Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right

[SoCalSoftballdad]

If a kid is a real athlete, taking off a couple of months for basketball won't matter. Would be just like riding a bike. The trouble is that there are too many girls who are not good athletes who are out there pitching and are making pitching coaches a lot of money.

CoachFP - I think you are missing the point with training during the off season, especially with speciality positions like pitching. Its purpose is two-fold: a) work on new pitches and/or "perfect" existing pitches; and b) maintaining and keeping your pitching at a high-level.

While I think it is important for kids to play multiple sports and to take some time off between seasons; the off-season is a great time to focus on a few core softball skills like pitching, hitting, etc. so the transition is a smooth one once the pre-season starts again. As redhack said, it's also a time for the not as athletic kid to "catch-up" to her peers and stay competitive.

Pitching well is NOT just like riding a bike. Pitching is the most complex activity and movement performed in fastpitch and requires year-round dedication to do it well. Any coach worth his salt can immediately tell which pitcher worked hard in the off-season and which ones didn't pick up a ball for two months.

 

[CoachFP]

Two months off would be my recommendation. That means ten months a year of pitching. If you aren't getting it in 10 months you are not going to be very good anyway. If you are a good athlete and have proper mechanics pitching is very much like riding a bike. Bad mechanics almost make you have to start all over again when you take time off.

 

[chinamigarden]

The key isn't being able to tell if a girl took 2 months off when team practice begins. The key is can you tell when the team starts playing games and tourneys. If the answer is no, then I don't see the issue.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

My brother and I ( both D1 pitchers ) were discussing where this thread went. He has more connections past the college level than I, but we could not think of a single professional pitcher that pitches 12 months out of the year.

I may be stoned to death for saying this but I think pitchers need SOME time off. Or at least another sport to keep them in shape.