pitching coach to review her mechanics again.

[Judd]

Well she plays TB. Rec ball here is not like in Cali. But she doesnt pitch or is at least not a starting pitcher

She hasnt seen her coach since November. We go back Wednesday back to 1 hour private lessons every week.

Yes she does snaps, then T drilles, then K drills. On those she is fine. Then put it all together and she looses it. And like I said this was a bad day. 2 days before she looked alot better. She did that in fall, would pitch good one night, then 3 days later, couldnt hit the side of a barn

[3strikesLooking]

Hey Judd, keep the fun in it (she looks like she enjoys it!).
Most important thing is mechanics (smooth). Stop practicing
the crowhop, it appears to be ingrained in her muscle-memory
already. This will create a smoother and consistant delivery.
Countless hours of repetition will get the accuracy and speed
she needs. The more frequent you play bucket dad,for instance
15 min. a day basically warming-up and hitting each spot- versus
1-practice for an hour a week, will quicken the time period before she
becomes accurate. Please keep in mind that ALL pitchers in all
levels have plateaus and sometimes they will last for months. Then one
day she will show you the next level gained from her hard work, at those
precious moments thats when both of you realize the fruits from
all that labor in the backyard! Good Luck she looks like a wonderful Kid!

[Flash]

Judd -
Here are a couple of ideas:

Scratch a power line in the dirt from the center of the pitching rubber toward the center of home plate. Do this in every practice. She can even do it in games. Make sure she opens (turns) enough for her stride foot to get close to that power line. The shoe prints will show how close or far away she is from the power line. She will improve her speed if she can improve her mechanics.

To cure the leap, put a piece of paper under the toe of her drag foot. If her foot stays in contact with the paper, the paper should move with her away from the rubber. If she leaps, the paper will stay behind at the rubber. It is important if you want to be successful at the higher levels to break this habit now before it becomes ingrained. It will be very difficult to break the longer you let it go without correction.

Good luck with your daughter.

[dustyshoes]

Here's a pretty simple crow-hop fix courtesy of "The Man".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_BCTHuWvaI

[Lannie]

The worst thing a Dad or pitching coach can do to a pitcher that is learning how to pitch is give them the ball. When a pitcher is learning how to be a pitcher and not a thrower. She has to do countless hours of drills 364 days out of the year. Without the ball every pitch is a perfect pitch. But when the coach introduces the ball, then the mechanics suffer because the first thing the girl does is forget the mechanics and throw it as hard as she can because all she has had drilled into her head is that speed is what people notice.
I agree with that to a point. Yes people do notice that pitcher that is popping the mit. But I also know that college coaches that are looking for a pitcher look for other things besides speed.
We went to a D1 AA school this past weekend for a pitching camp. My DD was with the advanced pitchers. She is a Soph. and all the others ladies were Jr's and Seniors. Out of the 11 pitchers that they were watching my DD was complimented more on her movement and accuracy than any of the other ladies. The coaches spent time with the other pitchers correcting their poor mechanics, and when they were with my DD they were asking her how she was throwing certain pitches. Out of those 11 girls. My DD was the only one that was asked what H/S and travel ball team she plays for. The coaches spent more time standing behind her nodding their heads and saying good pitch than any of the other girls.