Yips are gone

My P/OF 16yo is starting to develop the yips. He is fine on the mound, and throwing from distance. It is only when warming up, from distances between 40-70'. Once he gets to around 90' he's fine, and is very accurate to distances as long as 280'. His accuracy is fine doing tempo catch.

    He has a strong arm, and is healthy. Up till this winter he had nerve pain in his elbow when pitching, but totally revamped his motion, giving him 8-10MPH more on his fastball, and allowing him to throw a ball 70' longer in long toss, all with no pain.

    I try to tell him it could be worse, as OF'ers don't really have to worry about 50' throws, but he gets embarrassed warming up before games. His throw can be 10' over his partners head, or he can spike it 10' in front of him.

@Nikki posted:

Thank you for the tips.  They make a lot of sense.  I agree that it most likely is not over.  What what I have read it definitely takes time and we are only a couple of weeks into it.  He did tell me last night that he did not want to talk about it--as if he can simply believe it is gone.  I definitely agree that the next step is to throw with friends--but he will throw with the team in practice Thursday night--ready or not!

Any update on your son? Has there been anything he's tried that has helped more than other tips?

@TerribleBPthrower posted:

Any update on your son? Has there been anything he's tried that has helped more than other tips?

Thank you so much for checking.  He started by throwing in his cage to a target on the wall and throwing outside to his dad.  He has now thrown with friends, his coach, and at team practice and he has gotten his speed back.  Every now and then he throws a wild one--but overall he seems to be working out of it.  Our next tournament begins tomorrow so we will see how he does in game situations--that will be the true test.  I will say--we haven't really made a huge deal out of it and he feels like he has gotten it licked.  

Unfortunately, this article doesn't add anything to the "cure for yips" conversation, but it's a cool story.

https://www.si.com/mlb/2020/07...ips-colorado-rockies

Great read.  Thanks MidAtlanticDad!

Great article. 

This past weekend I was watching my son's tournament. His team was visitor and the third out was made to switch. As the pitcher was warming up, I said to my wife "look, that catcher has the same issue as TBPson." I could see him lobbing the ball awkwardly but effectively back to the pitcher. Throw down to second was a rocket and right on the back. With 2 outs a kid chased a ball in the dirt. Catcher blocks and kills it, picks it up, takes a few steps to make the tag but he was late. He went to make the throw, hesitated, then sailed it over the 1b head. A couple parents laughed somewhat loud and I gave them a stern look and they quieted themselves immediately. It was one of the worst feelings I can remember having at a baseball game knowing what that kid is going through. 

One positive I've taken away from this, my son's arm doesn't get sore from throwing too much in a game these days. The lob back to the pitcher takes a ton of stress off the arm.

2022 is in short CF, and makes a throw home to nail a runner tagging up. The ball hits 25' up on the backstop. The coach(P5 LHP who is no stranger to arm problems)says, "Next time, just throw it over the backstop!" as a way to defuse the tension. It worked, laughs all round. 

Yips persist, and are now invading the mound where he is now babying the ball in. Velo is WAY down...I know what you are thinking, but no...zero pain.

  That, together with a slump at the plate. It's a tough game, sometimes.

My son wasn’t in pain either. Tried one of the top psychologist you will find online. Ended up his growth plate wasn’t coming together in his elbow and he had a pin put in the bones to bring them together. So...i think it was a growth issue that turned mental.

@57special posted:

2022 is in short CF, and makes a throw home to nail a runner tagging up. The ball hits 25' up on the backstop. The coach(P5 LHP who is no stranger to arm problems)says, "Next time, just throw it over the backstop!" as a way to defuse the tension. It worked, laughs all round. 

Yips persist, and are now invading the mound where he is now babying the ball in. Velo is WAY down...I know what you are thinking, but no...zero pain.

  That, together with a slump at the plate. It's a tough game, sometimes.

Will your son throw hard during a pen?

He’s a catcher. And yes. He throws hard now. We also put him on a low dose of Zoloft to help with the anxiety. He was not sleeping or eating well and constantly worried about games and throwing.

He has been gradually throwing slower and slower since May, when he reached his top velo. He's been obsessing about his breaking pitches, but mainly his pre throw catch routine(he is a OF/P), which has now bled into his OF between inning routine. Is now bouncing the ball to the other OF'er...not a good look.

  Zero pain in his arm, and can throw the ball around 320' when playing long toss.

 

 In general, though, he can throw the ball quite hard once he gets to a mid range distance of around 120+'. Around 200' he is quite accurate, and can throw hard.

  

@57special posted:

He has been gradually throwing slower and slower since May, when he reached his top velo. He's been obsessing about his breaking pitches, but mainly his pre throw catch routine(he is a OF/P), which has now bled into his OF between inning routine. Is now bouncing the ball to the other OF'er...not a good look.

