Diary of a Rising Softball Player

3-11-13

Entry 8

Some people messaged me asking what I do in pitching lessons. Well, obviously I pitch, but I also bat too. Ever since Allen, my pitching instructor, helped me with my batting, I hit better. My grandpa says that I need the extra practice so that I don't worsen. I need to keep at a constant level or a higher.

Nowadays I have gone to batting lessons because I need help on the corners of the plate and the low pitches. My coach says that I am excelling really fast and his practices are fun and educational. I learn something new every session. Like last time, he said our coaches tell us to throw the nob of the bat to the ball. But that's only the first half of the swing. We have to be square with ball, otherwise we will be hitting the ball all over the place. I also have to push my top hand to the ball. That's why I foul all the time.

Anyway, practice. Today I started with my rise ball because I told Allen I was having trouble with it. It wouldn't rise correctly, they were too low, too high, curved inside, dropped. Today I fixed all of that. I didn't want to lift the pitch up with my body, but let the ball do its work. Allen said that the rise ball was hard to learn because it was changing my grip of the ball, the spin, flick, and the finish. It was spinning right, but now all I needed to work on was accuracy.

I worked my change up next. Allen and Coach Rich, my coach, says that it is practically perfect. But it's an easy pitch to learn, at least to me, it is. Then my drop ball. Allen is being more picky of my pitches. They have to be below the knees or the ball won't drop. Anything higher will flatten out. It is my best pitch so far and I rely on it so much. So does my team.

I work on balance in his sessions. I have to throw on those exorcise balls. My catcher has to squat on these things, they are hard to explain. Like half of an exorcise ball, I guess. We throw on them and I pitch on them. After, he has us work on my wrist strength and Larissa's arm strength.

That's pretty much it...