I Dont know "if" she has what it takes

[Pitching Dad]

My dd just turned 14. She has always been very small and at 10U she was our only pitcher on our travel team. All thru 12U I had a strong lefty that I had confidence in and was reluctant to give equal innings to my dd. This lack of innings REALLY put her behind but as I said, she was much smaller and thru maybe 40 until last year of 12U. During last fall till this past spring she hit a major growth spurt going from 4-10 to 5-7 and still growing.
Since she was much smaller we concentrated on location, spinning the ball and a change up. She is currently on her HS team as a freshman on the #1 ranked 7A team in the state with a strong pitching staff and should see "some" innings in JV this year. She works out at a minimum of 3 times a week while going to a very good pitching coach weekly. Her current speed is mid 50's with a couple pretty good moving pitches. This fall we skipped from 14u to 18U A class and she has been getting hit pretty hard. My question is this, do I continue to put her up against the much stronger hitting hoping that she gets better or do we play 14U to give her some confidence against weaker hitting? I have been chalking this fall up to it being a learning experience and that she will get more effective at the better hitting as she gets circle time and experience but at times I wonder if she really "has what it takes". She loves pitching and is a very hard worker and I treasure this experience and I guess the worse that we come away from this journey with is a heck of a bunch of GREAT memories. JUST LOVE TO SEE HER START TO GET SOME SERIOUS SUCCESS!

 

[JAD]

This fall we skipped from 14u to 18U A class and she has been getting hit pretty hard.

Why would you skip 16U? Most D1 college recruiting occurs at 16U showcases, with D2 and D3 schools split between 16U and 18U.

 

[#7sDad]

From your post, I would say your DD has had a lot of success! Success doesn't have to mean wins and dominating. She has moved up to progressively higher levels of competition fought for her success. She's just going through another learning curve, but will only get better by facing competition that will make her better. Confidence can come from small "wins" against really good batters, regardless of the outcome of the game. Sounds like she loves it and is having fun, let her keep 'growing.'

Your 12U experience is a really good reminder to all of us. At the younger ages it should still be about skills growth and experience. Seeking wins by riding the skills of 1-2 players won't help the others develop their skills too. You never know who is going to turn into the stud when they are that age.

Great post. Good luck to your DD!

 

[#7sDad]

Why would you skip 16U? Most D1 college recruiting occurs at 16U showcases, with D2 and D3 schools split between 16U and 18U.

Can the 16U showcase be more of a regional thing? In the northeast, most of the serious programs play one year of 14U as 8th graders then move to 18U showcase once starting high school. We also don't designate between 16U/18U showcases... it's just showcase (at least from what I've seen, we're still a year away).

 

[Classof2020]

I agree with JAD about skipping 16's - I can see skipping second year 14's.

It's sort of hard to reconcile what you're saying - on the one hand she was super small and way behind . . . but then now she had a 9 inch growth spurt in 3 months and throws middle 50's at barely 14. Physically she doesn't sound like she is behind anybody anymore. Is it the mental part that you feel like is missing? what does she want to do?

 

[djcarter1966]

Not sure what the rational for skipping 16U is? Continue working, let her rack up lots of innings in JV but surely there is a 16U team around looking for pitching I see them advertising weekly no matter where you are.

On the flip side does she only get rocked against really good teams? Can she hold her own if she is "ON", against anyone? It's not the worst thing to get banged around every now and then but if she is giving up 8-10 runs every game then that is not a good thing.

 

[sluggers]

Her current speed is mid 50's with a couple pretty good moving pitches.

55MPH and two movement pitchesare more than enough to compete at 18U--not 18U Gold, but she should be able to hold her own at 18U.

So, your evaluation of her is wrong. The problem is most likely you are not correctly evaluating her movement pitches.

A good example is a drop ball...you can get 14U kids to chase a low drop ball. 18U batters will only swing at a drop if it looks like a thigh high strike, and then moves out of the strike zone.

MOVEMENT PITCHES: What is the percentage of time she can her breaking pitches to move? What percentage of time can she put the breaking pitch in a specific location? Can she throw a breaking pitch and get the ball to move in the body of the 7th with the bases loaded and a 3-2 count?
WALKS: How often does she walk girls? If she is small like you said, she can't have any walks in a game. She can't fall behind hitters. Her control has to be razor sharp. She gets 3-1 to a good 18U batter, and the ball will go flying.
FASTBALLS: Can she hit consistently (90% of the time) hit the corners? Or does she get behind and then is forced to throw the ball down the middle?
READING THE UMPIRE: Does she learn the umpire's strike zone? Or does she pitch to the rule book definition of the strike zone?

My question is this, do I continue to put her up against the much stronger hitting hoping that she gets better or do we play 14U to give her some confidence against weaker hitting?

As JAD said, she needs to be playing 16U, not 18U.

Moving her down to 14U to let her strike out 21 girls per game is hardly worth the time. If you want her to play an occasional 14U game, that is OK.

 

[JAD]

Can the 16U showcase be more of a regional thing? In the northeast, most of the serious programs play one year of 14U as 8th graders then move to 18U showcase once starting high school. We also don't designate between 16U/18U showcases... it's just showcase (at least from what I've seen, we're still a year away).

I have seen some showcases/tournaments designated "High School", which combines 16U and 18U. In our area 16U is very popular and most of the girls who decide to "play up" in 18U are the ones who are already verballed. Going to showcases can be expensive so moving to 18U and playing local tournaments can save parents a lot of $$$.

 

[Pitching Dad]

In our area basically 16U-18U are combined. She can hold her own if she is on one time through the order then the teams adjust and get on her. Her dropball is wicked when she doesnt hang it so probably 60+% of the time. She throws a decent screw ball Curve is on one day off the next. She is pretty accurate on spots, her success seems to really hinge on her change-up working. We are working on her rise ball (spins) and in practice. I pitched Mens FP and still throw batting practice to the team.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Growing 9 inches in 6 months changes the timing and synchronization needed to consistently be accurate. Adding more weight and/or strength to the new frame will change center of mass and balance. Re-equilibrating and adjusting will take some time. As long as she's not getting hammered from pitch #1 every time out, I'd give it 6-12 months to fully adjust and re-assess at that point. Patience is a virtue.