Georgetown Youth Girls Softball Association

Click on the link for instructions on how to use it.

Pitchers_aid_tool.pdf  

The pitching aid tool can be checked out from the league. The 10U division teams will have first priority and then other divsions with player pitched games. There are a limited number available and must be returned to  GYGSA at the end of the season.   

Basic Warm-ups for Pitchers

These are the basic fundamental tasks that pitchers were taught at the Pitching Clinic early in the season.

• Wrist snaps
  • Proper grip - three middle most fingers across the seam of the ball with the pinky and thumb to the sides, Make sure there is a gap (space) between the ball and your palm.
  • As you snap the wrist, feel the ball roll off the finger tips. The objective is to build a stronger wrist snap and creating as much spin on the ball as possible. 
  • Catching partner should be about a 10ft distance. Focus on keeping the ball at waist level.
• Kneel down
  • With the Right knee on the ground and the Left knee up (bent), pitch the ball in this position. This isolates the upper half of the pitcher's body and strengthen the arm rotation.
  • Catching partner should be at a mid point distance between the pitching mound and homeplate.
  • Pay attention that the shoulders are level and back (not forward leaning) and the elbow is straight throughout the wind.
• 'K' drill
  • This drill simulates the majority of the pitching motion without the push off from the mound.
  •  
  • Catching partner should be at a mid point distance between the pitching mound and homeplate.
  • Pitcher will start in a position as illustrated above and step towards to catcher as the ball is released.
  • Pay attention to the following:
    • No bend in the elbow
    • Shoulders level and slightly back....no forward leaning (bowling)
    • Hips should 'snap' close facing the catcher with back foot following through
    • Pitching arm should stay close to the hip 
• Power line step using the pitching aid/tool
  • Please see the instructions attached in the above link (pdf)
  • Using this pitching aid/tool will help pitchers align their pitches to homeplate / catcher thus keeping the ball out of the batter's boxes.
  • This tool can be checked out through the league's Equipment Manager. We ask that check outs be limited to pitchers in the 10U/12U divisions. 
• Walk ups (advanced)
  • This drill will build push off strength from the mound
  • Start about 3 to 4 large strides behind the mound
  • Quickly walk up, land on the mound with your push off foot, and pitch the ball

A four seam ball spin with an over-the-head throwing motion is the ultimate goal to attain with players in all age divisions but should be started with the 6U division. The earlier this starts and becomes a repetitive process, the sooner the player's muscle memory will set.  Accompanying the throwing motion should be a 'wrist snap' that will allow the spin on the ball and keep the ball motion in a true direction (non-curving). 

TIP: To assist with the above drill, create a 'spin line' ball. Take a ball and draw a thick black line with a permanent marker (Sharpie) around and along the center of the ball. The line should cross the softball seams 4 times.

With the spin line ball, place the player's middle finger along the line and throw the ball. The objective is to keep the line in a vertical position as it reaches the person being thrown to. If performed correctly, the ball will be thrown using the four seam spin technique. 

The best method to remove a players fear of catching a pop fly ball is to employ the use of a 'Lite Flite' ball and a tennis racket to hit it. This drill requires no gloves to be used.

The Lite Flite balls are very lightweight, foam like material that is not prone to injuring players should they misjudge a pop fly ball. Before starting, allow the players to feel the ball so that they know not to fear it.  

The purpose of this drill is to:

• Get the players to move to the pop fly ball
• Center themselves underneath the pop fly ball
• Use two hands to catch and secure the pop fly ball 

With players in a single line in the outfield, roughly 50ft or so in distance, lightly hit a fly ball 10-20ft in the air. Emphasize the drill purposes above as each player makes the attempt to catch the pop fly ball. Repeat the drill by adding height to each hit of the lite flite balls and adding side to side/ back and forth movements. 

At the end of the drill, a 'last player standing' game can be played. Always try to make drills fun with the intended purpose of skill improvement.    

An 'upper cut' swing can generally be associated to the following things:

• The bat controlling the hands/wrist meaning that the bat could be too heavy where the batter is unable to keep the top of the bat (head) up
• The batter is dropping their hands before swinging
• The batter is dropping the back shoulder; possibly in combination with the hands dropping

Correcting this type of swing will take time and the corrective actions must be emphasized during batting practices.

TIP: One method to correct this is by using 2 batting tees set up in this configuration:

Set the target ball on the lower of the two tees in front and place a slightly higher tee behind that. Center the batter so that their front foot is behind the first tee in front and their back foot behind the second tee. The objective is to correct the bat angle of approach to the target ball. 

Depending on the age division of the player, the muscle memory may have already been set with the batter's swing. Should this be the case, use their swing to their advantage. How? Work on the batter's vision and recognition of the approaching ball. Have the batter hit balls that are pitched at the knees or lower. 

TIP: One method to reinforce the above skill is to implement a 'bounce' drill. 

Simply use a tennis ball and throw it into the ground making sure it bounces once and in the batter's strikezone. The height of the bounce should about knee high.