Wrist Band Call System for Pitching

We have gone to them recently because of other coaches stealing signs and because now we never have to re-teach signs to any player when you play common opponents who know our older simple sign system.

They are no different to any other sign system - and much easier to use. We use finger signs to indicate the grid reference, but we can also call out the numbers as needed (like today when there was a lot of glare or a couple of weeks ago when the umpires wanted up deep in the dugout and our catchers couldn't see us easily). The players NEVER miss a sign. We sit there and give 'big' signs - so I put my arm way out in the open and give big, clear finger signs in open view (or just yell it out)

If you didn't need a sign system of some sort you would just yell out what you want the players to do so all this 'too complicated, unnecessary, etc, etc' doesn't resonate with me. It might be somewhat overkill, but it works really well and is easy to use and that is good enough for me.

How we do it - we have 4 grids of 5 x 5 so there is 100 combinations. Across the top is 2 numbers (01,02,03... 23,24,25) and on the left is 5 (1,2,3,4,5) - So the call is 213 - that is 21 on the top and down 3... where an abbreviation for the call is (for example it says CU2 which is Change Up - Zone2)

For pitchers and catchers it is great - For our best pitcher we have 5 locations for fastball, 2 locations for CU, 2 for Drop and 2 for other calls we make. For our #3 we just have FB and CU on the grid.

We use nevermissasign.com to create the bands because I was too lazy to screw around in Excel to do randomization and % of options we wanted for each pitch option. It also prints out a nice coach sheet which we add note grids for tracking pitchers/players/etc

EDIT: I will admit it is fun to openly call signs in. Drives the other coaches who used to steal our signs nuts.

Out in Left Field said:

Sheep following the herd. Not for me and I could care less if you call me old-fashioned; old fashioned means teaching the catchers to call the pitches and teaching your SS or CF to call the defense. If you know the rest of my signals I will still out execute you.

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So which is it? Do you have signs you use or not? If you do, then why if you are not worried about the opposition? Why not just yell out what you need.

All this looking down and around and reading numbers is stalling the game.

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Then they are doing it wrong. It has sped our team up - no fake signs or series of signs or repeating signs. Three numbers - all less than 5 and therefore can be communicated by one hand or by voice. While other coaches are slapping their head and puling their nose and pointing at various body parts and so forth we indicate "2-3-1", they look down for about a second and away we go. I can't remember the last missed sign or even a 'repeat a sign' request - that keeps things moving.

We also don't use it for everything or for every situation when it is overkill (like moving an outfielder, or playing in, etc) and we let our players call plays all the time - more than most for that matter.

The game is really simple and yep I am fine that way. You can do what you want to do. If it is two outs I want my hitter to hit it on the ground hard. I don't need a signal for that.

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And there is nothing wrong with that - neither do we. You have a system that you are happy with and so do other people. No need to denigrate them because it isn't for you.

Out in Left Field said:

Sheep following the herd. Not for me and I could care less if you call me old-fashioned; old fashioned means teaching the catchers to call the pitches and teaching your SS or CF to call the defense. If you know the rest of my signals I will still out execute you. What has happened is adults are trying to pull the puppet strings of a bunch of 10 year old girls, win by tricks, or show off to each other. No one remembers or cares what happened at the 10u nationals. Sorry.

All this looking down and around and reading numbers is stalling the game.

The game is really simple and yep I am fine that way. You can do what you want to do. If it is two outs I want my hitter to hit it on the ground hard. I don't need a signal for that.

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Wow. Just wow...


Marriard, thanks for the input despite being called names for using it.

I'm not very experienced at calling pitches, defenses, or batter and base runner signs the old way so I've been interested in learning more about the numbering system as well as the sign system. The wrist bands are not used much around here if at all. If I understood it more I could make a better choice. I've only called two games in my head coaching career. If a number system would help me coach better than I am interested.

Wristbands on offense absolutely speeds up the game, makes your signals uncrackable, and nearly guarantees 100% efficiency. Wake up...

