Does she have potential????

Am I crazy? Absolutely
Is She willing to take instruction? She has lessons every week for almost a year and a half
Can you get her to practice? I can do better than that. I took $100k and opened an indoor facility because I thought she had potential, She plays both league and travel.

Then question wasn't if she could be a softball player, because she is a heck of a ballplayer with a cannon for an arm and hits like you wouldn't believe....The question was does she show potential as a pitcher. NOT EVERYONE IS A PITCHER!

I've seen 9 yr Olds that look better and I've seen some that look worse.
You really opened an indoor facility just for your kid? Now that's crazy

DD's#1Fan said:

Am I crazy? Absolutely
Is She willing to take instruction? She has lessons every week for almost a year and a half
Can you get her to practice? I can do better than that. I took $100k and opened an indoor facility because I thought she had potential, She plays both league and travel.

Then question wasn't if she could be a softball player, because she is a heck of a ballplayer with a cannon for an arm and hits like you wouldn't believe....The question was does she show potential as a pitcher. NOT EVERYONE IS A PITCHER!

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You are INSANE! I love it. You certainly sound like you have the craziness and the resources to make her a great pitcher. She has the potential to be whatever she wants. At a certain point at the highest levels, genetic advantages will take certain athletes past others. If athletic ability is equal, a 5' pitcher won't be the same pitcher as a 6' pitcher.

I'm not sure what you want to hear here. If she enjoys pitching and that is what she wants to do just let her pitch. If someone on this forum said from those two slow motion videos of her that she didn't show potential and somehow could explain it in a manner you could believe... would you make her quit pitching at age 9?

So here's what I've noticed since we started putting all our efforts into pitching. Her overhand motion has changed, not sure if this is due to the I/R hand motion of pitching, but now she tends to miss right and left from SS position to 1st. Also due to time constraints, her batting isn't what it used to be. So with 2 kids playing LL and travel, we have to decide what we can devote her training to.

There just isn't enough time in OUR day to be an awesome fielder, batter and pitcher it seems. So do we want to go from being one of the best gloves and bats to being a good pitcher with a mediocre glove and bat.....I'm sure others have experienced this same progression due to putting forth all their time into pitching, where it used to be just fielding and batting.

We have several guys doing lessons at the indoor that were drafted and played at the minor league level. We do tons of pitching lessons for boys and you can generally judge those that can pitch at the LL level, but will most likely never pitch at the MS or HS level. There just isn't anyone in town for softball that can evaluate players like that and wanted to get some feedback on my kid. You've all done it I'm sure...see a girl and look at her natural abilities and say "she'd make a great outfielder" or "she'd make a great catcher"..

What does she want? Whatever anyone suggests here is not as important as what she wants. Whenever possible its best to be able to play any position. 9 yo IMO is too early to specialize. As she gets to higher levels as she ages up, she may need to play other positions just to stay in the lineup.

If you are an all the way to the top or nothing kind of guy and really want the pitcher answer, just like baseball... if she is not tall for her age or doesn't project to be 6' or close to that, its likely she wont be a Team USA pitcher or pitch in the NPF league. It won't be easy to be given the chance to pitch in the SEC or PAC12 either. Not that its impossible. However, I'd say the majority of kids continue to play and be successful because they enjoy the game and can have an exciting softball career and pitch successfully through HS & even college because they love it even if they aren't 6' tall or near that.

Here is a test. If you suggest she stops pitching to focus on other things instead and she is fine with that, she probably isn't meant to be a pitcher.

With her leaping it looks like the arm is out of sequence with her push off in that it is starting to soon. Amanda on toe at 12 seconds compared to your DD on her toe at 17 seconds. Check the location of their arms. Your DD's is way ahead of Amanda's. My DD also noticed that she is turning the ball toward third and mentioned stepping off line which you are aware of. She looks good so stick with it and think long term. Don't expect to fix everything over night.

I've tried the whole comparing thing..it doesn't work. The question is who do you compare to? Amanda with ball at 12 at toetouch or Ueno with ball more toward 9 at toetouch...then there's still Finch, Luna, etc. Some swim, some don't...obviously trying to emulate these elite pitchers is not going to help a 9yo. We try to focus on a few of the basic motions. Ankle dorsi-flexion on load, trying to stride down power line, open hips, show ball at noon, ball up at nine, whip through release, close hips, driving into front side, don't walk through. And that's about 5 things too much it seems like, especially during a game. During a game, I usually try to emphasize stride and tempo...