  Zero pain in his arm, and can throw the ball around 320' when playing long toss.

 

 In general, though, he can throw the ball quite hard once he gets to a mid range distance of around 120+'. Around 200' he is quite accurate, and can throw hard.

  

My son played OF a few weeks ago and was doing the same thing for his warm ups. It looked lazy but I knew he just couldn’t do it. My main concern is he’s going to make a max intent throw and not be warmed up resulting in an injury. 

When you say he’s progressively throwing slower, what is the difference from May until now?

I noticed something funny this past weekend. My son can throw to third on steal or a bunt play, but can't throw to third after a strikeout. He has to chuck it down there sidearm. This condition is so weird. 

@TerribleBPthrower posted:

My son played OF a few weeks ago and was doing the same thing for his warm ups. It looked lazy but I knew he just couldn’t do it. My main concern is he’s going to make a max intent throw and not be warmed up resulting in an injury. 

When you say he’s progressively throwing slower, what is the difference from May until now?

 Has lost 10-12 mph on the mound. He's all disjointed at this point. Tempo catch he's still accurate, if not very accurate. If he has any time to think, he's lost.

@57special posted:

 Has lost 10-12 mph on the mound. He's all disjointed at this point. Tempo catch he's still accurate, if not very accurate. If he has any time to think, he's lost.

do you see a difference when he's throwing a bullpen compared to a game? 

We'll see today, but in general, I'd say, yes. He is much worse in games, but he is also highly conscious of trying not to walk people, as he is on a summer team that is the worst I've ever seen in that regard, and he doesn't want to add to the problem.The yips seem to have affected his whole game. Made him hesitant.

It's just a difficult summer season in general.

Just wanted to check in and see how everyone whose son is struggling has been doing. My son wrapped up the Wilson Premier on Sunday. He played mostly C but had a few innings at 2B. Overall, his throwing was the best I've seen in a long time. His throws to the mound are still a little awkward looking, but every throw gets there without the pitcher needing to make spectacular catches. Throws to the bases are right on the bag and the velo has picked up quite a bit with the added weight.

What do you guys think worked the best for your kids?  Softball player who plays third developed yips and can't play catch much less throw to first.  Bounces it or air mails it.  Was going to take off this fall but is junior and highly recruited.  Coaches want to see her play even though she can't throw good.  They even moved her to second and she still could not throw accurately.  I suggested taking a little time off and hope she cleared her head as most I read seems to think it is mental if not an injury.  Thoughts?  The sad part is for her it is only about 40 feet and second was 20 feet.  She started crying a little while back it was so bad.  Told her dad I don't want to play this game.  His response was to make her throw until it fixed itself and made her arm sore. 

@PitchingFan posted:

What do you guys think worked the best for your kids?  Softball player who plays third developed yips and can't play catch much less throw to first.  Bounces it or air mails it.  Was going to take off this fall but is junior and highly recruited.  Coaches want to see her play even though she can't throw good.  They even moved her to second and she still could not throw accurately.  I suggested taking a little time off and hope she cleared her head as most I read seems to think it is mental if not an injury.  Thoughts?  The sad part is for her it is only about 40 feet and second was 20 feet.  She started crying a little while back it was so bad.  Told her dad I don't want to play this game.  His response was to make her throw until it fixed itself and made her arm sore. 

We did just about every possible drill or routine imaginable. Based on what you described, maybe take her to a racquetball court and just have her throw it against the wall. Let her feel what it is like to throw again without worrying where it is going. Then you can start giving targets on the wall.

Another thing that gave instant results but wasn't a cure was throwing with the lightest Driveline ball. Started slow and then added velo when he was comfortable. When he picked up a regular ball he could throw it anywhere he wanted. 

What seems to have helped the most is his warm up routine his catching coach gave him. He starts both feet and shoulders facing the target about 15-20' apart and just works on kind of flipping the ball and really feeling the ball and backspin. Then he'll go into almost like a rocker throw but feet and shoulders still facing the target from about 30'. Then he'll finally go into a rocker throw at 45-50'. Once he gets into regular throws he does an exaggerated step in with his right foot which really forces the left side to swing around and close. He'll do this out to 90' and then it is smooth sailing. I think the reason this works is it forces his body into position to make a throw rather than constantly thinking about his mechanics.

@TerribleBPthrower posted:

We did just about every possible drill or routine imaginable. Based on what you described, maybe take her to a racquetball court and just have her throw it against the wall. Let her feel what it is like to throw again without worrying where it is going. Then you can start giving targets on the wall.

Another thing that gave instant results but wasn't a cure was throwing with the lightest Driveline ball. Started slow and then added velo when he was comfortable. When he picked up a regular ball he could throw it anywhere he wanted. 

