Pitchers & other positions

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Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
My daughter is 8, moving into 10U now, and is a pitcher. She's pretty good. If she holds up under the pressure on the mound (she hasn't pitched in a game yet) I think she's probably going to end up in the #1 or #2 spot on her team for pitching. She is also a strong infielder. She's played a lot of first, but really loves short stop. She's good there, and loves how much action she gets at short. She's generally an athletic kid so she tends to excel wherever they put her.

I've noticed that as girls get older, more and more often pitchers sit when they're not pitching. Is it likely that as she moves up over the years, she'll end up having to choose between pitching and being a position player? At what age group do pitchers typically start to not play other positions? If a girl's a strong pitcher but also a strong short stop would the older teams still let her play both, in general?

Basically, I'm trying to figure out if, at some point, she's going to have to choose which she prefers. Right now, she loves them both about equally.
 

JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
My $0.02....
A pitcher who is also a great fielder/hitter is an asset to a team because it is easy to keep the parents happy because she is able to play another position and stay involved even when she is not pitching.

As you get older and play higher level TB you will find that players, pitchers and catchers in particular, become more "specialized" and there are more "pitch and sit" players. Pitching is a HUGE time and money commitment and a lot of coaches do not like the chance of their ACE pitcher getting hurt playing in the field or running the bases.
 
Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
I think a lot of it depends who else is on her Team. If she is clearly #1 she probably is not going play in the field to much. As always if she can hit they will get her in the lineup somewhere even when she is not pitching.
 
Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
She can hit. On our 8U travel team she was usually the #3 or 4 hitter in the lineup. She hasn't done much live hitting yet but she tends to hit better off faster pitches. From what little we've seen practicing with a 10U team, I think she's going to hit fine in fastpitch. But, we'll see. I know everything is different in games v. practice and that 10U is a huge adjustment. Fortunately she's already been hit by the ball (though it was her coach, not a pitcher, haha) so we got that out of the way and she got over it already. lol
 
Aug 26, 2011
1,285
0
Houston, Texas
Plenty of time to figure things out...esp since she hasn't seen mound time yet. Once she starts getting mound time, I think it will show whether she should be a pitcher or position player...especially if she improves consistently with mound time. My DD didn't start pitching until her 8th grade year, and while she is still not #1 or #2, she does pitch well considering; however, she is also VERY athletic and can play most positions except catcher. She sees corners and OF a lot. She also hits between 4 and 6 slot consistently. DD loves pitching but still needs work...only reason why we keep up with lessons and pursuit of mound time is because she is #1 pitcher for her HS team. LOL.
 

obbay

Banned
Aug 21, 2008
2,199
0
Boston, MA
What JAD said. Also, you do not want to put your eggs into one basket.
Remember that life isn't fair so unless you are the coach, your DD may not get the pitching opportunities she deserves.

If she loves the game, have her learn to play other positions. SS is important from day 1. as they get older (HS) OF will become equally or more important. Batting is important. she is very young so be flexible.

our lives would be much easier (and less expensive) if DD wasn't a pitcher. at 15, I have been told by two different coaches that DD could play on their U18 Gold teams next year but not necessarily as a pitcher. I expect that this will probably happen when looking at colleges when we get there.
 
Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
She's got a good understanding of the game, and so far has played well every position she's tried. Our rec coach moved the girls around a LOT so she got to play many positions over her first 2 years playing. Pretty much every position actually. In travel at first she settled into 1st base but we picked up with 2 teams that needed a short stop, and she loved that. She got to play short in several tournaments and thought it was awesome. She's been in pitching lessons since Jan but so far, no live pitching, so it's still up in the air whether she'll even enjoy pitching in games. My gut says she will, but who knows. I really don't care if she pitches or not - I want her to have fun and enjoy herself. That's super easy right now because if she's on the field, she's happy :D
 
Jul 23, 2014
191
16
Midwest
As your DD gets older, add this to the list of pitfalls to watch out for if she wants to continue to pitch.

My 11u was solidly the second best pitcher on the team. She tried out as a pitcher, and was constantly asking for circle time during games.

Regardless, my DD would get very little circle time as her coach would defer to #3 & #4 pitchers as my DD was also the only reliable SS on the team.

So if your DD wants to be a pitcher and tries out for a team as a pitcher, make sure that her secondary position(s) has/have reliable fill-ins.
 

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,133
113
Dallas, Texas
Is it likely that as she moves up over the years, she'll end up having to choose between pitching and being a position player?
Yes, most likely.

If your DD is an excellent hitter, she could probably be worked into the lineup as a DH or maybe play 1B.

At what age group do pitchers typically start to not play other positions?

Around 16U.

If a girl's a strong pitcher but also a strong short stop would the older teams still let her play both, in general?

A) It is very unlikely that your DD will be "good" at both when you get beyond 14U.

For you DD to "good" at pitching, she will need to practice 60 minutes a day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks out of the year. That is a *huge* time commitment. You probably haven't really watched a top 16U SS before. They are really, really good. They become really, really good by practicing as much as a pitcher. They will practice fielding and hitting an hour a day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks out of the year.

You and your DD simply do not have that kind of time to be good at both. You and her have other things to do (work, family, school, band, church, etc.). The time crunch becomes much worse when your DD enters HS (around 14YOA).

It is possible, though not likely, that your DD could play 1B and P.

B) You are looking at the world from the "my DD is the best player on the team perspective". When she plays for a "good" team, all the other players will be just as good as she is. That is the point of playing on a "good team"...to play with other good players.

When that happens, the other kid on the team who plays SS will be just as good as your DD. The other SS will also be available every game...not just some of the games, but all of the games. The SS is a key position, and a team can't rotate SSs.

End result: If your DD plays at all, she will only play SS in games that don't matter. Most likely, your DD won't play SS at all.

That's super easy right now because if she's on the field, she's happy

Keep her on the field then.
 
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