Good pitchers have a wide variety of different pitches to throw. Some have two, some have as many as seven or eight. But the great pitchers have pinpoint control of the basic four: change, drop, rise and curve. They may have a couple of others to throw now and then to keep the batters off-stride, but these lister are the majority of pitches called. Coaches and parents are often wasting their time teaching breaking pitches before the pitcher can throw her fastball consistently for strikes. In Class A high school softball a pitcher who does not have control of at least two pitches will struggle against the best competition regardless of how hard she throws.
Learning to throw breaking pitches takes time along with lots and lots of practice. A good pitching coach will make the process of learning off-speed pitches much more rewarding.
Common Breaking Pitches:
Riseball
Changeup
Dropball
Screwball
Curve
Different Grips Videos: