Pitcher Parents - If you could do it all over again...?

GoCaboNow said:

Can you define power pitcher and a pitcher that is a spinner?

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Power pitchers are characterized by higher than average velocity in college working in the upper 60' to low 70's. May or may not mix speeds very well, and some are what has been termed "effectively wild". These are usually your strikeout pitchers. - In baseball terms think of Nolan Ryan or Randy Johnson

Spinners typically will work in high 50's to mid 60's, usually have a high spin rate, and very good command, and mix speeds very well. They are quite adept at making hitters look like total fools. In baseball terms think of Greg Maddux who dominated MLB with mid 80's heat.

I have two DDs that pitch, 15 & 17. My oldest DD back in 4th grade decided that she wanted to pitch. The mistake that I made was not getting her effective coaching early on. She had to struggle with undoing some bad pitching habits. My younger DD had an easier ride because I had more things figured out by the time that she started pitching. My older DD is sometimes jealous of her younger sister's "accelerated development" but I tell her that she's the reason her younger sister is doing so well, which helps.

To do it all again I would NOT have Coached her travel teams. I was the one that made my DD earn her mound time and I was too quick to pull her. My other pitcher got most of the mound time and I inadvertantly REALLY developed her and hurt my DD. Now that she is in HS and avg 10 K's a game all is well but Id like to change the coaching thing. Not Coaching travel ball after HS is done but only being the pitch caller for her new team. That is the part of the game I enjoy the most anyhow.

If I had to do it over again:

- give her more confidence to speak her mind to the coaches/catchers about pitch calling;
- address bad habits earlier (e.g. leaping, leaning);
- spend more time with her on the rest of her game (e.g. hitting, fielding, secondary position, etc.)

Things I would not do differently:

- when at all possible, only have her pitch every, OTHER, day to give her body a chance to rest between sessions;
- continue to NOT ice her arm or shoulder. Ice is to reduce the swelling from injuries, not for normal pitching activities;
- getting her a PC at 7yo once she showed an interest in the position (note: most parents thought I was crazy to do it).

The bottom line is you can't have too many regrets. Enjoy the precious time you get to spend with your kids when they are young, no matter what the activity. As my DD enters HS next year, I know there are only a few more years left before she becomes an adult...

riseball said:

She and I both agree that we should have invested more time and effort into mastering a change-up. The interesting thing is that kids like her that are power pitchers can do quite well without a CU. But once they do develop the pitch it becomes extremely effective, more so than for a pitcher that is a spinner.

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DD and I are doing just that right now, 50% of our bucket time is spent on change ups.

I would have made my daughter a catcher. Real catchers are harder to find imo.

Chess club
Equipment is cheaper, tournaments are quieter and mostly indoors. LOL

1) Get her switched over to IR sooner. DD spent her first 4 years as a HE pitcher.
2) Less concern with speed and more concern with proper mechanics and spin.
3) Master a change up that is deceptive. First pitching coach taught a knuckle change, and while DD can throw it, it is not as deceptive as a backhand change.
4) For recruiting I would have had my DD on a marquee A-level team by first year 16U. We were loyal to our Tier-2 TB coach and I naively thought that my DD's pitching would speak for itself and that being on a marquee team was not a big deal.
Sidebar: I think a lot of college coaches miss out of some great players simply because they are not on a marquee team.

1bucketmom said:

tournaments are quieter

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LOL, you haven't been to a national chess competition!

sbcowboy said:

Great thread. Did u guys ever struggle with motivation to do the pitching work? What did u do to get by this?
What about team selection?
Thanks!

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For my DD this was not a problem, except for:
- A day here and a day there, when her energy was just too low - usually due to school work
- Then there was that one time when she quite for a late summer after TB was over, for about 1.5 months, when she had a cancerous new boyfriend and party-girl bestie. (yuk that was a bad 1.5 months)