Pitch counts in softball?

[riseball]

Based on the photo above, I will go out on a limb and say that there was more to the story than too many pitches. A pitch count is not a solution for bad mechanics.

 

[tmolina]

I like the idea of having a pitch count. Once the change is made at rec league, and club levels, more pitchers will come out and learn. At the same time move the fences back 20 feet. At lower levels pitching isn't dominating anyway. I have personally seen club coaches over use pitchers in fastpitch before they hit puberty and I think there are long term effects on these kids arms.

 

[JJsqueeze]

didn't you used to be a firecracker? Is there a new addition to the rambling wreck you would like to tell us about?

 

[riseball]

The problem with pitch counts is most often the end result is a lower level of skills and poorer competition. Since more pitchers are needed due to the arbitrary and ineffective limit on participation there is less incentive to learn and teach proper pitching mechanics. Every kid is a pitcher and "pitching experts" come out of the woodwork teaching awful mechanics. As long as she is throwing strikes... As history shows the better coaches and players will move on to organizations where the instruction and competition is better. If you are part of a rec or semi-competitive organization and there is not someone at the top responsible for instruction (Director of Instruction), start asking questions.

 

[Cannonball]

My dd's 12U team played this weekend. It was something to see as a 12U team took on a 14U and a old 14U that had players who could be 16U. Anyway, she kept pitch counts on every pitcher. In fact, she even went to the point to have a player monitor the warm up pitches for a girl who had pitched earlier in the day who was warming up just in case she was needed the last inning. I think dd's organization does that at every level. I don't know what numbers they use but do know that they pay great attention to detail. When one pitcher hit 70 pitches in the 5th, she came out. IMO, that is a conservative number but one she held to for this tournament. In all two girls pitched in each game. I know that at least 5 girls took the circle.

 

[Rocketech1]

When DD played rec, they had inning limits. During regular season, at 8U you could only pitch 2 innings until playoffs and then all teams would ride their #1 since it was unlimited. At 10U, 3 inning and 12U, 4 inning limits. All-stars was unlimited innings but most teams used their top two pitchers anyways. During rec league there really wasn't an issue with overuse because you only played 1 or 2 games a day, under time limits.

Travel ball is a whole different animal and most coaches pretty much do what they want and the parents let them. With that said, only once did I feel that the head coach over pitched my DD and that was 3 games in a day with the last game was capped off with a 9 inning ITB. I would like to think that I won't let that happen again?

 

[smddad]

View attachment 9170

Based on the photo above, I will go out on a limb and say that there was more to the story than too many pitches. A pitch count is not a solution for bad mechanics.

Similar to this kid?

 

[riseball]

Similar to this kid? View attachment 9172

Yes!!! They both have a ball and a glove.

 

[JAD]

View attachment 9170

Based on the photo above, I will go out on a limb and say that there was more to the story than too many pitches. A pitch count is not a solution for bad mechanics.

It is painful just to look at her locked knee drag leg in the picture!

 

[grcsftbll]

Scorekeeper....forgive my bluntness please....but your ignorance of travel softball and the rarity of effective pitching is really showing. Coaches are not involved in pitcher development at all. All they do is recruit the best pitching they can get their hands on. Good pitchers are so rare that often fees are waived, practice schedules become optional, it is truly crazy. All because there is a real shortage of quality pitchers. You cannot take a kid and teach them how to pitch within the context of a team practice. You need a family to fully support a pitcher's development and sign up to finding a way to train them outside of practice. Then you would need a coach patient enough to let her get crushed for about a year before you see dividends.

The first year of the 12U/14U level is a feeding frenzy of hitting where all but the best pitchers get absolutely crushed by great hitting teams. If your kid is lucky enough to be able to neutralize lineups then she has to deal with the constant sales pitches to join different teams. It is crazy SH*T. All because the game is so tilted offensively that good pitchers are simply hunted to extinction and gobbled up by better teams and once they are 13 or 14 they are so far ahead of a girl that might want to pick up and try it that it makes the idea of "starting" pitching at 13 or 14 really daunting to a non pitcher. Realistically by 12 years old, almost every girl that is going to wind up a pitcher is already pitching from there on out it is just a weeding out process to see how many will improve enough to be the lucky ones standing in college. A big part of this is that the lions share of circle time goes to 2 pitchers on every team sometimes one pitcher. I think the game would benefit greatly from changes that would make it realistic for a kid to pick up pitching at 15 or 16 and still have a shot.

What you are hearing from all us pitching dads is that it is out of whack and we would like to see it evened out a little so that more pitchers could succeed in the game. Think about that....we are saying that we want MORE competition for our daughters by having the pitching pool expanded via some method. That speaks volumes to how out of whack it is.

So true. My DD started lessons shortly after she turned 8. We practice about 5 days a week. Every team practice we go early or stay late, as do the other pitchers on the team. Because I'm 40 with 40 year old reflexes and was never all that athletic to begin with, I'm constantly covered in bruises from catching for her. The investment of time and money in developing a pitcher is significant compared to most other positions. In travel ball at least, there is no way you could have a girl pitch who was anything other than devoted to pitching. There's too much work that goes on behind the scenes.