What seems to have helped the most is his warm up routine his catching coach gave him. He starts both feet and shoulders facing the target about 15-20' apart and just works on kind of flipping the ball and really feeling the ball and backspin. Then he'll go into almost like a rocker throw but feet and shoulders still facing the target from about 30'. Then he'll finally go into a rocker throw at 45-50'. Once he gets into regular throws he does an exaggerated step in with his right foot which really forces the left side to swing around and close. He'll do this out to 90' and then it is smooth sailing. I think the reason this works is it forces his body into position to make a throw rather than constantly thinking about his mechanics.

@PitchingFan posted:

What do you guys think worked the best for your kids?  Softball player who plays third developed yips and can't play catch much less throw to first.  Bounces it or air mails it.  Was going to take off this fall but is junior and highly recruited.  Coaches want to see her play even though she can't throw good.  They even moved her to second and she still could not throw accurately.  I suggested taking a little time off and hope she cleared her head as most I read seems to think it is mental if not an injury.  Thoughts?  The sad part is for her it is only about 40 feet and second was 20 feet.  She started crying a little while back it was so bad.  Told her dad I don't want to play this game.  His response was to make her throw until it fixed itself and made her arm sore. 

PitchingFan:  My son is a catcher.  He originally had problems throwing to first and then it became an inability to even throw back to the pitcher.  This started early June.  We have played several tournaments at this point and have not had another weird throw during a tournament since July--however, he has lost some confidence and some speed, he still has an off throw if he needs to throw it around and his throws back to the pitcher are "so-so"--you can tell he is thinking about it, but he gets it there.  We just played a Perfect Game tournament and he threw great when it counted.    One thing (which I believe came from TerribleBPThrower's son) was to go to a baseball field and throw to the pitcher blindfolded--this really helped him get a feel for the ball and realize that his body knows how to do this.  He has also spent A LOT of extra time throwing with his dad, doing drills, weighted balls, etc. 

Another thing that I believe was extremely helpful was I let him take a look at some of the comments on this thread--my purpose was --this happens to A LOT of people and A LOT of people have struggled with it and overcome it.  It is not always career ending.  You can work through it and overcome it.  Unfortunately, when you first Google this--pretty much the Sports Psychologist ads come up and make it sounds like they have the only "cure" and it may be career ending.  I agree that there is a mental/emotional component--but I think that immediately going to a psychologist may magnify that aspect instead of reducing it.  I will say that after throwing pretty well for several weeks, my son had his first baseball workout at a new school.  He was extremely nervous and as a result, he did not throw well during warm-up...even had a senior yell--"we are in high school, you have to be able to throw at this level".  My son was ticked.  However, now the high school coach and team are aware of what is going on...their awareness seems to help my son...he has nothing to hide because they know.  He went back to the next practice with a chip on his shoulder and threw extremely well.   One other thing that helps is he is hitting really well.  His take on this--he is working through it.   There has also been some positive character building in my son as a result.  It has brought some humility and recognition of how to be intentional about help others when they are struggling.

@PitchingFan posted:

What do you guys think worked the best for your kids?  Softball player who plays third developed yips and can't play catch much less throw to first.  Bounces it or air mails it.  Was going to take off this fall but is junior and highly recruited.  Coaches want to see her play even though she can't throw good.  They even moved her to second and she still could not throw accurately.  I suggested taking a little time off and hope she cleared her head as most I read seems to think it is mental if not an injury.  Thoughts?  The sad part is for her it is only about 40 feet and second was 20 feet.  She started crying a little while back it was so bad.  Told her dad I don't want to play this game.  His response was to make her throw until it fixed itself and made her arm sore. 

There was a kid like this on my son’s high school team. The high school coach would only DH the kid once the situation got really bad. This kid was moved from third to second. He was bouncing throws to first from second. One time he froze before throwing. It’s the only time I’ve even seen a hitter beat the throw on a routine grounder to second.

The dad came to me (a travel coach, not his) and asked what the kid should do at a showcase or tournament in the summer. I told the kid just fire the ball and show your throwing velocity even if the ball ends up in the third row. 

A player can’t get over yips by pushing the ball. They have to continue firing it. It’s not uncommon for a kid with yips to lose their mechanics without realizing it. Keep an eye on the footwork and throwing angle.

There are good days, and bad days. Today was a bad day.

We are at the WWBA this weekend. My son was not in the field last night because he was catching today. So after the game yesterday he tells me his throwing was way off warming up and in the pen. I thought “would have been nice to know this at the field instead of on the way to the hotel”. Stopped at Dicks to buy a new Victus because his cracked in BP. There was some open grass so we go out to have a game of catch. Wowza! When he says off, he was WAY off. Looked at him and said “I don’t care where this goes, but you need to throw the next ball hard because it’s getting dark and we don’t have time to fix it”. First two throws he lets rip but short hops. The next 20 or so he drills me right in the chest. He said he was good and came up and gave me a huge hug. Today he was throwing dimes all over the place. Super accurate and hard. 

https://www.mlb.com/news/tyler...ut-2020-nl-wild-card

@MidAtlanticDad posted:

https://www.mlb.com/news/tyler...ut-2020-nl-wild-card

Nice to see another story of overcoming this.  

