Alaina ValdezFormer Division I All-American pitcher, now coaching the next generation.

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My daughter started working with Alaina this year, and we have continued to see great development. My daughter started pitching as a 6yo in 8u and has played up in 10u the last two years at 7&8. While she has always done great with speed and athleticism, she has struggled with harnessing it and focusing on strikes and location. She had other pitching lessons in the past but coaches didn’t quite mesh. But she immediately clicked with Alaina. The focus on technique, endurance, and strength in each lesson has made a huge change to focus and movement in the zone. Many of the drills and techniques are not usually seen until older ages, but are so important to early development too. More importantly, Alaina connects with my daughter on a personal level and is someone she looks up to!

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I have seen, not only a boost in skill since we have started with Alaina 3 months ago, but also a boost in confidence. My 12u daughter has increased speed on her fastball, a more impactful change up, and developing a screwball.

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I have been seeing Alaina for over a year. She has helped me develop so much as a pitcher. I’ve gained speed and movement. She’s has new drills every lesson to help my pitching. I always look forward to having lessons. I highly recommend seeing her for lessons!

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I cannot recommend her enough! My daughter started pitching lessons at 7 with essentially no experience.

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My daughter has seen been with 5th Gear since the end of her first summer in 8U through now into the start of her first year of 10U and we’ve seen tremendous growth in her mechanics, velocity, strength, and ability, in large part to what we work on regularly with Alaina. She knows how to work with her individual strengths and addresses the weaknesses in the drills to counterbalance. She’s a great coach. My kid loves her, and it’s been great to see it all come together on the softball field.

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Alaina is fantastic! My daughter loves learning from her. Alaina has taken my daughter to the next level and she is now one of the elite 8U pitchers in her league. Alaina comes each week with new drills that she’s learned playing at a D1 college and breaks it down for the girls to absorb. Highly recommend Alaina if you are beginning or if you are taking the next steps in pitching.

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My daughter has been working with Alaina for a short time now and she has grown leaps and bounds! The level of care and support she has shown my daughter while always keeping lesson new and excited has been amazing! We are looking forward to working with Alaina for the long haul!

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My daughter started working with Alaina this year, and we have continued to see great development. My daughter started pitching as a 6yo in 8u and has played up in 10u the last two years at 7&8. While she has always done great with speed and athleticism, she has struggled with harnessing it and focusing on strikes and location. She had other pitching lessons in the past but coaches didn’t quite mesh. But she immediately clicked with Alaina. The focus on technique, endurance, and strength in each lesson has made a huge change to focus and movement in the zone. Many of the drills and techniques are not usually seen until older ages, but are so important to early development too. More importantly, Alaina connects with my daughter on a personal level and is someone she looks up to!