moving from 11" ball to 12" ball

[jay]

hi folks. my dd moves from 35'/11" (10U) to 40'/12" (12U) this fall. we've gone back and forth trying to get her used to the 12" ball at 40' but i'm not sure moving her back and forth is the right way to do it. any tips for transitioning to 40'/12", i.e. should we draw a line in the sand and do it all at once, never to return or continue going back and forth? i ask because dd has made some comments about not preferring to go back and forth but that put's us out until the end of july until we go 40'/12" and i want to get her as much of a jump start at the next level as possible.

thanks!

jay

 

[Coach JV]

If she is finished with 35'/11" why go back and forth. I don't understand.
When she plays her last game at 35'. Go to 40/12 and stay there

 

[obbay]

Is she playing in a league from now until then? If not, just start her pitching at over 35', don't go back and forth. Maybe try 37 or 38' for a bit before 40'.
With my DD she knew 40' was coming and had tried it a few times. Then as soon as the last 35' season was over, we moved to 40' and didn't look back.

she'll get used to it but she has to start working on it.

 

[stephanie]

What I was told (on this board) was to start her pitching at 40' first with the 11" ball, and then when she gets used to the distance, then move her up to the 12" ball.

 

[fastpitch5]

this is a good question - and probably a pretty common issue. my dd has been doing long underhand tosses and distance pitching as part of her warm-up and practice routines fo some time now. so we're hoping the 40' distance won't be a total shock to her system. we will be pitching from the 40' distance from now on. i am expecting her to get a little winded as she gets used to applying the extra umph this fall.

as for the ball size...we're going to the 12" ball and not looking back. my dd can get enough grip on the ball to create decent spin and control, so we're fortunate. a pitching coach suggested to another girl on our team she pitch a baseball (underhand, of course) to get the feel of the spin, then go back to the 11"/12" ball. she was having some issues creating spin, and it seemed to help.

 

[jdcii]

My dd is going thru the same thing right now. She doesn't finish up 10u until the end of July, but we have started the transition already. I suggest one practice a week at 40' with the 11", one practice at 40' with 12" ball and one practice a week at 45' with 12" ball. The reason we go beyond the 40' is for speed. If she is still playing games make sure you don't do this just before a game. She'll have a tendency to throw high if you do; i.e shorter distance, lighter ball. The key is to keep her release point exactly the same. We are fortunate in the fact that DD is 5'4" and has the ability to grab a 12" ball nicely. Of course, this is the switch that some 10u pitchers can't make because of their size.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

With my students, we pitch from 35 feet with the 12 inch ball for a while. They of course are still doing long toss and walk throughs. Then, the next lesson I move the pitcher's plate back a foot. If she is having some success, I move the plate back each lesson. Generally, there is no deadline on reaching 40 feet. I don't make a big deal out of where the "rubber" is being placed. It is down before the girl gets there.

Once they have their last game at 10U, I hand them a new 12 inch softball to keep and we never pick up an 11 inch ball, again.

I make certain that their overhand throw remains strong and their form doesn't suffer.

I video tape, a lot.

 

[jay]

If she is finished with 35'/11" why go back and forth. I don't understand.
When she plays her last game at 35'. Go to 40/12 and stay there

she's still playing 10U until fall ball.

 

[jay]

thanks guys. i think we'll stick primarily with the 11" ball but move back to 40" on a regular basis. we're preaching walkthroughs right now, too, so that won't be a huge shock to her. then, when 10U is done this month, on to 12" forever.

thanks guys!

 

[blatour]

i had my dd work with a 14'' ball, thats it. i never showed her anything else for a couple of days of work. it was tough on her to grip it but when she got the 12'' ball she was fine. i moved my home plate back to 40' and never told her and she just finished her first season of 12u travel ball and i moved her up 1 yr early so i think the 14'' ball and moving your home plate back and not the rubber works. it worked for me and her.