How old was your daughter when she started pitching? advise needed

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May 24, 2009
45
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I have a 13 yo daughter who started playing softball at age 6. She started pitching slow pitch at 8 and fast pitch at 10. We got her a pitching coach, and from the get go showed alot of talent and potential. Now, she is in A ball and doing extremely well.

My youngest daughter is 6 but will be 7 in December. Because of her birthday we had to put her in 8U (fastpitch). She has never played softball in her whole life. She is extremely tiny for her age but is more agressive than her sister at this age. She has a rocket arm and attacks the ball and is very speedy. She decided that she would follow in the footsteps of her older sister and be a pitcher. I thought, wow that is awesome because getting started at pitching 2 years before her sister did, she could get really good!

She had one pitching lesson several months ago but did not want to do the drills they taught her. She will not take any advise from me or her sister. I tell her to do warm up drills and she says no she wants to do it her way. She is VERY stubborn. The only person she will listen too and take advise from is her coach. Tomorrow is our 2nd game and the coach is putting her on the mound. She is pitching every other inning. The coach will also pitch every other inning to speed up the game. 1st of all I have no idea what will happen on the mound tomorrow beside a bunch of horrible pitches and a very slow game. Did I mention that my daughter has not wanted to practice pitching all week long? She will say, no I don't want to pitch today, maybe tomorrow. When we do finally practice, she will throw 10 pitches and tell me she is tired, and start crying. She does WANT to be a pitcher but doesn't want to put the work in to get good.

With her attitude of not wanting to listen and not wanting to practice do you think she is just too young to start pitching and will out grow the attitude with age, or do you think she just does not have the personality to be a pitcher. Any advise will be appreciated! Thanks

Elizabeth
 
May 24, 2009
45
0
Let me clarify in case you are wondering... I do not make her pitch or practice...If she tells me she is too tired, we stop and do something different. I do not want her to get burned out at such a young age. Right now she LOVES softball....She just wants to play on HER terms, not mine... She is VERY driven and has a competitive personality. She wants to be the best....She is always asking me if I think she is better at softball than her sister....There is alot of jealousy with her sister and that is one reason she will not take advise from her. I have never know any young child who has more determination than this kid. She could really do well if she will just continue at it. Ok sorry I deviated from the original question but wanted to give you more insite to where I was coming from. Thanks
 

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,132
113
Dallas, Texas
I don't know where to start. I'm flabbergasted.

She decided that she would follow in the footsteps of her older sister

So...if she said she to be a fireman, you would have bought her an axe and had someone teach her how to break through a door?

Do you think her "career choice" of softball at 6 YOA is somehow more thoughtful than if she had told you she wanted to be an astronaut?

Come on. You can't be serious. 6 YOA girls need to be making dandelion bouquets for their mother, not practicing pitching.

If you are serious, you are doing a great job of stopping her from ever becoming pitcher, because she hates it already. Keep it up and she'll quit softball, if she is lucky.

Kids that age should be having fun and playing softball for the joy of it. And, if they don't like it, let them quit. Because, believe it or not, not everyone likes softball, and especially doesn't like pitching.

To be honest, if I were her, I wouldn't pitch either. Pitchers usually pitch less as they get older, until they are pitching perhaps every other game. And, pitchers usually don't bat. On the other hand, the best SS on the team plays every inning and gets to bat all the time.

So, my advice:

(1) Don't harass her to pitch.
(2) You are wasting money going to a pitching coach.
(3) If she does poorly, don't worry about it.
(4) When she turns 9 YOA, ask if she wants to pitch.

To answer your question:

My DD started pitching when she was 9 YOA. She started taking lessons when she was 11 YOA. She became very good--not great, but better than 75% of the D1 college pitchers out there.
 
Last edited:
May 7, 2008
8,506
48
Tucson
99 out of 100 six year olds are too immature to pitch. If she isn't practicing, she shouldn't be pitching at all. All she will do is pick up bad habits.

What is she going to do about a girl that is almost 9 that smacks one right at her head?

It is my opinion that she probably would enjoy something else, until she is mature enough to learn some softball skills.
 
May 10, 2010
256
0
I think patience is the most important thing when starting kids pitching no matter how old they are. More important than that it has to be fun, the younger they are the less attention span. When my dd started at 6 we never forced it. We practiced more often when she wanted to.
 
Oct 18, 2009
17
0
My DD started pitching at 10 and started lessons at 11. She just turned 12 and loves to pitch. She has not devoloped yet, so who knows if she will ever be great. Time will tell, but there is no way I would have had her on the mound at 6. To be honest I wasn't real excited when she told me she wanted to pitch at 10. I was hoping for the cheaper, easier way out.
 
May 25, 2010
1,070
0
She's 6.

Many of us here use the forum to vent (I'm the first to raise my hand on that), but venting to express frustration over the fact that a 6yo 'won't do the drills' or to complain that she won't practice?

I think you're on an island pretty much all alone there. Get off that island and come back to reality where 6yo softball players occasionally play catch in their spare time or ask you to pitch a few wiffle balls for them to hit.
 
Mar 13, 2010
1,758
48
She does WANT to be a pitcher but doesn't want to put the work in to get good.

She's six. She doesn't know what she wants.

Forcing a child to practice something to the point they cry is sick.
 
Aug 23, 2010
582
18
Florida
Elizabeth, sounds like you are doing fine to me. Your youngest wants to pitch at 6 yoa. Your not forcing her to practice. I don't see any harm in letting her try it. I have yet to be at an 8u game that didn't seem long. The hardest part will be not getting frustrated and telling her she should have been practicing more. When she is older and has an actual understanding of how much work it takes, you will really see if she wants to pitch or not. For now, make the game as fun as possible and help her fall in love with the game. There is plenty of time for private coaches and practices later.
 
Dec 3, 2009
218
0
Kansas City area
Tortoise beats the Hare

A lot of the better pitchers did not start until they were 12 or older. Do not let her pitch in games until she is ready and has decent mechanics (and will not change them to throw a strike). My DD turns 9 in two weeks and has worked hard for 1 yr (really hard) and I am just now comfortable pitching her in games. We make it fun and she pretends to be pitching for a college, travel team, or team USA. In this case the tortoise beats the hare IMO. Also use positive reinforcement. Make it fun and she will develop slowly over a few yrs.
 

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