3 Ways to Know if You "Have" a Pitch
/What happens when a pitcher throws a riseball down the middle that doesn’t move? A bomb! Her opponent trots around each of the bases, waving at her adoring fans, high-fiving her first and third base coaches, gazing triumphantly over the center-field fence where her ball landed.
The real problem, though, is that the pitcher supposes it didn’t move because of the home run. In actuality, she couldn’t really tell if it moved or not. Pitchers and parents must learn what a ball looks like when it moves.
One way to start “seeing” if the ball moves is by watching advanced pitchers. Go to the 18U practices with your travel organization. Ask the coach which pitchers have great pitches. Then stand behind them and see what it looks like. Parents, put your mask on and ask to catch. For that matter, pitchers should put equipment on and catch, too.
Placing visual aids in between the pitcher and home plate works great. At pitching school, we put a pool noodle on a plunger handle so it stands up vertically. After the 11-year-olds stop asking what the heck that thing is, we try it out. A curveball, for example, must start on one side of the noodle and end on the other.
The pre-season (January through March) provides pitchers with the highest potential for improvement in accuracy and movement. That’s when we stop changing mechanics, switch to tweaking them, and instead work on repetition and spin.
Even 10-year-olds can learn movement pitches. If I were to wait until a pitcher perfected her fastball to teach her a curveball, we might be waiting until she is in high school or even college! Softball is not a game of perfect.
The main thing about deciding whether or not to throw her new movement pitches in games is that she be honest with herself. Now, one of the conditions of “having” a pitch is that she can execute it in a game. The catch here, obviously, is that pitchers must start throwing it in games well before she “has” it, to see what needs to be worked on.
In my opinion, a pitcher “has” a pitch when:
She is able to hit 4 out of 10 spots.
The pitch moves correctly.
She does this in a game.
The goal is for advanced pitchers in high school to be able to pitch at least 60% strikes for a fastball, changeup, and at least one movement pitch. If she can accomplish this, she’ll put her team in a position to compete at an above-average level.
In order for a pitcher to master 4 pitches with 2 backups, which I’d recommend for those with college ambitions, we start learning them as early as possible. That is when an athlete can repeat basic fundamentals and has some body awareness. Plus, it’s fun.
Neural pathways, or neural tracts that connect one part of the nervous system with another, are being built in the brain at an exponential rate until a child reaches the age of about 12. This is why children learn faster than adults. At that point, the unused pathways begin to die off, and those that are most frequently used become more efficient (muscle memory).
When I teach the screwball, even if a young player is unable to make the ball move because of a lack of strength or coordination, she will at least learn how to maneuver her wrist, body, or understand the concept. By the time she matures, movement pitches will be easy.
As always, the only way to accomplish any of this is through weekly, consistent, and focused practice. To find out about our online Practice Club, visit our website.