4 girl's dad said:

Wow. Just wow...


Marriard, thanks for the input despite being called names for using it.

I'm not very experienced at calling pitches, defenses, or batter and base runner signs the old way so I've been interested in learning more about the numbering system as well as the sign system. The wrist bands are not used much around here if at all. If I understood it more I could make a better choice. I've only called two games in my head coaching career. If a number system would help me coach better than I am interested.

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*shrug* Not the first time I've been called whatever....

If any one is interested in examples of what ours looks like, drop me a PM and I can email you a couple.

Spartans21 said:

Wristbands on offense absolutely speeds up the game, makes your signals uncrackable, and nearly guarantees 100% efficiency. Wake up...

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I'm not against wristbands, but my experience has been that it actually SLOWS the game down both offensively and defensively. The coach references his wristband, passes the "code" to the hitter or catcher, then the hitter or catcher references their wristband. The catcher then has to flash signs to the pitcher. The pitcher also references their wristband if they are wearing one. Please don't tell me it speeds up the game....there are more moving parts using the wristband system. Is it more efficient and makes signals uncrackable? Yes if utilized properly. As a spectator it annoys me a bit due to the slowing of the game. The majority of tournament games are on a time limit, and the speed of the game is one of the things I love about Fastpitch Softball. The wristband system has put a bit of a dent in the game for me, but I understand if a team wants to utilize it.

We went to the wrist band system on offense last year. I did it because my players kept missing signs (12 and 13 year olds do that!). Unfortunately, I still have the occasional kid that misses a sign!

I also use a wrist band system for calling pitches the first inning or two of the game because I want to get a feel for how well my pitcher is hitting her spots and how effective she is against the particular team we are playing. After that my catcher generally takes over the pitch calls with little input from me. By mid-season, I expect I won't be calling any pitches, and it will be handled by my catcher.

Lenski said:

I'm not against wristbands, but my experience has been that it actually SLOWS the game down both offensively and defensively. The coach references his wristband, passes the "code" to the hitter or catcher, then the hitter or catcher references their wristband. The catcher then has to flash signs to the pitcher. The pitcher also references their wristband if they are wearing one. Please don't tell me it speeds up the game....there are more moving parts using the wristband system. Is it more efficient and makes signals uncrackable? Yes if utilized properly. As a spectator it annoys me a bit due to the slowing of the game. The majority of tournament games are on a time limit, and the speed of the game is one of the things I love about Fastpitch Softball. The wristband system has put a bit of a dent in the game for me, but I understand if a team wants to utilize it.

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I am speaking about Offensive Wristbands only. I have a master sheet that lists all numbers for each action, it takes me a second to get my number, it takes the girls a few seconds to locate the sign. If you have an "uncrackable" touch system it probably takes 5-8 seconds to give a sign. If the girl flashes the repeat signal there is another 5-8 seconds giving it again. Like I said. Offensively it speeds up the game.

However I do agree calling pitches with a wristband does slow down the game. I do like how Tim Walton at Florida does it though. Pitcher and catcher both have a wristband and they give them both the sign. So it eliminates a step.

Spartans21 said:

However I do agree calling pitches with a wristband does slow down the game.

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I'm not sure it really slows down the game. I use a 3 number system -the first two numbers indicates the location (high inside, low outside), and the third number the specific pitch I want. My catcher relays the info to the pitcher as she usually does (1 FB, 2 CU, etc.).

PA SB Dad said:

I'm not sure it really slows down the game. I use a 3 number system -the first two numbers indicates the location (high inside, low outside), and the third number the specific pitch I want. My catcher relays the info to the pitcher as she usually does (1 FB, 2 CU, etc.).

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I am referring to giving a 3 digit code that has no meaning in itself such as pitch type/pitch location. The catcher looks on her wrist band for what the 3 digit code means. The catcher has to get the code, look up its meaning, then relay the pitch to the pitcher. It is uncrackable but does delay the game some...