- Apr 12, 2013
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heybucket all over again
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What if...????
- Thread starter DmystifieD
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Most important question. What does your dd want out of her softball career?
Second most importatn, What does your dd want out of her education?
You just described my dd in your post (except the GPA) so just prior to 9th grade I assumed she wanted to play ball for as long as possible, So I asked her a couple of questions about college and she said "I'm not playing softball in college" She still holds that line, she is playing on her travel team and her HS team until she goes to college and as far as she is concerned thats it.
Second most importatn, What does your dd want out of her education?
You just described my dd in your post (except the GPA) so just prior to 9th grade I assumed she wanted to play ball for as long as possible, So I asked her a couple of questions about college and she said "I'm not playing softball in college" She still holds that line, she is playing on her travel team and her HS team until she goes to college and as far as she is concerned thats it.
- Apr 12, 2013
- 112
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deja vu...
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Chinami is totally correct. That is the play to start.
Assuming you have figured out what she wants to do with her life after softball, and knowing that she might change her mind a few times....
The reality is that your DD is not a super-talented kid. The super-talented kids are throwing 60MPH at 14YOA. So, your DD probably won't play at Alabama, Arizona State, Oklahoma or UCLA. (Big deal. My DDs didn't either. They had a great time playing college sports. They've got great jobs and are doing just fine, thank you.)
SO:
(1) Your DD needs to find a travel ball team where she can *PLAY*. Be realistic...she isn't going to play for the Beverly Bandits or the OC Batbusters. Find a team where she can pitch 50% of the games. She needs to be on the mound a lot...she is going to have to learn how to pitch, and she isn't going to do that watching someone else throw.
(2) She needs *ONE* quality vertically moving (i.e., rise or drop) breaking pitch. Parents make this mistake all the time--they think 2 inches of movement on a pitch makes it a breaking pitch. She needs a pitch that moves 12 to 14 inches. And, she needs to be able to place that breaking pitch horizontally at any pre-determined spot on the plate. (i.e., the catcher calls for a pitch 4 inches off the inside corner of the plate and she can hit that spot.) She also needs to be able to throw the pitch for a strike. So, throwing a rise that is always above the shoulders is not going to work. Neither is a drop that is always at the ankles.
(3) She needs superior control. I'm not talking about "Throiwng strikes"...she has to have the ability to hit any 2x2 inch square within the strike zone.
(4) She needs to understand umpires and strike zones. She needs to be able to *DESCRIBE* an umpire's strike zone after one inning.
(5) She needs a change up *AND* she needs to be able to change speeds on her breaking pitch by 10 MPH.
(6) She will probably top out around 58 MPH, but you might be able to squeeze another 2 MPH out of her and get her to 60. If can throw consistently 60MPH, with good control and a great breaking pitch, she can play at a mid-level D1 school, a top D2 school, or a great D3 school.
Assuming you have figured out what she wants to do with her life after softball, and knowing that she might change her mind a few times....
The reality is that your DD is not a super-talented kid. The super-talented kids are throwing 60MPH at 14YOA. So, your DD probably won't play at Alabama, Arizona State, Oklahoma or UCLA. (Big deal. My DDs didn't either. They had a great time playing college sports. They've got great jobs and are doing just fine, thank you.)
SO:
(1) Your DD needs to find a travel ball team where she can *PLAY*. Be realistic...she isn't going to play for the Beverly Bandits or the OC Batbusters. Find a team where she can pitch 50% of the games. She needs to be on the mound a lot...she is going to have to learn how to pitch, and she isn't going to do that watching someone else throw.
(2) She needs *ONE* quality vertically moving (i.e., rise or drop) breaking pitch. Parents make this mistake all the time--they think 2 inches of movement on a pitch makes it a breaking pitch. She needs a pitch that moves 12 to 14 inches. And, she needs to be able to place that breaking pitch horizontally at any pre-determined spot on the plate. (i.e., the catcher calls for a pitch 4 inches off the inside corner of the plate and she can hit that spot.) She also needs to be able to throw the pitch for a strike. So, throwing a rise that is always above the shoulders is not going to work. Neither is a drop that is always at the ankles.
(3) She needs superior control. I'm not talking about "Throiwng strikes"...she has to have the ability to hit any 2x2 inch square within the strike zone.
(4) She needs to understand umpires and strike zones. She needs to be able to *DESCRIBE* an umpire's strike zone after one inning.
(5) She needs a change up *AND* she needs to be able to change speeds on her breaking pitch by 10 MPH.
(6) She will probably top out around 58 MPH, but you might be able to squeeze another 2 MPH out of her and get her to 60. If can throw consistently 60MPH, with good control and a great breaking pitch, she can play at a mid-level D1 school, a top D2 school, or a great D3 school.
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- Apr 12, 2013
- 112
- 0
here we go......
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halskinner
Banned
- May 7, 2008
- 2,637
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There is a big difference in being a 'Thrower' and being a 'Pitcher'. Mechanics, strength and everything else already mentioned is required and helps alot.