I passed on the information from this section to a high level softball recruit who developed them and could not throw from second to first much less from third to first.  Dad implemented many of the strategies on here and this past weekend in front of the school she is going to commit to was error free in two games.  She finally got her confidence back and produced.  Thanks to everyone even though it was not my kid.

Pitching Fan--That is what I like to hear!  Hoping confidence comes back for mine soon.  We are getting there--lots of improvement but not a return to normal yet---getting through this for us does not appear to be a straight line!

The dad thinks the number one thing was she threw every day for a week with a blindfold on for 50 throws to regain her confidence in the throw.  It also helped that her teammates ran over to her and celebrated when she threw a rocket to first the first ball that came to her.  She said it was a little embarrassing but she knew they had her back.  RF told her after the inning I'm glad you're back because I'm tired of chasing your balls down every time one is hit to you. 

@PitchingFan posted:

I passed on the information from this section to a high level softball recruit who developed them and could not throw from second to first much less from third to first.  Dad implemented many of the strategies on here and this past weekend in front of the school she is going to commit to was error free in two games.  She finally got her confidence back and produced.  Thanks to everyone even though it was not my kid.

This is freakin awesome! Thank you for the update. Another example of why this site exists

I’ve mentioned before that my son does a firm lob (best way to describe it) because he can’t throw back to the pitcher. Well, after the entire summer and a super competitive fall a kid finally tried to steal home on the throw back. The pitcher was taking his hat off on every pitch while receiving the throw from the C. They got the kid out, but I give the kid credit for seeing the opportunity.

Then the next day my son just decided to start firing the ball back to the pitcher again. Hasn’t done that since January. My wife and I were excited to see it but still haven’t said anything to him. I’m praying he can keep it up.

My kid is a lobber in recovery, but every now and then he would regress. Having a smart, aggressive and greedy base runner is the best remedy imo.

Wanted to put this up for those whose kids are currently going through the yips. In March he couldn’t throw a ball to me 40 feet away. I saw this on Twitter from Friday night (parents weren’t allowed inside the facility) and thought, holy ****, that’s my kid letting it rip back to the pitcher.

He seemed very relaxed in throwing back to the pitcher. Can't wait to hear about him throwing out a runner !!!!!

@Adams Baseball posted:

He seemed very relaxed in throwing back to the pitcher. Can't wait to hear about him throwing out a runner !!!!!

The weird thing is he never had a problem throwing to 2b or while playing SS. It started out with throws to the P and the corners. He worked through throwing to the corners in a few weeks, but throwing to the P was an ongoing issue.

I had the yips in high school throwing to first. Fortunately, being a LHP I froze runners with my leg. If they forced me to throw over I was exposed.

A Legion teammate had such bad yips on comebackers he ran most of the way to first before tossing the ball underhand.

Ever see Jon Lester’s move when he developed the yips? It got so bad for a while runners would get 18-20 foot leads knowing there was no way Lester could pick them off.

https://www.stack.com/a/the-ps...-throw-to-first-base

A C alum from my son's school said he had it so bad he would try to throw long hops to the bags and would roll it back to the P with runners on. He ended up at a P5 and was drafted.

A lot to digest here.

https://treadathletics.com/yips/

Nice article MAD. In not so scientific terms, we found that when there was time to think about the throw it was bad. When it was a bang bang play he was fine. Warming up before the game was absolutely awful until he got out to 75’ or so

Figured I'd revive this thread and see how everyone struggling with this is doing. My son was doing pretty well in the preseason bullpens until he had to catch a pitcher on the left pen (there are some plants next to that mound). He threw a few balls into the plants and also hit the ace standing off to the side. Prior to that he was letting it rip back to the pitcher. Now he's back to a very awkward throw to the pitcher, but it gets there. I overheard a couple dads during pitcher warmups in the first inning about how they were going to run all over this catcher. When he threw down to second they both said "oh" at the same time. My wife laughed.

He's struggled the past couple games on outside throws to first on dropped 3rds, but I think it is more related to a recent back injury than yips.

Hi TerribleBPThrower, My son reports to me that he is doing well--he has not come out of a practice looking downcast--which if he thought that it was back--it would show all over his face.  We are not allowed inside so I am not able to see for myself yet.  We haven't played a game yet so that will be the true test.  There has not been a lot of on the field practice either so hard to say.  I will keep you posted!  Praying for success of all our players facing this in high school; it is hard to watch and takes some of the fun out of the game.  I would have loved to laugh with your wife as the dads said "OH"!