I never really thought about the answer I was looking for....but I guess what I'm looking for is someone that has had the same experience as I'm having to say they can remember when their DD was inconsistent, hit several batters every game, etc...it's just the natural progression and they worked through it...the next year was totally worth it.

We have two girls pitching on our LL team. My daughter who either strikes them out, walks them, or hits them. It makes for very long innings if she's not ON. Then we have another, that lobs the balls in, lots of hits, the defense works hard and we seem to get out of innings pretty quick. The mindset is that the other pitcher is better, she gets it over the plate and the other team puts the ball in play and because she doesn't allow as many walks, but the difference is that no one is hitting off my DD because of the speed, so there aren't any opportunities for defensive outs. It's almost a disadvantage to have speed at this age in LL. We do have a 5 run rule. So sometimes it's 8 walks to get out of an inning.

I'm frustrated...she's frustrated....

I know what you want. You want to decide for your daughter if she has potential.

You can't determine if a 9yr old has potential, you're either going to have to play this out, or nip it in the bud now and make her quit.

We have two girls pitching on our LL team. My daughter who either strikes them out, walks them, or hits them. It makes for very long innings if she's not ON. Then we have another, that lobs the balls in, lots of hits, the defense works hard and we seem to get out of innings pretty quick. The mindset is that the other pitcher is better, she gets it over the plate and the other team puts the ball in play and because she doesn't allow as many walks, but the difference is that no one is hitting off my DD because of the speed, so there aren't any opportunities for defensive outs. It's almost a disadvantage to have speed at this age in LL. We do have a 5 run rule. So sometimes it's 8 walks to get out of an inning.

I'm frustrated...she's frustrated....

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Read an interview with Lisa Fernandez a long time ago. She said her first outing pitching she walked 17 batters. The next time it was only 15. She ended up with Olympic Gold around her neck.

Learning to pitch is a marathon. There are so many muscles that need to be sequenced in a specific order in a fraction of a second it takes time to train them. It's a series of forward and backwards steps. Some get it sooner than others.

My DD started at 12 years old and threw the ball harder than any 12U or 14U player in the rec league she started in. The trouble was control. People were always telling her to "Slow it down. Just throw strikes." Fortunately, the girl with whom she started with taught her speed first, the control will come. She was correct. She moved to 14U travel as a 12yr old. At 12 she was all over the place but slowly improving. By 14's she was throwing multiple pitches and hitting her spots most of the time throwing a legit 60 mph. At 15 she pitched in the Championship game of the HS State Tournament. At 16 she had an ERA of 0.36 in the toughest HS conference in the State striking out an average of 10.5 batters per 7 innings pitched.

I know it sounds like a brag post. It's not meant to be. It is a partial time line of her development as a pitcher. As you can see it took years. And I can tell you the amount of frustration can wear on you if you let it. You have to expect it. It can't be your mantra.

Some of the best pitchers I've seen over the years are those whose dad or mom had a relaxed attitude when it came to their DD's pitching. I've seen several girl with huge potential give it up because mom or dad were "A" type personalities and they made their DD's softball life a living hell when it came to pitching.

Watching your DD in the video you posted she looks smooth and athletic without forcing things. Those are a couple of natural things that help pitchers develop.

Thanks Sparky...I think the hit batters are what bother me the most...2-3 in 1-2 innings almost every game. She's only pitched half a dozen games...but that's where the struggle begins (for me and her). The first one she shrugs off, the second one she'll start to slow down and steer/step, and if there's a third, I just swap her out.

Just for fun, at home, I had her line up/aim her body 2 feet right of my right shoulder...so while her body is aimed to my right, she is looking at my glove. She threw 8 in a row right to the glove. She could consistently hit a RH batter if that was the goal!! We played again last Friday. I told her and the other pitcher to decide each inning who was pitching....she played SS the entire game. I left the decision of practice and pitching up to her, but I told her not to expect to pitch in a game unless she had practiced and done her drills in the days leading up to the game. I'll see if/when she comes around.