Mizzou vs UCLA

[FiveFrameSwing]

PC, in post #41 I see a video.

In this video we see the 1Ber (first baser) back up to be inline with the 2Ber (second baser) as the pitcher prepares to pitch.

I see what either appears to be a 10-player defense, or a shift in which RF is playing near a shallow CF.

The comeback to the pitcher looks fairly routine.

 

[Perfect Circle]

PC, I think you are fooling yourself if you believe you are training your daughter for events like this here.

Yes, I frequently see a pitcher make a protective catch. Had a pitcher do this last week ... she was proud of her "cat-like" reflexes ... her description. Honestly, she had no idea how she made the catch ..... it was a pure 'reaction'.

Yep... I know.... but I think its has to do with simply wanting to get the out, and DD was wanting a Double Play...
Thankz for the warning.... but her mother & I started it from the very beginning.... My DD is not training... she is trained...

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[RetiredCoach]

My youngest DD was hit in the face while pitching when she played 10U. Physically, she had no long term damage. However, mentally she has struggled for years and even at 14, she's not 100%. With that said, I do believe you can train--to an extent--to minimize the possibility of a serious injury. However, you can't eliminate all the possibilities and, without a face mask, you are vulnerable to serious injury.

Personally, I still hurt when I think of the experience of watching my DD get hit by that hard line drive. Of course, now, both of my DDs wear their face mask while pitching or playing infield. Needless to say, I am a strong advocate of wearing face masks. I would hate to see (or hear about) your DD being seriously injured in such a way. And, as a parent, I hope to spare you the pain of enduring the experience of seeing your DD be injured and the years of kicking yourself for not properly protecting your child.

 

[Rocketech1]

PC, would like to know how you prepare a third baseman for a bad hop that occurs 5 feet in front of her on a hard hit ball. You think your training would save her from a shot to the face?

I posted last fall that 12yo DD who was playing a 14u team took a line drive to her stomach that left a nasty bruise and the seams of the ball marks on her belly. She couldn't get her glove on it fast enough and it was a sickening feeling as she was removed from the game. I could only imagine what would have happened had it hit her two feet higher. That incident validated to me why I insist she wear a face mask when playing infield.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

PC, just a curiosity question .... in the video on post #41, there are two players near what would be the CF position. What is going on there? Is the team playing with 10 players on defense, or is RF vacated so as to have two players near CF?

 

[knightsb]

As my DD has told me the best defense on a comebacker is not throwing it fat in the first place. Failing that when you know it is going fat you better have your glove up. If all else fails a mask is certainly not a bad idea. I would submit that if peer or coaching pressure is keeping a player from wearing a mask when they have the desire to do so, they are facing much greater threats than a ball coming back at them.

riseball, your DD may be the exception, but....

1. I've watched a lot of D1 softball this year, and I am not seeing the legendary pin-point accuracy of the elite D1 pitchers. Countless times I've seen balls hitting the dirt 6' in front of the plate. I've seen balls thrown 10' over the catcher's out stretched glove. Osorio is as acurate as they come, and I've seen her drilled in the ribs by a line drive. I'm calling BS on the myth that these pitchers put it where they want, when they want 100% of the time.

2. I've watched the Plate umpires this year squeeze the strike zone, ala Kristen Stewart of Oklahoma. She lived on the river last year and can't last 2 innings this year. Pitchers are told to attack the hitters, not give up free bases, then get squeezed by a plate umpire and be forced to come over the white part of the plate. Look at some of the scores of these games, for the most part, they aren't 1-0, 2-1 pitchers duals.

3. I look at Finucan's pitch and I see the catcher gliding to the outside part of the plate. If I had one of these plates

... IMO, I'd say she ball was headed over the green.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Yep... I know.... but I think its has to do with simply wanting to get the out, and DD was wanting a Double Play...
Thankz for the warning.... but her mother & I started it from the very beginning.... My DD is not training... she is trained...

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yB16Z3usZtY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

There are so many things wrong here that I find it hard to believe that you would consider this training for hitting, let alone fielding what we see here.

But I love your daughter's comment towards the end .... "that was too fast" .... and your answer of "all right". Sounds like great training.

 

[riseball]

While there is no substitute for comprehensive training, that training will only take you so far. I used to train people in tactics to keep them from getting shot or worse. This included the recognition of threats and how to properly react to a threat. However, even with that training they still wore body armor when it was "game time". It is quite rare that player has "no time to react". More often than not there is a failure to properly react to the threat. In either case another layer of protection may be a prudent course of action.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

riseball, your DD may be the exception, but....

1. I've watched a lot of D1 softball this year, and I am not seeing the legendary pin-point accuracy of the elite D1 pitchers. Countless times I've seen balls hitting the dirt 6' in front of the plate. I've seen balls thrown 10' over the catcher's out stretched glove. Osorio is as acurate as they come, and I've seen her drilled in the ribs by a line drive. I'm calling BS on the myth that these pitchers put it where they want, when they want 100% of the time.

2. I've watched the Plate umpires this year squeeze the strike zone, ala Kristen Stewart of Oklahoma. She lived on the river last year and can't last 2 innings this year. Pitchers are told to attack the hitters, not give up free bases, then get squeezed by a plate umpire and be forced to come over the white part of the plate. Look at some of the scores of these games, for the most part, they aren't 1-0, 2-1 pitchers duals.

3. I look at Finucan's pitch and I see the catcher gliding to the outside part of the plate. If I had one of these plates

... IMO, I'd say she ball was headed over the green.

 

[Perfect Circle]

At the risk of repeating myself over again and I do apologize because I'm sure some of you are bored with my posts, I watched my dd get hit twice in the face as a freshman in HS. Both were ugly and both required trips to the hospital. IMO, wearing a mask is a personal choice and up to parents and player. IN NO WAY CAN A PERSON PRACTICE FOR THIS! What one might do in practice wrt this is what is on their mind during that drill. It is not the same in a game and at game speed. It is the difference in a fraction of a second between touching the ball with a glove and getting hit square in the face. PC, you didn't think that young lady from UCLA hit a shot?

Yes it was a nice hit.... but it was back on the bat.... at least not the sweet spot of a CF6.... ^^^ look @ the blue line above...