How do I make this point to a 13 year old?

[mad hornet]

On an 0-2 count yeah. Or against weak hitters. Against good hitters, at some point, you do need to demonstrate the ability to throw the change for a strike. I'm sure you know this. I'm posting for others.

absolutely. Still needs to be low in the zone. Hanging change ups make me cringe. I love umpires who think ankles are part of the strike zone. Seems to be quite a few in Ohio. When you find one your pitchers have to live down there.

 

[jkhayes08]

No Strikes

My 13 yo DD is starting her second year of travel ball and also her second year of pitching. She only throws right around the 49-50 mph zone (right now) consistently, but has precision control and lots of movement on her pitches, which saves her as she isn't throwing as hard as other girls. She has a knuckleball flip change up that she throws for a first pitch to hitters and keeps it down in the zone and has a nice drop as it reaches home plate. She quickly gets two strikes on the girls and gets ahead 0-2. So what does she throw next??? A strike right down the middle that they clobber!! Don't get me wrong...some do swing and miss. When we told her pitching coach about this they worked on her throwing the ball off the plate on an 0-2 count and making her throw a ball (high outside). DD is flipping out because why would she want to throw a ball? Pitching coach said that the only girls who throw a pitch down the middle on an 0-2 count, are pitchers that don't think they can get the girl to strike out. So we started this new drill that when she gets an 0-2 count and throws the ball down the middle (doesn't matter if they strike out or hit it) she has to do 10 push ups after the game. Sometimes they swing and miss, sometimes they clobber it. DD insists that she was taught to throw strikes and now we are changing the rules. Husband is an ex major league pitcher and knows about the mentality of a pitcher, but not of a 13 year old girl, which is another beast in itself. What would be best way to explain to her that it's okay to throw a ball and see if they will chase it? She's frustrated in the fact that she has worked hard on learning to throw strikes and I try to explain it that we are trying to teach her to pitch and not just throw strikes. I was thinking of offering her a $1.00 for every 0-2 count she has that she throws a ball. What do you think? Is bribery okay?

Bribery is a great tool. She should learn that 0-2 should never be a stike, even blind squirrels sometimes find an acorn. Her drop should be out of the zone and her fastball high or high and away. Only throw changeups to good hitters and throw it in all counts never up. If she is throwing 45-50 she needs to develop more pitches at 13 she needs to increase 3-4 mph per yr if she wishes to reach an elite level.

JKHayes

 

[alexander58]

I would hope coaches would spend time teaching pitchers and catchers how to pitch to batters. Not all girls have the instincts, but those that do should be taught to call their own game. Catchers and pitchers can see things from the field that coaches cannot. It's a little arrogant to think you're the only one capable of calling a game.

 

[oldwindmill]

I understand what you are saying, but... I had two kids play sports in college. The bottom line was that they either did what the coach said or they sat the bench. It ain't a democracy.

I have to agree 110% with the slugger. If that happened on my team or on the team of several coaches I know then dad and daughter would both be on the bench. Defying the coach's decision and calling the coach an idiot in the presence of a player is an absolute no no. Either you adhere to the team principle and listen to the coach or you don't play. This isn't about one individual and what they may or may not know about the strategy for a game. If the coach makes a bad decision and it costs the team then the coach shoulders the responsibility. It is not up to the players to go their own way because maybe they think they know better what is good for the team effort.

 

[ifubuildit]

Oldwindmill

I have to agree 110% with the slugger. Defying the coach's decision and calling the coach an idiot in the presence of a player is an absolute no no. If the coach makes a bad decision and it costs the team then the coach shoulders the responsibility.

Too your two points.

Except when He/She is an idiot and doesnt know the game.

Except when they are not held accountable for their decisions by a higher authority.


Happens all the time at every level of the game.

 

[SamG]

Too your two points.

Except when He/She is an idiot and doesnt know the game.

Except when they are not held accountable for their decisions by a higher authority.


Happens all the time at every level of the game.

IMHO, if you really think that, pull your daughter off the team. Undermining the coach (whether he/she is an idiot or not) does not do your daughter any favors. If you think the coach made a bad call you can tell your daughter that you don't agree with it or don't understand it, but you listen to the coach.

The only time a player should NOT listen to the coach is if they are told to do something in violation of the rules of the game or the rules of law.

 

[BoardMember]

I was thinking of offering her a $1.00 for every 0-2 count she has that she throws a ball. What do you think? Is bribery okay?

ABSOLUTELY OK!.........

I used to play a game with my kid........I put a $100 bill in a clear glass jar on her dresser and taped it closed. We named it "the strike jar"........

We'd set aside 10 minutes at the end of every lesson to play "strike jar".....

I paid a quarter for every strike and subtracted a 50 cents for every ball.........I told her that when she reached +$100 she could open the jar and take the bill...........Then we'd start again.......That hundred would last a nice long while.......Pure Unadulterated Bribery.......

By the time she was 15 she had all but emptied my bank account.....well not literally.......

BUT.......

When she turned 17 she paid me back with interest........$125,000.00.........And 4 years she'll never forget.......

True story........

 

[T.J.]

Hi, I'm new here and have only coached Little League as my daughter just turned 12, so take this for what it's worth.

If you want to have your daughter feel a little more at ease with throwing a ball away from the strike zone have her watch MLB and she will see most pitchers throw a high fast ball up in the zone if they have an 0-2 count. Based on the mind-set of the batter it is good strategy, and quite often it pays off.

Aside from that I would tell her that still the best pitch around is a well located fast ball. If she can spot her fast ball (even if it's only 50 mph) on the corners or down and in then she's good to go. Remember, you only need a portion of the ball to be over the plate for it to be a strike, not the whole ball. So a pitch that is located "to the outside" can still be a strike while appearing to be a ball.

So what would I do if my daughter was on the mound with an 0-2 count? It would depend on the batter but in some cases I would signal her to bring her best fast ball inside and high; brush the batter off a little. Then come back with a change-up on the outside to ring her up.