http://tincherpitching.com Softball pitching coaching by Denny Tincher, Fastpitch Pitcher Training, Virginia / U.S. Angela Tincher, Softball Pitcher Coaching by Denny Tincher, Fastpitch Pitching Training & Clinics, Virginia / U.S., Father of Angela Tincher - 2008 Player of The Year, All-American, ACC Female Athlete of The Year. Wed, 07 Dec 2011 08:38:00 +0000 http://snappages.com en http://tincherpitching.com/blog/2011/12/07/question-our-daughter-doesn%e2%80%99t-get-a-lot-of-pitching-time-with-her-present-team-what-should-we-do http://tincherpitching.com/blog/2011/12/07/question-our-daughter-doesn%e2%80%99t-get-a-lot-of-pitching-time-with-her-present-team-what-should-we-do Wed, 07 Dec 2011 08:38:00 +0000 Denny Tincher http://tincherpitching.com/blog/2011/12/07/question-our-daughter-doesn%e2%80%99t-get-a-lot-of-pitching-time-with-her-present-team-what-should-we-do ANSWER: [...]]]> ANSWER:

You probably don’t want to be in a situation where your daughter gets almost none of the pitching time or almost all of it. Both can be harmful to her development.

There are cases where a pitcher may wait for older and stronger pitchers to move to older teams, knowing she will get mound time next year. Even that situation is tough for most kids. Remember, they are young and not very experienced at working for something in the long-term. It can easily affect their motivation to practice. That is a decision you need to make based upon the maturity and enthusiasm of your daughter.

In general, kids need some regular time on the mound for several reasons:

• She needs to experience different situations and develop the craftiness that can only come through actual competition.
• She needs confidence that she is practicing the right things and the experience to realize things that need to be changed.
• She needs to see if this really is a position that she wants to play and if it is worth the work it requires.
• She needs the feeling of being a part of the team and of contributing to its success, and to know that others are relying on her.
• She needs a reward for all of the long hours of practice. Without it, she can easily lose her drive.

The short answer is this. Move her to a team that needs a pitcher. Meet with the coaches and do it in a very positive way. Never burn bridges. And, make sure the team you are considering will be a positive experience. Check out the coaches. They likely won’t be as good as your team, but make sure they have a plan to change that and make sure your daughter will have an experience that will enhance her love for the game. This is a subject in itself, and we will cover that another day.

Now, for the kid who pitches almost all of the innings. What could be wrong with that? She needs to be challenged in order to be her best. She can easily become complacent. Pitching too many games can also harm her form. As she gets tired, she starts to do more and more with the wrong parts of her body, leading to bad habits and potential injuries.

We discovered how important it was to keep our daughter challenged. Once we encouraged her to move to a team that had two excellent pitchers who went on to perform well at D-1 colleges. She was told she would be the third pitcher on a staff of three. She had never experienced that before and as she set about to change it, we saw her reach a level that surprised all of us. Having to fight so hard for the top job prepared her for college in ways we would never have imagined.

Know your daughter, seek sage advice, and remember that you can’t un-do mistakes. Take the time to do it right the first time.

]]> http://tincherpitching.com/blog/2011/09/12/question-when-i-pitch-i-feel-popping-and-cracking-in-my-shoulder-it-doesn%e2%80%99t-always-hurt-but-the-noise-is-always-there-should-i-be-concerned http://tincherpitching.com/blog/2011/09/12/question-when-i-pitch-i-feel-popping-and-cracking-in-my-shoulder-it-doesn%e2%80%99t-always-hurt-but-the-noise-is-always-there-should-i-be-concerned Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:32:00 +0000 Denny Tincher http://tincherpitching.com/blog/2011/09/12/question-when-i-pitch-i-feel-popping-and-cracking-in-my-shoulder-it-doesn%e2%80%99t-always-hurt-but-the-noise-is-always-there-should-i-be-concerned ANSWER: [...]]]> ANSWER:

Yes, you should be concerned. That feeling can be sign of an injury, can cause an injury, and it always hampers your ability to pitch at your potential.

There are several common causes of this phenomenon. Most often we see it caused by a pitcher jerking up on the shoulder during the start of the motion. If you engage the upper part of the trapezius muscle, it will cause the shoulder to lift. If you hunch your shoulders up toward your ears you have engaged the offending part of the trapezius muscle.

In an effort to feel very strong, pitchers will lift that muscle and the shoulder is not in a position to rotate smoothly. The result is that you feel that crunching. Obviously with the shoulder in a position where it cannot rotate easily, speed suffers, and stiffness results which negatively affects moving pitches.

