Training Techniques

Throwing Fundamentals

My thinking is that you are working out with just her one on one without a team setting, this is the time that you want to focus on the fundamentals, as a young player she needs to be able to throw properly and not just be able to reach her target but do it fundamentaly right with proper form and accuracy. Throwing is by far the most overlooked skill set in the game, learn to do it right and you will be amazed how good she gets as she ages. Long toss is a great way to increase arm strenght but only if done with proper form, starting out you want to strech the arm and then throw with progression, just stand in one position and have her back up a few feet after about 5-7 throws from that distance, continuing backing up until she has to throw the ball like a rainbow to reach you. when she gets to the point that her throws are not on a line she then has to use a cross over step to throw with, my suggestion is to watch a utube video to get a better understanding if you have never seen it. Good Luck ​

 

Long Toss

I think the drill Marlin suggested is the same one you and i discussed over the phone the other day. First make sure you get her stretched out properly first head to toe. After that, start her out at say 35-40 ft playing catch with you. Start her out throwing easy "not hard", and stress that she stay relaxed thru the motion. After she has warmed up her arm from that distance move her back maybe 20ft or so(55-60ft) and throw 10 times or so. Move back another 20ft and repeat until she has to bounce/roll it in to you. Reverse the process until she is back at 35-40 ft. Every kid is different in strength and stamina so you may have to adjust duration and work her a little longer and farther each time. Correct form is big, so make her throw properly with good follow thru with her body on the throwing arm side.
Your definetly on the right track... There are quite a few extremely knowledgeable folks on TBR who have been around this sport forever and are willing to help you. This is "the place" to learn about all things Fastpitch.

See you in Concord this weekend.

 

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We currently use the following practice method 3-5 times per week.

• 5 minute jog
• Stretching exercises
• 25 Push ups
• Squat jumps from home to 2nd
• Toss the ball back and forth for 5 minutes to loosen the arm. 10-15 throws from each distance. I haven’t ranged back to long toss yet. Need to incorporate this.
• I line her up in front of me (5 feet maybe) and whip it into her glove. Backhand and forehand side. I mix it up between straight throws and 1 hopper’s off the ground. We repeat this for 10 minutes.
• Fielding grounders and line drives. She moves to a different location after 6 balls. The balls stay at the location she fields them at.
• Using the balls from the previous exercise, she bare hands the balls off the grounds to make throws to the base I’m standing at. The balls stay at the base locations.
• I give her the bucket at home plate and we work on catching balls thrown directly to her.
• Once we have all the balls, I let her hit the bucket of balls. I then go to each ball and throw it into the air for fly ball fielding. I range her from left to right and place emphasis on running with your glove. She has to center herself before putting her glove in the air to make the catch. Balls go in the bucket and we’re done. Takes about an hour to complete.

 

Trying to figure out who you are by your login name. I think I know but I'm not sure.

 

This sounds like an excellent practice. It will definitely bring her skills along.

Words of caution: mix up the drills so they don't become boring; keep the fun in it. Keep softball in balance; deliberately add other activities to the mix; another sport or hobby, for example.

 

Good source for drills to keep practice from being boring.
Coaching Fastpitch Softball successfully by:Kathy Veroni
Full of drills for fielding and hitting problems.Great resource.You can get it at the Barnes and Noble website.

 

Lots of great ideas here

My DD was/is a pitcher so we did things a bit differently. While I have spent plenty of 'bucket time' we also tried/try to find a 'real catcher' for her to throw to. It might have been her regular catcher or a 'random' catcher (a friend from other teams, different age, etc). The real benefit, in this, I think, was they could talk about 'girl stuff' making workouts less like work. For your DD having some practice partners might be nice. It doesn't take much more time to work out two kids than one plus they could take turns shagging balls and playing 1B for IF drills. Lots of benefits here, not the least of which is a tempering of the father/daughter tension that will undoubtably occur from time to time. My wife always dreaded the evenings when we returned from workouts and not be speaking!

 

My wife always dreaded the evenings when we returned from workouts and not be speaking![/quote]

Yes, those are the nights. We have our bad nights just like everyone else. I have to say that at 11 years old she has really impressed me with how hard she's working to get better. Asking the right questions, doing the work I ask her to do, and giving me her all while doing it. She has a goal in sight.. She wants to play on an elite team, not just a good one. She understand that she has to become a more rounded player to do so. She has 5 teams in mind that she'd like to be a part of. The coolest thing is she can almost immediately relicate any instructions that's given. We're late to the party having only started travel ball a little over a year ago, but her intelligence and athletic ability make teaching her very easy. I'm doing everything in my power to help her achieve her goals. I'm hopeful that she gets on with one of the teams she has in mind in the spring so I can relax a little and enjoy the great things to come.

 

Balance Is The Key !!

Yes, those are the nights. We have our bad nights just like everyone else. I have to say that at 11 years old she has really impressed me with how hard she's working to get better. Asking the right questions, doing the work I ask her to do, and giving me her all while doing it. She has a goal in sight.. She wants to play on an elite team, not just a good one. She understand that she has to become a more rounded player to do so. She has 5 teams in mind that she'd like to be a part of. The coolest thing is she can almost immediately relicate any instructions that's given. We're late to the party having only started travel ball a little over a year ago, but her intelligence and athletic ability make teaching her very easy. I'm doing everything in my power to help her achieve her goals. I'm hopeful that she gets on with one of the teams she has in mind in the spring so I can relax a little and enjoy the great things to come.[/quote]


A word of advice from a veteran let her be a girl also, trust me , or you will regret it. My daughter did all the training and workouts and yes it's paying off, but now it's a little girlie time,and boys are in her life, cars,and friends, don't stiffle this or you will be sorry ...--Guru