When his daughter asked him to teach her how to pitch, Denny Tincher began a journey that would produce a national champion, a historic no-hitter, and a softball training empire rooted in the Roanoke Valley.
Written by Kianna Price Marshall / Photo above: Group photo from one of the two national events Tincher Pitching did this winter in Roanoke, the Pitching Summit.
What began as a father helping his daughter learn a strange and complicated pitching motion has grown into one of the most respected softball training programs in the country.
For Denny Tincher, who lives with his wife in the Eagle Rock area, the journey started with a simple request from his daughter, Angela.
“There were no pitching instructors around,” Tincher said. “She begged me to teach her, so I thought it would be fun for us to learn it together.”
Tincher grew up in a small town in West Virginia where organized sports opportunities were limited. While he casually played athletics, resources were scarce. That experience would later influence his passion for helping young athletes access opportunities he never had.
With no formal training or instruction available, Tincher began studying the art of pitching on his own. He traveled to college softball games with a camera, recorded elite pitchers, and spent hours analyzing footage from the Women’s College World Series. Back home, he and Angela practiced constantly, experimenting until the motion felt fluid, natural, and explosive.
What started as a father-daughter learning process quickly turned into something much bigger.
Angela Tincher, a James River High School graduate, went on to become one of the most dominant pitchers in college softball history while playing at Virginia Tech. In 2008, she was named College Player of the Year after leading the nation with the lowest Earned Run Average (ERA) for two consecutive seasons.
That same year, she delivered one of the sport’s most stunning moments—throwing a no-hitter against the U.S. Olympic Team.
Even more surprising, her parents didn’t see it happen live.
“We actually missed the game,” Tincher said with a laugh. “We didn’t realize how big it was until ESPN aired a feature during the College World Series weeks later.”
Angela finished her career ranked among the top three pitchers in NCAA history for career strikeouts and strikeouts per game. She led Virginia Tech to the Women’s College World Series and later played professionally in both the United States and Japan.
But the Tincher story didn’t stop there.
Tincher’s second daughter followed the same path, eventually pitching at the Division I level as well.
Watching his daughters’ success sparked something bigger in Tincher—the realization that the lessons he had learned while helping his girls could benefit other pitchers.
Over time, parents began asking him to teach their daughters. Clinics turned into camps, and eventually into a full training system. Today, Tincher Pitching includes approximately 100 certified instructors and attracts athletes from across the country.
Teenage softball pitchers from coast to coast now travel to Roanoke to learn Tincher’s methods—a unique approach that combines pitching mechanics, strength training, injury prevention, and mental skills.
Over the years, Tincher has helped hundreds of pitchers advance to play college softball, with several reaching the Women’s College World Series. His reputation for helping injured athletes recover without surgery has also drawn national attention.
But for Tincher, the mission goes beyond strikeouts and scholarships.
“We’re not just building pitchers,” he said. “We’re helping young women learn confidence, discipline, and how to believe in themselves.”
His program focuses not only on technique, but also on the mental and emotional challenges young athletes face, including anxiety, pressure, and self-doubt. He encourages parents to support their daughters without comparison and reminds athletes to keep perspective.
“Softball prepares these girls for life,” Tincher said. “The lessons they learn out there carry with them long after they leave the field.”
Nearly 20 years after that first pitching lesson in the backyard, the impact of Tincher’s work continues to grow. What started as a simple act of love has evolved into a nationwide network of instructors and athletes.
“Sometimes the biggest journeys,” Tincher said, “start with just trying to help your kid.”
Within the hills of Southwest Virginia, the lessons—and the legacy—are still being written, one pitch at a time.
The story above first appeared in our May/June 2026 issue.
