Throwing Consistent Strikes

Would like to see video of him. But i would start with putting him on a 2x4 and making sure his stride did not fall off the board. There might be alot of issues with his lower body and his glove also but without video its hard to guess.

Without video here is something I learned from Vern Ruhle at a conference. If a player, out of the stretch set with his stride foot toes behind or even in some cases even with his post foot toes his hips are not lined up with the plate even though it feels that way. This leads to missing outside. If he sets up closed, stride foot toes in front of post foot toes his hips are in line with the target and he will stay closed and be more consistent. This was the answer I got when I explained what you just explained to me.

Video would definitely help in providing assitance. I will say that coach_Dave and IEBSBL have made some good comments.

This might also be a case of a kid not being used to his new body after a growth spurt. A 6'4 14 year old doesn't fall in the normal range of age / height proportions. I'm willing to bet that he went through a rapid period of growth and he hasn't gotten over the awkwardness that comes with a growth spurt.

If he had success at pitching at an earlier age then have him work on the side with his mechanics to get back in sync. Possibly find an instructor who can work with him breaking down his mechanics to get him used to them again.

But I would try these two guys ideas first because it may be a simple fix.

Thanks for the replies. I will try to put some video together.

Not to throw water on the discussion, but what does “throwing consistent strikes” mean? Kinda tough to offer help to someone when you don’t know what it is he’s looking for. If its just having his kid stop missing consistently to his glove side, that’s one thing, but that really doesn’t have a lot to do with throwing strikes consistently to me. I’d say it was more missing consistently.

greenmonster, how have you quantified this problem? Do you chart his pitches or is this just an observance of yours?

Thanks again for all of the input. Here is an effort to create some video. This video was after a little bit of help from a coach focusing on using his bottom half and maintaining posture.

First time trying to post a clip, so hope this works.

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

Green, he looks pretty good.
At 50seconds I really like his body control, like the way he is coming straight down the mound.
Then the next pitch he misses arm-side high and his elbow is really low on that pitch,
Just a few thoughts after a veer quick view

Needs to work the wall drill for sure. And it looks to me like he doesnt have his weight over his toes prior to him starting. Also i dont like the way he steps out towards home plate instead of gliding. The side of his foot should go to home plate and not his toes until almost foot strike. Also needs some work on his glove side taking his body to the glove instead of pulling the glove to his body wich will cause flying open. Good looking arm lots of potential.

good find Dave: he does flick his left foot toward the 3rd base dugout. What Coach Dave is saying, and i agree, have him try to smooth this out by using an arc that will bring the outstep of his cleat around and down to footstrike.

that will help keep him 'back'. best wishes

It sounds like he's "flying open". A lot of times pitchers will pull their front side open, instead of driving their front side directly to the target. When a pitcher's body flies open to the outside his arm is sure to follow, therefore causing everything to be left of the plate for a right handed pitcher. This also causes pitchers to fall off the mound and puts them into a poistion where they cant field the ball if it's hit back to them or bunted down the 3rd base line.
My dad has actually created a pretty cool device that helps pitchers with this problem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3QBPOA8I9E

ALWAYS remember, throwing and pitching are two different things. There is so much emphasis placed on throwing hard that hitting spots and throwing with a purpose is often forgot.

LEARN THE SKILL FIRST
Lessons can teach form, but only repetition can build muscle memory that will improve accuracy. It's like teaching a two year old how to catch... remember, you are teaching a skill, "catching".... not catching a baseball. So throw a sock and throw it with increased speed to teach the skill through repetition... then once the skill is taught, introduce a baseball.

The same principles can be applied to all ages when it comes to teaching how to pinpoint control and get outs. There are some shocking statistics like 87% of walks lead to a run that make it obvious that if you eliminate walks, you can eliminate runs... reduce total pitch count... save your arm... and get more wins!

There is a great program out there that you might want to check out. You can find it at SNIPERPitching.com. It is a progressive program that can teach a pitcher pinpoint control by progressing through different levels of difficulty. Kind of like earning a Black Belt in Karate. It delivers the necessary repetitions to master control and deliver the ball to the exact place the pitcher wants. Check it out and good luck with your son!