- Apr 14, 2011
- 93
- 6
My DD used to pitch. She pitched from about age 8 and recently stopped once she entered HS. When she started taking lessons at 8, I didn't let her in a game to pitch for about a year when she could throw fastballs mostly for strikes. She was actually a catcher because no one else could catch. Anyway... I think her not pitching in a game helped her as far as success when she actually got in a game. She ended up being a pretty good pitcher, but it did take a lot of work and took away from her fielding and hitting. Every day (literally) I told her she could quit pitching and it would be no problem with me. Its tough work being a pitchers dad, especially when they start throwing harder and learning drops/ drop curves. All those years, she kept saying she wanted to pitch, she worked at it and was pretty successful so I kept supporting her. Then one day last summer, after our last tournament, before she entered HS, she said she was going to stop pitching. I think she realized she wasn't going to be able to pitch at a level she wanted to actually play at. While she was a good pitcher, she was probably a better hitter, and base runner. She had started to get attention from college coaches for her offense/ speed. She also saw the type of pitcher most colleges were looking at and she didn't fit that look. She told me she was going to stop pitching and focus on hitting and fielding instead. It made my life much easier. And I think it made hers too. To be a successful pitcher you have to practice like 3-5x per week or more all year round which means less time for hitting/fielding. Now all she has to focus on is hitting and fielding which now she has time for and will probably help her more down the road if she wants to play at the next level.