If your daughter is a beginner pitcher—especially ages 8–12 and still in the early stages of learning—our Prodigy Pitching Academy is the perfect place to start!

This step-by-step program helps beginner pitchers build a strong foundation in mechanics, accuracy, confidence, pitching IQ, and at-home training while also educating the parent along the way.

Once she has developed a strong foundation, she’ll be ready to level up into the Next Level Pitching Academy.

Click here to learn more about Prodigy Pitching Academy.

Prodigy Pitching is designed to help younger and developing pitchers build strong fundamentals and confidence from the beginning. The Next Level Pitching Academy is for pitchers who are ready to continue developing their mechanics, pitches, training habits, and overall performance at a higher level.

The right program depends on where your pitcher is right now and what she needs next. Her age, pitching experience, current struggles, goals, and level of commitment can all help determine the best fit.

Yes! You do not need to have worked with Coach D or another DR3 coach before joining many of our programs. We’ll help you understand the DR3 approach and give your pitcher a clear place to begin.

That’s okay. Many athletes use DR3 resources alongside their current instruction. Our goal is to give pitchers and families additional education, tools, and support that can complement the work they are already doing.

There is not one perfect number for every pitcher.

Age, experience, time of year, tournament workload, soreness, fatigue, intensity, and total throwing volume all matter.

For many established pitchers, I generally like 3–5 throwing/training days per week with varied intensity, but those days should not all be max-effort pitching days and the schedule should always be adjusted based on game workload and how the athlete’s body is responding.

A general DR3 training framework may look like:

Heavy Day — 1x per week
A higher-intensity pitching session that may include approximately 80–100 total reps, including drill work, with a complete warm-up and recovery routine.

Medium Day — 1x per week
Approximately 60–70 reps focused on mechanics, movement, spin, and consistency.

Light Days — 1–2x per week
Approximately 40–60 lower-intensity reps focused on feel work, drill work, movement quality, and small mechanical adjustments.

These are general training ranges—not universal pitch-count recommendations. Younger pitchers, beginners, athletes coming off heavy tournament weekends, or athletes experiencing unusual fatigue may need significantly less volume.

If a pitcher is experiencing pain while throwing, she should stop and be evaluated by an appropriate medical professional rather than attempting to pitch through it.

For Beginners

Mirror drills can be done regularly—even without a ball or glove. Use a mirror or selfie camera to work through the 7 Steps of Pitching, breaking down the motion and helping the athlete better understand what her body is doing.

Start with 10–15 controlled mirror reps and focus on quality over quantity.

Strength Training

Strength is an important part of developing a powerful, durable pitcher at every age.

That does not mean young athletes need to lift heavy weights. Age-appropriate bodyweight movements and properly programmed strength training can help develop the hips, glutes, core, and total-body strength needed to support the pitching motion.

Use the exercises provided inside your DR3 lesson plans as programmed alongside your pitching training.

Consistency matters—but recovery matters too. 

Internal rotation is a natural part of the underhand throwing motion and is a key concept within the DR3 pitching approach. Rather than forcing the arm into an artificial finish, we focus on helping pitchers understand how the body and arm work together to create an efficient, powerful movement pattern.

Forearm Fire is terminology Coach D uses when teaching specific parts of the pitching motion and how the forearm, hand, and arm work through release. It helps pitchers better understand the movement instead of simply trying to copy a position.

At DR3, we teach a loose, whip-based arm action that utilizes natural shoulder rotation, forearm movement, and proper body sequencing. You’ll often hear me refer to this as Forearm Fire inside my training.

Rather than forcing a stiff wrist snap or exaggerated elbow-to-catcher finish, our goal is to allow the arm to move freely while the entire body works together efficiently.

Every pitcher is built differently, so the motion will not look identical from athlete to athlete. The goal is not to force a specific “look”—it is to develop efficient, repeatable movement that allows the pitcher to create speed, spin, accuracy, and consistency.

This philosophy became extremely important to me after dealing with multiple injuries throughout my own pitching career. It led me to spend years learning more about biomechanics, movement patterns, and how the entire body contributes to the pitching motion.

🎓 Want to dive deeper? Learn more inside the Next Level Pitching Academy.

I don’t teach the traditional screwball as a foundational pitch.

My priority is first helping pitchers develop strong, repeatable mechanics and understand how to intentionally create and control spin before adding more advanced movement pitches.

Some traditional screwball cues involve forcing the body off-line, pushing the hips away from the intended direction, or aggressively manipulating the arm and hand at release. Those are movement patterns I do not want my pitchers relying on simply to make the ball move.

Instead, I prioritize developing a strong foundation and teaching pitchers how to intentionally create movement while maintaining efficient body mechanics.

The screwball variation I will teach is the Peel Screw, and only once a pitcher has developed the foundation and body awareness needed for it.

If your pitcher seems to naturally create unexpected movement on her fastball, I don't automatically consider that another pitch. I want to understand why the ball is moving that way first.

Every pitch should be intentional.

My goal is never to add a pitch just so we can say a pitcher throws it. My goal is to develop pitchers who understand their bodies, understand spin, understand movement, and can repeat what they are trying to do.

Education first. Movement with purpose.

There is no specific age when every pitcher should begin learning movement pitches. Before adding more advanced pitches, athletes should develop a strong foundation, consistent mechanics, command, and an understanding of how to create movement safely and intentionally.

Both matter, but pitchers should not sacrifice efficient mechanics just to chase velocity or perfect accuracy. DR3 focuses on building strong movement patterns first so athletes can continue developing speed, command, and confidence over time.

Strength training can be an important part of developing a strong, durable athlete when it is appropriate for the pitcher’s age and experience. Pitchers benefit from learning how to move well, build strength, improve stability, and take care of their bodies—not just throw more pitches.

After logging into your DR3 account, you can access the programs and products included with your purchases through your Library. If you are using the DR3 Fastpitch app, make sure you are logged in with the same email address used when you purchased your program.

Download the DR3 Fastpitch app and log in using the email address connected to your DR3 account. Once logged in, you’ll be able to access the programs and communities included with your account.

If your program includes a community, you can access it through your DR3 account or the DR3 Fastpitch app. Look for the community connected to your specific academy, challenge, or membership.

First, make sure you are logged in using the same email address you entered during checkout. If your program still does not appear in your Library, contact our team and include the name of the program and the email address associated with your purchase.

Log into your DR3 account through your browser and open your account settings. From there, you can review and update the available information connected to your account.

Log into the DR3 Fastpitch website through your browser, open your account settings, and go to your purchase history. Select the active subscription you would like to manage and follow the cancellation instructions provided.

Start by confirming that you are using the correct email address associated with your DR3 account. You can also try resetting your password. If you still cannot access your account, send our team a message and we’ll help you troubleshoot.

No worries! If you’ve checked the FAQs and still need help, head over to our Contact Us page and send us a message. Give us as much information as possible so our team can point you in the right direction.