Hello! This is my first post here, so Im not entirely sure if this question is suitable for this forum.
I just came off of my 14u travel team this July, pitching roughly 5-8 innings per tournament. (one tournament every weekend for 5 weeks. We won state, by the way:) ) Before travel ball I played in a little league season, pitching about 25 innings in 12 weeks. I’m a lefty, so I have that going for me. But just turning 15 in the last month, I feel my velocity and control are not where they should be. I had a low ERA in both seasons, but gave up many unearned runs, mainly due to walks. The most hits I gave up in a single outing was 3 during the little league season. But I averaged 4 Walks per start, giving me a 1.40 WHIP. Many of these walks would come in four or five pitches.
I live in a small town in western Colorado, where coaching and instruction is minimal, and I don’t have a lot of money being 15. (definitely not enough to fly somewhere to get a 1v1 lesson or go to a pitching camp.)
I’m going to be entering high school, and hope to pitch for their JV team (or even varsity) next spring. The main things I worry about are:
Control - I tend to walk WAY to many people than I should, increasing my WHIP and allowing many unearned runs.
Velocity - Right now I touch 70, maybe 71 from flat ground. From the mound I throw roughly 65mph. This month I’ve been watching the little leaguers in the LLWS, and see them throwing 70-75 as 5’5 12 year olds. Im 6’0 and weigh 135ib. I feel I have more in me, just don’t know how to bring it out. As I said, coaching is minimal so I don’t have anybody to help me with velocity. (or control) The only thing keeping me effective with strikeouts and groundouts in the fact that the teams I face are not well coached either, especially against lefties.
Consistency - Despite my velocity and control struggles, I do have a few good outings. I threw a four inning, one hitter in relief during little league, striking out 6 and walking 1 on 72 pitches. I also had a few ‘quality’ starts. But both of these outings were quickly followed by short, high walk outings. What can I do to help increase my consistency on the hill?
Thanks so much for your help! Anything you can think of to help with my velocity, consistency, and/or control, plus anything else would be GREATLY appreciated. I used to be the ace on my team, and I’m slowly losing that roll. Living in Colorado, we play at most 4 months of the year due to the long, snowy winters. Offseason workouts during the remaining 2 sunny months would be great! Maybe even a nice curveball grip
Thanks again!
Davis