10U Pitching Question/Frustration

[Rmc1981]

So, I have this frustration with parents of 10U pitchers, but as I'm thinking about it tonight, I'm wondering if I'm off base.

As I'm finishing up my hitting lessons for the evening, a friend of mine is leaving with his daughter who just finished her pitching lesson. I ask how she's looking and he begins to tell me how she's "really got her screwball working and her curveball". I don't say much except how proud I am of this girl who I first coached when she was barely 6. She is a decent pitcher, though nothing special. Her fastball tops out at 42....at her very best with her dad on the gun. Typically she throws 36-40. Her change up is fine but she is inconsistent with it. So my problem is...why in the world are you working on a screwball and curveball when you can barely spot your fastball and are inconsistent with your change? What good will 4 inconsistent pitches do you? Wouldn't you be better with two pitches that you are really good with?

Over the last couple years, I've coached against some of the best 10U pitchers in TX. I faced at one point or other all 3 girls who won 10U A/B/C USFA World Series last summer and several of the other top 5 teams. Almost every single one of them was dominant with a great fastball and change up. Maybe it's just me, but I can't think of many reasons to over complicate things in 10U.

In addition to the lack of need, I wonder how realistic it is for girls to even make the ball move at this age. I've yet to see a girl throw a screw/curve that moved enough to make a difference. Either they can't spin it enough or there isn't enough time from 35 feet for it to move.

I guess I'm just wondering if I'm way off base here? Not that I can do much about it even if I'm correct. Everyone's kid seems to be the next Jennie Finch at 10U.

 

[4 girl's dad]

Good post. I have a 9 yr old that throws all those pitches and then some. We work them all to get her hand used to the feeling of spins but they are not her "go to" pitches. She just thinks she has them and it keeps her from getting bored at lessons.


As far as movement goes, on occasion she can actually get it to move very well but most are just spinning, which is okay. It still effects how the ball comes off the bat on a hit and typically keeps a hard hitter to infield hits. She is only pitching 35-38 on a good day but has pretty good control and her change up gets em swinging, usually.


We have a tremendously long journey ahead at the plate but she is having fun learning new stuff and that's what matters at 10u. Have fun.

Hope this helps with the thought process a little.

 

[Jquick823]

My DD is a catcher so I don't know this for sure, but I was told that pitching coaches often teach their students new pitches because it keeps them coming back for more lessons instead of getting bored. This way the parent that can't teach a screwball doesn't say why am I paying $$$ for her to throw a fastball for an hour I can do that at home. This is what I've been told and is no way backed by concrete information but it makes a bit of sense.

 

[nicelag]

I'm with 4 girls dad. Some of the hand motions for the various pitches are somewhat unorthodox and difficult to master. Many teach additional pitches, or spins, at an early point if nothing else but to get the little ones used to the hand motion. Then as they get older, gain velocity and spin they will already have the motion and the movement will come.

With that being said these young pitchers need to work on their fastball and changeup to become more proficient while filtering in the other ones. As a general rule the toughest parent to talk to is a pitcher parent!

 

[coach james]

At 10u, all she really needs is a peel drop and a change up. All the other pitches she may have are just learning the spin and should not typically be thrown in a game. It takes years to get a decent rise ball. So yes, I'm all for teaching them the concepts of spin, grips, and mechanics of the other pitches just to shorten the learning curve later. I've got a 10u student that I've worked with for about 18 months now. We introduced the rise ball to her last Monday. Not for any other reason than just getting a feel for a new grip and hand slot. We'll plan to spend 10 min. each lesson just seeing if she's able to slice and not rotate to palm forward. I'd kick her behind across the field if she starts telling people she's got a riseball! Lol

 

[nicelag]

We actually had a 9 year old girl at practice the other day that asked the coach why he didn't ask her to throw her rise/curve. Yes, she meant one pitch. No joke!

 

[quincy]

If they are practicing a bunch I do not have an Issue with them spending some of their time working on spin pitches. If they are up or down by a bunch I wouldn’t mind seeing them throw it in the game. The only thing that frustrates me a little is the parent actually thinks the ball moves.

 

[4 girl's dad]

My DD is a catcher so I don't know this for sure, but I was told that pitching coaches often teach their students new pitches because it keeps them coming back for more lessons instead of getting bored. This way the parent that can't teach a screwball doesn't say why am I paying $$$ for her to throw a fastball for an hour I can do that at home. This is what I've been told and is no way backed by concrete information but it makes a bit of sense.

There is some truth to this but it varies for reasons. Some good, some not so good.

 

[quincy]

As other have mentioned above if you have good FB and CU, you can be a dominate pitcher. Some instructors teach quantity over quality. I know DD’s favorite pitch when she is batting is a bad CU.

 

[Cowdogz]

For some, it's not "can you get hitters out?", it's "how many pitches can you throw?" I play with a guy who thinks he has 4 pitches and is "working on" a 5th. In reality, he has two pitches: ones that leave the infield hard on the ground, and ones that leave the infield hard on a line.