2013 ASA council meeting

[Daddylawman]

I'll throw one in from left field. Change 10U, 12U, 14U, and 16U to 9U, 11U, 13U, and 15U. Keep 18U as it is since there not much difference between a 16 y.o. and an 18 y.o. Let 13's pitch from 40' and 15's from 43'. Seems to solve the HS problem.

 

[shockcoach]

I can't imagine what damage would have been done from 40' feet or it had hit her in the head, even with a mask.[/B]

Most likely your DGD, assuming a right handed batter, would have hit it to the 2nd baseman for an out.

The 43' was designed to help out the hitters, not the pitchers. There is no real safety advantage for the pitcher.

 

[tghorley]

Most likely your DGD, assuming a right handed batter, would have hit it to the 2nd baseman for an out.

The 43' was designed to help out the hitters, not the pitchers. There is no real safety advantage for the pitcher.

I agree that 43' was designed to help the batter. And DGD may have hit it to the 2nd baseman although she had already hit one off the 215' fence in left field. My only reason for posting was that girls at this age can be at different levels in their body maturity. It may be that this pitcher has not faced a young lady as strong as my DGD, 13yo-5'6"-150lbs and works on her core all the time. The pitcher may have had a recent growth spurt and she has not gained control of her body yet. 3ft can slow down the pitch for the batter, but it does not slow the ball down much when it is hit as hard as my DGD hit that pitch. That extra three feet may give the pitcher a fraction of a second more time to react, which is all it takes sometimes to avoid injury. I don't want anyone to get hit, but I would rather they be hit at 43' than 40' just because they may have that extra reaction time.

 

[SoftSocDad]

That extra three feet may give the pitcher a fraction of a second more time to react, which is all it takes sometimes to avoid injury. I don't want anyone to get hit, but I would rather they be hit at 43' than 40' just because they may have that extra reaction time.

Younger pitchers at 43' see more pitches hit than they do at 40'. So, the expected decrease in risk due to distance is offset by the increase in risk due to frequency.

 

[KevinC]

Guys.....its 3 feet - 36 inches....... thats it. HS ball plays there, college ball plays there. And additionally from what i have seen come June 1 when HS ball is done all the HS players are back on the 14U teams. This always comes down to pitchers. Three feet is not going to kill pitching for your DD. Will she need movement yes, location yes.....but guess what she will need that at HS and college level too. Speed is not everything.

I agree it is not hard for the pitchers to adjust. Last year we played 12U tournaments with the pitchers at 40' and the next weekend we were playing 14U scrimmages with the pitchers at 43' and the pitchers had no problems adjusting.

 

[starsnuffer]

Premier actually has it in the rules that 14u can either be 40' or 43'. That leaves it up to the tournament directors to decide. What we see a lot of is 40' on Saturday to give the 13 year olds a chance to pitch and 43' on Sunday for championship play. I hate this, because while it is easy for the pitchers to adapt, it really screws up the batters timing wise. This makes the pitchers on Sunday appear much better then they are in reality.

-W

 

[Mylil32]

I'll throw one in from left field. Change 10U, 12U, 14U, and 16U to 9U, 11U, 13U, and 15U. Keep 18U as it is since there not much difference between a 16 y.o. and an 18 y.o. Let 13's pitch from 40' and 15's from 43'. Seems to solve the HS problem.

I really like this idea, seems to make the most sense.

 

[Goobie]

My suggestion has always been to leave 14u "B" at 40' and move 14u "A" to 43'. This would give the stronger players and/or freshmen that are playing 14U a distance equivalent to what they see in HS. It would also allow those younger 14's to use the shorter distance.

Just my two cents.

 

[fastpitch]

so anyone think 43' for 14u will happen for asa in 2013?

 

[shockcoach]

We shall find out by the end of the week.

As of now, I have my 1st year 14 DD pitching from 43' during her clinics.