need some help with pitching

Some kids just have trouble pitching off a mound. If that is the case, then he should get more practice throwing off one. Another thing would be to find a common point to release the ball.

Mine (RHP) had the same problem. Traced it down to not staying closed long enough. He was opening his shoulders too soon, and his arm was a little soon coming through the zone. It was only a little timing thing, early in the year, but he fixed it himself.

He may have to be able to fix the same thing during the game, so he needs to be his own pitching coach.

He knows that glove side problems tend to cause the ball to be inside or outside (this problem was glove side) and posture problems tend to be shown by the ball being up or down.

An awful lot of location problems early in the year tend to be timing related, but take a look at the glove side for this one. (just a wag, haven't seen him throw, so don't know)

"You should enter a ballpark the way you enter a church." Bill -Spaceman- Lee

thanks for the help. he has a tournament in dallas this weekend and the team is going to need him. we were told to change his arm angle a little and that it would help but i think thats easier said than done.

Is the problem that the movement is inconsistent and he's not sure where it is going? Or is it that the movement is pretty consistent and predictable, but he can't make the adjustment so that the pitch runs to his spot?

Steve

"It might be, it could be, it is.........

I know this is completely off base - but have you had his eyes tested? He might need his vision correcting. Very few parents think of this but at the school where I work we see kids all the time who cant see, the board, the computer, the page. My sons needs glasses to pitch. Just a thought.

Please....Don't mess around with his arm angle! It should find it's own natural slot!

Let him find his groove, but for goodness sakes don't mess with the arm angle

"You should enter a ballpark the way you enter a church." Bill -Spaceman- Lee

I tend to be thinking in the same lines as pitchinside. Good movement is a great thing, but if he is not finding the zone I would focus on his glove-side arm. If he is missing inside/outside, he could well be causing it with the glove-side. Many kids get in the habit of pulling out with the golve (toward second) and it causes them to pull the shoulder out early. Have him try to focus on pulling down with the glove-side arm. This will force him to get on top of the ball and keep his shoulder in until it must rotate open.

http://www.highviewheat.com/index.asp

http://www.kristensfastpitchworld.com/index.asp

Many kids lose control because they do not stride to a balanced front leg and rotate the torso around this point. High mounds often having them throwing before the front leg firms up . Concentrate on getting the front leg down sooner( not over striding) amd maintaining balanced position. You cannot hit with the front leg in the air and you cannot pitch with the front leg in the air.

Watch the sequence and see if he starts his throwing motion before his front leg is firm and his head over his belly button

a little late with this reply but 2 simple things might help
1. ensure he is on top of the ball (wrist behind ball not under)
2. four seam fastball not 2 seam

check these 2 simple fixes before changing much else

ghoti
You say that you son got good velocity, and that's good, but most of the time, when a pitcher got problems to find a strike zone is because the are over throwing. First the coach most take care of him in a practice then reduce his speed, until he finds the strike zone. Once he got his control he will use his stuff(speed)and hit the target. Good luck

ghoti...in my experience, almost all things are cured by consistent mechanics and balance. Once HS baseball begins the bullpens and the drills are mostly left behind due to playing 3 games a week. If he is primarily a pitcher, he has to work everyday on consistent mechanics and I recommend from flat ground. A good bullpen 35-40 pitches from the mound two days before his start will produce the results from the drills.

A good coach that knows his quirks is very necessary. I would never change an arm angle at this stage. Good Luck!

"If you can imagine it you can create it. If you can dream it, you can become it". William Arthur Ward

"Baseball is Life"

I hesitate to post in such a technical discussion, but would like to add my two cents. I don't know much about pitching mechanics, but do watch two things when my son is on the mound. First is balance - the longer he is able to stay in balance (head over belly button) as he heads toward the plate when he is throwing, the better he seems to pitch. The second is his extension -- by that I mean what his right and left arms are doing. I think his coach calls it 'opposite and opposing balance'. Basically what I think that means is that when his left elbow/arm is extended out in front of his body, his right elbow/arm should mirror that behind his body. Someone with more baseball knowledge than I can undoubtedly explain it better, but those are the two things that seem to make the most difference from my perspective.

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I call it "opposite and equal" (fm Dr. Tom House), but your right on the Money!

I think that the trowing arm belongs (It's motion/ movement) should be natural to the pitcher, and the glove should "mirror" the arm.



By the way ghoti, how'd he do in Dalles?



"Ain't no man can avoid being born average, but there ain't no man got to be common." Satchel Paige

14 yrs old lefty throwing 76-78.
Control will come with maturity, but focus on proper mechanics, arm health and devolping velocity.

It is all about balance and rhythm when pitching--- get someone with pitching knowledge to watch him throw--many times it is just a bit of tweaking that makes it all right

TRhit

It is very difficult for even the best instructors to see all that goes on. My son's best instruction has come from guys who view a slo mo tape of him from front, back, sides, and rear. Good video with a knowledgeable instructor and a lot of progress can be made to smooth out ones motion.

the Florida Bombers
"I love the HSBBW"

Thanks, Pitchinside - not that my son listens to me or anything...

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