Pitchers Parents

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

May 30, 2013
1,442
83
Binghamton, NY
It is like preparing for a test, a speech or a piano recital. If you haven't worked on it at home, it probably isn't going to end well.

Agree!

I always tell my girl: "We practice during practice, and when in a game we get what we get."

Meaning, game situations are not for tweaking. And don't expect to pitch well in games if you haven't practiced.

It's also much easier to watch games as a parent, if you adopt the attitude that the real work (with respect to mechanics) happens in practice. Games are for learning how to get batters out, not work on mechanics.
 
Last edited:
Jul 19, 2014
2,390
48
Madison, WI
I think a lot of athletes face the dilemma of being good enough to play somewhere but not good enough to play at their school of choice. Since softball comes second to an education for many, they opt for the better education and hang up the cleats in college. I know when the time comes if I have to give DD advice on pitching at Humbolt state or getting an education at UCLA, it will be an easy decision.

I agree there are some fantastic D3 schools with softball teams,and those schools are very pricey. For example, Wellesley, U of Chicago, Swarthmore, and many others.

Or, the big D1 schools usually have softball clubs and intramural leagues, ranging from non-competitive to VERY competitive. I would think that some of these clubs are a higher level than some of the D3 teams, but I could be wrong.

Although many of the girls hang up their cleats, they don't HAVE to.
 

JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
PS. 5'3" is different than 5.5" It really is hard. However, in looking at the most recent set of commits in my area, a lot of unexpected players ended up in some pretty good places, and it was because they asked and persisted, while the more talented or physically gifted player who expected everyone to come to them did not.

One thing to keep in mind when you look at the Gold Fastpitch - Where Elite Fastpitch Softball Players go! commitment list is that 90% of the players on the list are receiving PARTIAL scholarships. A D1 school has 12 scholarships and most carry 20+ players. Some really good players may go to lesser known schools because they get a better overall package.
 
Dec 7, 2011
2,368
38
As a parent of a pitcher, I tell her to throw whatever pitch the coach calls. "Right" or "wrong".

I just have to "counter-point" something here.

One of the BIGGEST mistakes you can make for your DD is allow a HC to call pitch types that are AWAY from your DD's pitching strengths (just because the HC has an image of an ideal pitcher pitch types)
 
Feb 17, 2014
7,152
113
Orlando, FL
I just have to "counter-point" something here.

One of the BIGGEST mistakes you can make for your DD is allow a HC to call pitch types that are AWAY from your DD's pitching strengths (just because the HC has an image of an ideal pitcher pitch types)

If it is that bad it may be time to move to an environment more conducive to success.
 

JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
One of the BIGGEST mistakes you can make for your DD is allow a HC to call pitch types that are AWAY from your DD's pitching strengths (just because the HC has an image of an ideal pitcher pitch types)

The head coach of my DD's TB team and I have different opinions on pitch calling. He likes to analyze the batters swing and try to pitch to the batters weakness, while I prefer to pitch to my DD's strengths......kind of the old "give um the heater" mentality....

 
As the dad of a daughter playing travel ball, it's pretty tough to stay calm. Her team doesn't have a dedicated pitching coach, so I hired my own. After catching for my daughter the past 3 years at countless clinics, camps and private pitching sessions, I've picked up a lot and can spot bad habits my DD may revert to. We usually practice twice a week for 45 minutes focusing on different elements of her pitch - wrist, arm circle and leg drive, plus different pitches. I usually videotape sessions with my daughter's pitching coach and play them back to identify corrections on mechanics and go over them with my daughter.

When it's game time, I try to be quiet, but it's hard. Being a pitcher can pretty lonely - all the training almost year round that an outfielder or shortstop doesn't have to worry about.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,477
Members
21,445
Latest member
Bmac81802
Top