SB Canada ADM

Not at all sure that any age pitcher should be looking to "develop" or "refine" six pitches...I like Cindy Bristow's comment in the article below " I've never once called a pitcher's 5th best pitch." I'd personally way rather spend my time reading these types of articles than long policy documents....

Lori Cook Baird Pitching
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July 29 ·
If you have a pitching coach offering to take your money to teach your daughter a rise, drop, curve, screw, and change in a short amount of time... RUN the other direction‼️ 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️
If you have a pitching coach offering to take your money to teach your daughter 8-9 pitches, RUN the other direction‼️🏃‍♀️
The best pitchers in the world have 3-4 pitches at most and they’ve been working on them for 15-20 years!!! 💯 Why would your 10 year old need 3 pitches? She doesn’t! Solid location with pinpoint control and a great change can control a game even through high school!
What are the STEPS to becoming a successful pitcher? It is a PROCESS and there aren’t any shortcuts. You cannot cheat the GRIND. 💪
I recommend that you find a pitching coach that focuses on the following:
1. Safe and Efficient Mechanics. What does this mean? It means that your posture, balance, alignment and timing is SO GOOD that you can pitch between two GLASS WALLS the width of the pitcher’s plate. If your daughter is throwing her glove out to the side, not only is she losing speed, but she will eventually injure herself. It may not hurt now, but I’ve seen a fractured back, low back pain, upper back pain, and nerve impingements from this basic form deficiency. Form before pitches! Basic pitching 101. If a pitching coach is teaching “pitches” to someone that has mechanical deficiencies that will eventually lead to injury or make it impossible to break the 55 mph speed barrier, then he/she is taking your money knowing that 90 percent of all pitchers QUIT by age 14. He/she doesn’t truly care about the pitchers’ long term health or success.
2. Topspin with pinpoint location. What is topspin? It is commonly called a fastball, but aren’t all pitches fast except for a changeup? It is a pitch that spins from 12-6 like a ball rolling on the ground from the pitcher to the catcher. This is the first pitch any pitcher should learn. It is commonly called a “fastball”, but the true name for it is a PEEL DROP. Stripe the ball to make sure that you are throwing topspin. You can throw two (will cut left or right AND drop) or four seam (drops straight down) top spin, it doesn’t matter. We WANT ground balls! This pitch will “feed the infield”! As a pitcher grows and becomes more experienced, she/he will learn how to rip the seams and make this pitch dive straight down! It is an awesome pitch and all pitchers MUST have it.
3. Be able to LOCATE the “baby peel drop”/aka “fastball” PITCH any place you want WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED. If you can do this, then you have solid muscle memory and your mental imagery is firmly established. Nothing can rock your form at this point. This takes years to get to this point. Stay steady and on course.
4. Develop a nasty CHANGE UP. This is the second most important pitch. Upsetting a batter’s timing is key. Pick a changeup and master it. The magic is in the putting the ball deep in the palm of your hand and locking your wrist. All grips are just “tricks” to assist in preventing the fingers from ripping the seams. Pick your own personal favorite and make it work for YOU! The best changeups have tight backspin or topspin and will result in fly balls or grounds balls. But HOW to throw them is a personal thing. Pick one and master it! Or better yet, invent your own! 😍
3. Develop a RISE ball. It may take up to two years to get this pitch on the 6-12 axis. I usually wait until my pitchers are in the 8th grade to begin this process. That way she has it on the correct axis by 10th grade. Any earlier and the pitch turns into a high fastball. Be patient and don’t give up! It’s worth it! This pitch takes hard work and dedication and you cannot cheat the grind! If it were easy, then everyone would have one. 💪💪💪 How badly do you want it? This pitch will separate the weak from the strong. The patient from the hurried. The quitters from the fighters. Keep your eye on the prize and stay focused and on course! 🎯
4. If you’ve mastered these three pitches and you have tons of extra time in your hands, then consider adding a curve to your pitching tool box. By this time, your form should be locked in and you will be strong enough to safely and efficiently create this spin with your fingers and wrist and NOT by stepping right and slinging the ball left. Also, your beautiful form will be so committed to muscle memory that bullet spin is unlikely to slip into your pitches at this stage in your training.
The great Cindy Bristow once said, “I’ve NEVER called anyone’s FIFTH best pitch.” 💯💯💯
LCB SUGGESTIONS:
⚠️Don’t waste your time on learning lateral pitches unless you have mastered the vertical ones. Any time spent on these pitches is time that you COULD have spent on pitches that move up and down. Why settle for five mediocre pitches rather than two outstanding vertical pitches and a changeup? The horizontal pitches should only be considered AFTER you have MASTERED the drop, change, and rise. Do you want to be average? Or do you want to be an ELITE pitcher?
⚠️FACT: I rarely see girls throwing TRUE 9-3 or 3-9 curve spin. 🙁 It is almost ALWAYS bullet spin 🤢 and the girls are risking injury to throw it! Elbows are popping out! Hands are NOT tight to the body upon release! And girls are leaving their power lines to throw angled pitches that do NOT break! Girls have elbows, shoulders, and backs that are hurting from growing this pitch improperly! 🤕 They are being taught this pitch at too YOUNG of an age! Not only are they getting hurt, but their basic drop/fastball form is often altered (pitchers begin pitching sidebarm) resulting in bullet spin on the fastball/drop-ball as well. 😱
⚠️FACT: In 32 years of umpiring and 41 years in this game, I’ve NEVER seen a TRUE screw ball. EVER. 😳 I’m not saying it doesn’t exist, but I personally have never seen it. I’ve seen thousands of pitchers step to the FAR left or right (illegal in college ball) and throw an angled bullet spin drifts to the inside corner and gets belted over the fence! However, I’ve never seen one BREAK. Can the pitcher step straight toward the batter over the power line and get lateral movement? Or does she have to leave the pitching tunnel to create the illegal angle? In fact, I’ve never seen the true 3-9 or 9-3 saucer screw spin that would be required for a ball to break left or right. I would LOVE to see it! I want to believe it’s real. But I haven’t.
⚠️Question:
WHY would you ever want to throw a pitch (bullet spin) that doesn’t break?!!! Why throw flat and fat?!! This pitch is not only a time suck that puts the pitcher at risk for elbow, shoulder, and back pain, but it gets hit HARD! That is why I call it a “220”. Why does it get taken yard more than any other pitch? It doesn’t have any Magnus Force pushing it up or down, so will NOT reverse spin off of the bat (no pop ups or ground balls). Instead it will be hit STRAIGHT and FAR if the batter makes contact! Instead, throw an inside pitch that actually DOES BREAK and has a higher likelihood of producing ground outs and fly outs!
Outs friends! We want outs! Strikeouts are fun, but a 21 pitch game is a “perfect game” in my opinion. Afterall, it is a TEAM sport. 🤗