How many times per week does your daughter practice pitching?

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May 24, 2009
45
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Well, the first 12U tournament of the season was this past weekend. You could most definatley tell which pitchers had been practicing over the winter and who hadn't. I was really wondering if we were at a SELECT tournament because it felt like REC all over again. Even my daughter who was bringing the heat at the end of November has lost some velosity over the winter. I thought we were doing good by pitching 1-2 times a week over the past few months, but watching her this past weekend I realized that 1 time a week is not going to get her a scholarship to college. I was talking to a dad who's daughter was pitching extremely well and I asked him how often does he catch for her. He said he catches her 4 days a week at home and then also catches for her pitching lessons on Saturday. REALLY? Is it realistic to say that for our daughters to be competitive that they need to be pitching every day?? My husband works late so it is up to me (the mom) to sit on that bucket and catch. I will say that since my daughter does not get home from school until 4 and then you have dinner, cleaning the kitchen, homework, baths etc. it does not leave much time to sit on a bucket. Especially when it gets dark at 6pm.

I would like to know how much time most people devote to catching their daughters. How many days per week? How long at a time? Do you take her to a park or just in your back yard?

I thought about buying a pitching net so that she can pitch by herself. We had one last year but it never got used and it sat out in the backyard until it literally fell apart. She hates pitching into a net because it is not realistic (so she says). What other training aids do you use???

Elizabeth
 

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,132
113
Dallas, Texas
He said he catches her 4 days a week at home and then also catches for her pitching lessons on Saturday. REALLY? Is it realistic to say that for our daughters to be competitive that they need to be pitching every day??

My DD pitched D1 in college. She played at a mid-level D1 softball school--not great, but not bad.

Starting at 13YOA:

She pitched 4-5 days per week for 9 months out of the year. In March and April, she was probably pitching 7 days a week. From Mid-august to December 1, she would pitch 2-3 times per week. She would pitch approximately 1.0 to 2 hours, depending upon home work and extra-curricular activities.

We lived in Chicagoland. It would get dark at 5 PM during the winter. We made arrangements at a local sports academy for her to pitch during their slack times. We were always looking for a place to pitch. We became very efficient at this. We worked it into her schedule.

Training aids: There really isn't anything.

It is very boring. It takes a tremendous amount of will-power and devotion to do this.

And, even if she does all this work, there is *NO* guarantee that she'll be good enough to pitch in college.

Whether it is worth the effort is up to you and her.
 
Last edited:
Jan 18, 2010
4,284
0
In your face
This is one advantage to playing school ball. My DD gets pitching practice everyday. ( Monday-Friday) From Dec to March. Then season starts. So either pitching games or pitching practice 5 days a week.

Once we convert to travel it's about 2-3 days a week and multiple games on the weekend.

So we only have late October to end of November off. And that's my choice for her. We all need time off.
 
May 7, 2008
8,506
48
Tucson
I caught DD every day and we did hitting, also. She is the youngest of three. She learned to drive on the 1 1/2 hour trips (one way) to pitching lessons, when she was 15/16.

I just made a web site today and I asked the parents to catch their kids at least 5 days a week, but that goes for all positions, not just pitchers.

It is the same as piano lessons. If the child wants to get better, they will put in at least 30 minutes a day at a 12.

I give my students a chart, for them to color in. They need to practice 23 days a month to get a new softball.
 
Feb 5, 2010
222
16
My daughter and I are new to the pitching seen and even though we live in Wisconsin we have managed to keep her pitching 4 to 5 days a week and lately have been increasing. I don't make these long drawn out work outs either. She just turned 11 and I want her to have fun as well as learn a very important lesson, hard work and dedication will pay off. We spend most of our winter months in a basement ( more time then money) throwing at about 30 feet working on mechanics. Once a week I take her to a clinic in our area and it is very easy to see who works during the week and who doesn't. I just can't see something as complex as pitching being done once or twice a week and being sucessful at it. It is no different then any other activity that needs work to perfect, the more you put into it, the more you take away.
I don't know if she will continue to pitch through collage, I would like to think she will, but for right now, I enjoy the time we spend together and that is as big a part of why we work so hard even in the off season.
 
Jan 23, 2010
802
0
VA, USA
Every day.

No if, ands, or buts. If this is what she wants to do, then she'll want to do it everyday. She'll find places to do it. I know people who throw in barns in the dead of winter with a little propane heater going. I don't pitch, but I work my hitting every opportunity I get--even in the winter. And fielding. I haven't had a day off from softball in over a week. However, this is what I LOVE. I LOVE to do this and I would not have it any other way. If she wants to pitch, she needs to be throwing every day.

I often say it is not about the time. You have time to watch TV every night, you have time to do other things. You have to MAKE time to do the things that you want to do. If she's serious, you will find a way to fit this into your schedule.
 
Jun 24, 2009
311
0
My DD just turned 12 . Has been pitching almost 3 years . What i have found with her if we pitch 2 times a week she looses ground,3 times a week we maintain what she has, 4 times a week
she gets better and faster.We rarely pitch 5 times a week but we did early on. Once season starts about twice a week then pitches 2-4 games per weekend seems to work good for her . We usually take off nov. and dec.
 
Oct 22, 2009
1,781
0
When my DD was pitching she practiced (I caught) everyday. She would usually get Mondays off after a tournament. She got her birthday off, she got a week after Nationals off and a week at Christmas. If she had to miss more than 3 days in a row, due to illness, injury or weather, it would show.

Pitchers are all different, some could probably get by with just 3 days per week. My DD had horrible muscle memory, she would really lose it after a few days, she also kept all her bad habits in her back pocket, things you'd thought were gone forever would just reappear after a few days off. That is why we stayed as regular as possible.

I'm an instructor now and yes I can tell those who don't practice, I can also tell those that just throw at practice and don't actually work on their mechanics.
They think if they go outside in their yard twice a week and throw the ball underhanded doing all those things coach says not to do, that that's practicing.

If you have a young pitcher and don't know if she'll make it to high school or college as a pitcher, never think of practicing everyday as a waste of time. Your teaching work ethics and it's a valuable skill. It's a skill she'll use in her next interest, college and her career.
 
Mar 1, 2010
16
0
My 2nd year DD practices: 2 or 3 times a week with me depending upon game schedule, 25 - 50 pitches. The number of pitches depends upon the lesson plan from the PC. Twice a week with her catcher, 50 - 75 pitches, Once a week with her PC, varied pitches depending upon the lesson. Practice usually averages out to 5 times a week and then 1 or 2 days of games. Last year her cruising speed was 43 - 45 and she had a tough season. With this practice schedule for the past 5 months her cruising speed is now 52 - 54 and creeping up. Her PC feels she will reach a cruising range of 54 - 56 for tournament season provided she keeps up with the practice schedule. One point I want to stress is this schedule was made by her and her PC. If she doesn't want to pitch I don't force her.
 
May 7, 2008
468
0
Morris County, NJ
October- December - 3x week including her lesson
12/15-/1/15 - off

1/15- 3/5 - 3x week including her lesson

3/8 - August - school and travel ball begins . practice/games will be 5x week with 1-2 days off.

3-4 weeks off after 1st week of August

Sept - end of October - 3x week including lesson plus games on weekends only.
 

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