Two common causes are the lack of a backswing or too much backswing. A pitcher with no backswing tries to generate an incredible amount of speed from a standing stop and the natural move is to try to pull the shoulder forward and upward. A pitcher with too much backswing has the arm so far behind her that she is forced to try to drag it forward with the trapezius. Again, the shoulder is lifted and tightness grips the upper body, greatly diminishing arm speed. The backswing must be very relaxed and natural.

Another cause is failing to open the body fully. The shoulder cannot rotate through comfortably, and your defense against injury is a subconscious slowing of the rotation.

Failure to correctly rotate the ball during the circle is another common problem which has the same result. Finishing too square (rotating shoulders back to face the catcher at release) also puts strain on the shoulder of a female that it was not designed to handle.

Let me know if you have further questions. Thanks.

]]> http://tincherpitching.com/blog/2011/09/12/question-many-people-have-told-me-that-i-don%e2%80%99t-use-my-legs-well-when-pitching-i-try-hard-but-i-am-just-getting-frustrated-is-it-something-you-can-help-me-with http://tincherpitching.com/blog/2011/09/12/question-many-people-have-told-me-that-i-don%e2%80%99t-use-my-legs-well-when-pitching-i-try-hard-but-i-am-just-getting-frustrated-is-it-something-you-can-help-me-with Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:00:00 +0000 Denny Tincher http://tincherpitching.com/blog/2011/09/12/question-many-people-have-told-me-that-i-don%e2%80%99t-use-my-legs-well-when-pitching-i-try-hard-but-i-am-just-getting-frustrated-is-it-something-you-can-help-me-with
Too often pitchers are built from the top down when we should be building them from the ground up. If you become too conscious of the upper body, the legs naturally are left behind.

There are two major problems.

1-Barriers in the upper body

2-Lack of understanding of the role of legs

Addressing the first problem, we must remove barriers that prohibit the use of legs. Incorrect body position is a major issue. Certain angles simply destroy leg drive. You need to learn the angles of the body throughout the whole pitch. Tightness in the wrong parts of the body at the wrong time will also inhibit leg drive. You can do a million different drills to try to fix it, but until you know the exact role of different body parts, it will be tough.

The second problem is that many pitchers just do not know how they should feel during a pitch. There is a fine line between feeling powerful and tight. We spend a lot of time helping pitchers understand exactly how it feels when legs are powerful.

There is more confusion around this than, perhaps, any issue in pitching. There shouldn’t be. It is actually very simple, but requires thinking in a different way. So, don’t let people make you feel badly about not using your legs well. You are not being lazy and not failing intellectually. You just need some help. It won’t take long when we get together.

]]> http://tincherpitching.com/blog/2011/09/12/question-in-pitching-it-seems-the-harder-i-try-the-worse-it-gets-what-am-i-doing-wrong http://tincherpitching.com/blog/2011/09/12/question-in-pitching-it-seems-the-harder-i-try-the-worse-it-gets-what-am-i-doing-wrong Mon, 12 Sep 2011 08:00:00 +0000 Denny Tincher http://tincherpitching.com/blog/2011/09/12/question-in-pitching-it-seems-the-harder-i-try-the-worse-it-gets-what-am-i-doing-wrong ANSWER: [...]]]> ANSWER:

The short answer is that you are introducing tension into the wrong parts of your body, or introducing it at the wrong time. In order to achieve maximum efficiency different parts of the body must fire at exactly the right time. Introducing tension at the wrong time makes you feel stronger but reduces your ability to perform in dynamic fashion. Here is an example. Try to throw a softball overhand with your bicep and triceps muscles both extremely tight. The results will be disappointing.

Both muscles may play a part in throwing overhand, but used incorrectly they subdue your abilities and can cause injury. Think of the batter who grips the bat so tightly that the knuckles turn white and the muscles in the arms are bulging. She feels strong but cannot get any bat speed. She may be using the right muscles, but is clearly using them in the wrong ways.

Pitchers often place barriers in the way that simply destroy the ability to perform at peak. Bad body position through the motion, a jerky release, or trying to use the wrong body parts to generate explosion are very common problems. We have identified over 60 barriers which result in lost efficiency. Some barriers actually come from drills which have been created by well-intentioned people, but further research shows that they create unintended consequences within the final form.

Next time we are in your area perhaps we can meet and see what is happening within your form that is causing the problem. Most of the pitchers we have met experience the same difficulty, and it doesn’t take long to help you learn to approach pitching in a different and far more comfortable way. A lot of pitchers put a lot of effort into the pitch but don’t see a lot of results. Our goal is for you to look like you are effortless yet the speed and movement defy explanation.

]]> http://tincherpitching.com/blog/2011/09/07/ask-denny-a-question http://tincherpitching.com/blog/2011/09/07/ask-denny-a-question Wed, 07 Sep 2011 08:00:00 +0000 Denny Tincher http://tincherpitching.com/blog/2011/09/07/ask-denny-a-question
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