Quickstart Pitching Featuring Butch Latey DVD

Quickstart Pitching Featuring Butch Latey is a DVD that provides an introduction to the mechanics of Fast Pitch Softball pitching. It provides an overview of the basic windmill motion and the grips for the fastball, 2-seamer, and two different types of changeups. It also provides some good coaching tidbits on pitching plate preparations and where the pitcher should place her feet on the pitching plate.

Generally, I do not think Coach Latey can decide if the target audience for this DVD should be a beginning pitcher or a more intermediate pitcher. More than half of the video provides information about the very basics of pitching that an intermediate pitcher would already know well. If the target audience is the beginning picture, then given that the change-up is introduced after a pitcher has been pitching long enough to locate her fast ball, it does not belong in this video. If Coach Latey intends to focus more on the intermediate pitcher, then the first part of the video should be replaced with more advanced information. I eagerly waited for the “Mental Aspect” chapter of the DVD, but instead of intermediate-level information I expected (since we had just finished learning about the changeup), Coach Latey talked for about 15 seconds on blocking out crowd noise and focusing on the catcher and that was the entirety of the chapter!

I liked some of the information presented, particularly how to prepare the pitching-plate area as well advantages and disadvantages to different foot placement on the rubber. He points out a disadvantage to the flip-change which will make me think twice before I teach it again. As the DVD is essentially a recording of a pitching lesson with one of his students, I appreciated how he interacted with the players.

However, because of the pitching lesson format to the DVD, the information is presented almost as a stream-of-consciousness instead of in a formally structured way. While this is acceptable for a pitching lesson, it is less-than-desirable for an instructional DVD. The good tidbits within the DVD are impossible to find unless watching the whole video again. The lack of structure and uneven level of information provided reduces the effectiveness of this DVD.

On the whole, I’d have to recommend passing on this video.