Angie Buckem

Awesome weekend, Kate (2024)!!

We get a lot of requests to look at new pitchers. The emails often begin with, She has good mechanics and go on to say that she does not throw hard, she is ...injured, and she cannot get good movement on the ball. After saying that, the parent contacting me still insists that her mechanics are good because everyone says so. Maybe a tweak here and there would help, and if that won’t work, maybe I can teach her a drill or two. Be ever careful that you are listening the right people, and that you are not doubling down on things that got you in this situation in the first place. Let’s talk assessment, processes, and development systems. Let’s make this pitching thing easier to understand. Let’s make it fun again. . . . #tincherpitching #tinchermade #likeagirl #fastpitch #softball #pitchingmechanics #pitchingdevelopment #beamover #makingtheballmove #basicmechanics

Make a good pitch great! If you throw a pitch which gets in the batter's head", further add to the confusion by adding a changeup that looks exactly like that... pitch. There are very creative ways to do that. I love the curve-change, the screw-change, drop-change, and have even had kids do incredible things with the rise-change. Sometimes people refer to this as adjusting to the pitcher". With every pitch, there are very subtle adjustments in the hips to allow the pitch to work, and some hitters pick up on that. If hitters keep getting fooled by a certain pitch, they try to adjust their swing to deal with the pitch. You can be a victim or a victor. You can keep doing what you are doing until they adjust, or suddenly throw in a new wrinkle that just ruins their day. I absolutely love the way this student does it, and it offers exactly the same spin. An additional feature....with an outside pitch you are supposed to let it get a little deeper, but good luck with that. Thank you to Margaret Axelson, a 2022 grad and a student of Angie Buckem - Tincher Pitching Atlanta Certified Instructor in the Atlanta area. Our Certified Instructors are just a special group, and we love the way they find ways to make every kid special. . . . #tincherpitching #tinchermade #likeagirl #softball #fastpitch #pitchingdevelopment #pitchingstrategy #certifiedinstructors

What do you do when you cannot find an indoor place to practice? Sometimes you just have to make one. With a little work and a lot of creativity, one dad in S...uffolk County, on Long Island, put together a place where the work could continue. Many communities do not have indoor softball facilities. Others are jammed in winter, but this year it is worse. The pandemic has closed or severely restricted numbers that can be accommodated. Conditions may not always be ideal. I understand that temperatures inside the makeshift pitching facility above were quite cold, but that didn't deter these pitchers, who were just thankful to have any place to do the thing that they love. I get it. When our daughters developed a passion for pitching, we did a lot of creative things to find a place to pitch in cold winter weather. We have even shovelled snow to create a lane, but an errant ball might not be found until the thaw. Through the years I have seen it all. I have stopped to visit pitchers who worked in barns, one worked out in a supermarket warehouse, and one dad erected two canopies for rainy days. During a rain storm the kid would pitch under one canopy to a catcher who was 40-feet away and under another canopy. The ball would occasionally need to be dried, but that was perfectly okay to them. Maybe you even have stories to share. We would love to hear them. And, a big high-five to the people on Long Island who felt that "the show must go on". . . . #tincherpitching #tinchermade #likeagirl #softball #pitching #pitchingdevelopment #hardworkpaysoff #getcreative #hardworkpaysoff

Last lesson for 2020!! Had to get the traditional last lesson photo. Wrapped up the Year with Aimee who celebrates her 11th birthday today... and she got herself a new drop ball too! Looking good kid #2021herewecome #tincherpitchingatlanta #tincherpitching #winterwork