calling pitches

Jr10234 said:

My DD earned the chance to call pitches her Soph. year and has owned it since. Her coach is former D1 pitcher, so she knows a little about pitching. DD went to the coach after an inning where the pitcher was rocked, suggested some pitch sequences based on batter behavior, in the box, and swing, and was given the chance. DD can remember what pitch the hitter missed, drove, and went deep every at bat throughout the game.
Maybe if she has the chance for conversation that shows a willingness to learn and also an understanding, she can gain her coaches trust.

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Being a pitcher, teaching pitching, and calling pitches are three different things, and being good at one does not necessarily mean you will excel at all 3. Michael Jordan was a great basketball player, but flopped as a head coach...

I've found I need to start calling pitches other than a fastball for my DD right away or she loses the pitch during the game. She warms up with a mix of pitches and if I don't mix them in she loses her comfort.

Thanks again- excellent info. You bring up a great point- being comfortable with the coach and respecting him does not equate to working with him. They do communicate but I think they need to get better at it! he absolutely owns his mistakes and I know she does too, I just don't know if she owns 100% of them.

Also, FWIW- I may be in the minority because I don't/can't call pitches to save my life, but I know she is good at it, which is why I asked the question in the first place. You train a kid to think and then don't let her use it, seemed counterproductive- like getting good at hitting corners and then being instructed to throw it over the fat part of the plate

You make a great point-why teach if they can't use it. Good luck to your DD as she navigates the coach-player relationship.

I agree. I have seen my share of clueless coaches in my day as a player and parent. I don't see this coach in that category and stated she was D1 so my comment wouldn't get bashed but apparently that was enough.

She was successful D1 pitcher but my point was that she isn't some yahoo off the corner. She was a D1 pitcher, seems to me Abbott, Lawerie and Finch have fared well also

Jr10234 said:

She was successful D1 pitcher but my point was that she isn't some yahoo off the corner. She was a D1 pitcher, seems to me Abbott, Lawerie and Finch have fared well also

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My point was that plenty of D1 pitchers are yahoo's right off the corner with bad mechanics and boast god awful ERA's. They can be found across the nation giving lessons and coaching because "Hey, they played D1 ball." Abbott, Lawerie and Finch were exceptional pitchers in their own right who happened to have played D1 ball. Once again, playing D1 ball does not in any way equate to a high level of skill or expertise. For every exceptional D1 player at the top of the list there is another at the bottom of the list.

riseball said:

My point was that plenty of D1 pitchers are yahoo's right off the corner with bad mechanics and boast god awful ERA's. They can be found across the nation giving lessons and coaching because "Hey, they played D1 ball." Abbott, Lawerie and Finch were exceptional pitchers in their own right who happened to have played D1 ball. Once again, playing D1 ball does not in any way equate to a high level of skill or expertise. For every exceptional D1 player at the top of the list there is another at the bottom of the list.

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riseball said:

My point was that plenty of D1 pitchers are yahoo's right off the corner with bad mechanics and boast god awful ERA's. They can be found across the nation giving lessons and coaching because "Hey, they played D1 ball." Abbott, Lawerie and Finch were exceptional pitchers in their own right who happened to have played D1 ball. Once again, playing D1 ball does not in any way equate to a high level of skill or expertise. For every exceptional D1 player at the top of the list there is another at the bottom of the list.

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Absolutley right. And it's almost worse when the coaches/PC's played D1 ball because they assume they are experts having played the game at a high-level. DD's first PC was a very good pitcher at USF but was the poster child for "hello elbow" mechanics instruction. She even went on to tell me that "internal rotation' was dangerous and tried to show me how it was bad for the shoulder socket. We ultimately had to drop her because I couldn't pay good money to have my DD receive completely bad advice. The irony is the PC thinks she is a great instructor because a few of her students are going D1. What she doesn't realize is that they are succeeding "in spite of her instruction" not because of it.

djcarter1966 said:

Calling pitches against a team you have never seen and never scouted is fairly meaningless. Keep the ball low, come in and out, get a feel for the zone and then see what is working that day, maybe by the late innings (third time through which is when the pitcher needs some good advice) you can actually provide some meaningful input.

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Really? I honestly can't believe everyone let this slide. I know there are several of you out there that watch batters on deck and during their at bat and know what to throw, regardless if you have ever played them before or not. Don't get me wrong, batters will surprise you but there are certain things to look for that absolutely tip you off as to what pitch to call as a coach. Of course I am not suggesting that all coaches are good at it nor am I saying that all pitchers/catchers can't do it better than some coaches but the blanket statement quoted is absolutely inaccurate. "OK kids, the game plan for the day is to guess our way past the first 9 batters. After that we will know what pitches we have working and what pitches they can hit! Then if we aren't too far in hole we may be able to stop them from scoring."

Sorry but I don't see this as a winning strategy against good teams.