thouhgts on working a pitcher

What is you thoughts on working a pithcher 5th grade up, to 12th 1,2,3,4,or 5 nights a week

 

My dd started lessons in the 5th grade once a week and pitched another 4 nights, she is now in the 8th and we still do the same. we work for aprox. 1hr and 15 to 30min. throwing fast bl,chng up, screw ball, drop,rise and curve. some people say i work her too hard and thats too much but she throws in the low 60s and has a great chng up and rise, i dont think she could have achieved this without that kind of work.If she complained it would be different.

 

For starters if your DD wants to be a pitcher, then she has to realize that it isn't like playing Cntr fld. Being a pitcher takes practice EVERYDAY! You MUST be committed to this! If you want to be the best, you must do more than the rest! You don't need to be obsessive with it either! See how long it takes to throw the pitches she throws and the drills she does, and let that be your guide as to how long to practice. As she gets older, she should be able to tweek her practice time as necessary! Up through MS, should be 2 lessons per week, then once HS 1 a week should be ok, and in on season TB only tune-ups, use off season TB to do regular lessons! You mentioned one particular junk pitch,(DB) that I don't feel a kid of her age should throw yet, but for the rest sounds like you are on the right track. DON"T force her to practice! ENCOURAGE her, YES, SUPPORT her, YES, EXPECT TRUE EFFORT from her, YES! If she wants to be a pitcher, in the top of the stack of pitchers, then she will do what has to be done! Let her know that there will always be someone knocking on her door, to take that mound away from her, be honest and realistic with her and she will decide for herself, what goals she wants to achieve! If you force her, it will just be one big fight every time you go to practice! That will take a lot of the fun out of it, for you both! Make sure she understands that if you want it you have to take it, no one will give it to you! I have found that it works better for the pitching coach to do the constructive criticizing, because it is accepted better, when it comes from a parent, it is usually met with "you don't know what you are talking about" attitude! I think it would be helpful to video pitching lessons and have your DD watch them, she not only gets to see first hand what the coach is saying, but you have the benefit of the coach saying it on video, and you don't have to say it, saving you and your DD a fight! Just trying to help you avoid what thousands of parents before you have dealt with! To sum up, DON'T FORCE her, teach/guide her to FORCE HERSELF!

 

In my opinion the key to it is for the kid to have a lively arm at 17 years of age. Quite a few hard throwers didn't even start pitching until they got to high school and UNC's Radara McHugh did start pitching until she was a senior in HS. Be careful with their arms! 300 to 400 pitches a day seems a bit much to me, but that is just my opinion.

 

Kinda In The Middle---JMO

I can see Cheeze's thoughts, and Chachacha's thoughts, I'm a big fan on practice to achieve full muscle memory,but I have also seen one of the best pitchers,or could have been one of the best pitchers at 14 & under give up pitching,because of the continual driving her to pitch,and BURN OUT occurred, but a pitcher must practice at least 3-4 times a week to achieve dominance on the hill facing her opponents...mixing up pitches will help to establish good muscle memory,and good control to hit her spots consistantly...being a parent and knowing when not to go over-board with your kid is another thread title---LOL.....GURU

 

Iwas told by several that you couldnt wait until hs to start pitching, you would never be able to catch up to the girls that have been pitching since 4th or 5th grade.TOOOOOO much to learn not saying it cant be done but she would have to be a special girl!

 

Amen Guru!

AMEN, Guru, I agree WHOLE HEARTEDLY!

 

You nedd to

YOU NEED TO:
You first have to know your DD! Every kid is different! I agree that most can't wait until HS to start and expect to be dominate! There is probably a few that could do it! Not a great idea, arm speaking! But if you start them, and BURN them out before HS, what good have you done? They should be the one to start themselves! I say again, it takes entirely too much committment and dedication to make that decision for them!