10u Pitcher

[RICK]

I have an idea but just wanted to ask anyway. I am coaching a 10u team and one of my pitchers is throwing pretty well. Just introduced her to throwing to SPOTS, and was wondering if showing her a change up later in the year would be too much. When my older dd played 10u the pitcher that was on that team had a change but no control of it. So what do ya'll think?

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Yes. She needs a change up, now. Throw it often. Even if this is rec, she needs to gain the experience. Two of my better 11 YOs weren't allowed to throw it in LL and now, they are struggling with changing speeds.

 

[cwestwjg]

Amy which change up is better, the let it "fly and wave goodbye" the palm with no snap, or the method they are trying to teach my daughter the "horseshoe" with your palm facing down.

She did great with the let it fly method but her pitching coach is telling her it is a give away to any batter because she is turning her hand over and they will see her palm and know it's a change up. I didn't know 12u batters where that good to pick it up or maybe she is just thinking long term.

What do you think?

 

[alexander58]

Personally, I love the backhand because the pitcher maintains the same arm speed as the fastball. It can be difficult to master. You might try having her work on a couple to see what works for her.

 

[jacketsfan]

At those younger ages, it was easier for me, usually, to teach them a circle change. With that grip, they could throw with their usual fb motion, but with less speed, so it was usually successful. As they got older, they progressed to others.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Well, long term - they can change to the one that they want to use anyway. I show them a couple of different ones and let them try it. I am finding out that if their hands are small, the circle change works better. Sometimes, they have a hard time controlling the back handed flip because their thumbs aren't strong enough - or aren't reaching a seam.

 

[shockcoach]

I agree with others here, teach them the change early. At 10U, I tried to have my pitchers who had a change throw at least one to every batter.

 

[chinamigarden]

I think the best thing to do at that age is find a grip/method they are comfortable with and go with that one. When they get older and their hands get bigger they will experiment with different grips and will likely change. Right now its more important to get them in the mindset of using the change. Just tweaking their thoughts about pitching a little bit now will help them become better pitchers in the long run and not so much throwers.

 

[Jojo]

I also show my pitchers a variety of different grips and releases. I let them go home and play around them, then we play with them at the next practice and try and settle on one.

As the pitcher gets older sometimes we have to change to another method.

 

[DOG310]

Amy,
What grip do you have them use for the flip (backhanded) change? My DD has been working it and it is pretty when it works, just looking for more consistency. She tried the circle, but it didn't seem to take much speed off.

thanks