However, being a very successful pitcher also requires you to be able to put yourself in the batter's box and 'see yourself' as the batter sees you, every single move you make when you throw any particular pitch. This is an ability that eludes many, probably most pitchers their entire career. Being a champion pitcher is as much a mental state of mind and is every bit as important as all the mechanical and physical things that go into pitching.
With all due respect to other posters, in my opinion, there is no such thing as a pitcher who has 'Topped out' on pitching speed. Being 'topped out' on speed is also a state of mind, a mindset, a pit you fall into when someone first says those words. I have worked with many HS aged and college aged pitchers that also believed they had 'Topped out' and seemingly gave up thinking they could ever throw any faster. They found out it was 99.9% a mental state they were stuck in.
Dont discount the mental part of being a winning pitcher as trivial, it is not. It is huge but it is always the last thing considered to be important in the effort.
However, being a very successful pitcher also requires you to be able to put yourself in the batter's box and 'see yourself' as the batter sees you, every single move you make when you throw any particular pitch. This is an ability that eludes many, probably most pitchers their entire career. Being a champion pitcher is as much a mental state of mind and is every bit as important as all the mechanical and physical things that go into pitching.
With all due respect to other posters, in my opinion, there is no such thing as a pitcher who has 'Topped out' on pitching speed. Being 'topped out' on speed is also a state of mind, a mindset, a pit you fall into when someone first says those words. I have worked with many HS aged and college aged pitchers that also believed they had 'Topped out' and seemingly gave up thinking they could ever throw any faster. They found out it was 99.9% a mental state they were stuck in.
Dont discount the mental part of being a winning pitcher as trivial, it is not. It is huge but it is always the last thing considered to be important in the effort.
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- Oct 22, 2009
- 1,779
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Most important you need to understand what SHE wants. 90% of the girls my DD played ball with never had the chance of a good college softball experience because they were forced or felt obligated to do what daddy/mommy wanted. "My daughter will play D1 someday". Almost everyone of her friends that went on to play college ball, dropped out. They went to low ranked D1 schools with partial scholarships were most of the time they never even played." But Mommy & Daddy were happy to tell all the other softball parents that they received a D1 scholarship.
Your DD may change her minds several times during high school.
My DD didn't even tell me she wanted to pitch in college until the summer before her Jr year in HS. And then she said she wanted to play out of state--far out of state--If the moon had a team she'd play for the "MOONTHLETICS".
Then she changed her mind after doing some out of state visits and reality hitting home. She wanted to stay in state, stay close enough to home where we could actually go see her play. She wanted a GOOD education, she began researching schools on the best colleges for her major. She was a smart kid, she was making smart mature decisions for the rest of her life--softball was temporary.
For travel ball-- find the best team you can get her on. Find a team that will go to the best tournaments and play the best competition.
One of the colleges on my DD lists came out to watch her in a tournament and claimed that they couldn't make an assessment on her because she never faced decent competition. That's a tough one because we had no control on who we faced at the tourny.
High school---this can be tough, my DD went through a lot of politics her HS, and she almost quit several times, but I encouraged her to stick it out and it all paid off in the end.
On the rubber--show maturity and leadership. Have that -never give up- attitude. Be able to pull yourself out of mindfuddles. So what if you just gave up a home run, strike out the next hitter and you've just proved you can't be mentally beaten.
College--again, make sure it's where SHE wants to go, no matter if it's a big D1, little D1, D2, D3. Make sure it's the right fit for her future, because again softball only last so long.
Your DD may change her minds several times during high school.
My DD didn't even tell me she wanted to pitch in college until the summer before her Jr year in HS. And then she said she wanted to play out of state--far out of state--If the moon had a team she'd play for the "MOONTHLETICS".
Then she changed her mind after doing some out of state visits and reality hitting home. She wanted to stay in state, stay close enough to home where we could actually go see her play. She wanted a GOOD education, she began researching schools on the best colleges for her major. She was a smart kid, she was making smart mature decisions for the rest of her life--softball was temporary.
For travel ball-- find the best team you can get her on. Find a team that will go to the best tournaments and play the best competition.
One of the colleges on my DD lists came out to watch her in a tournament and claimed that they couldn't make an assessment on her because she never faced decent competition. That's a tough one because we had no control on who we faced at the tourny.
High school---this can be tough, my DD went through a lot of politics her HS, and she almost quit several times, but I encouraged her to stick it out and it all paid off in the end.
On the rubber--show maturity and leadership. Have that -never give up- attitude. Be able to pull yourself out of mindfuddles. So what if you just gave up a home run, strike out the next hitter and you've just proved you can't be mentally beaten.
College--again, make sure it's where SHE wants to go, no matter if it's a big D1, little D1, D2, D3. Make sure it's the right fit for her future, because again softball only last so long.
It is an average.
A lot depends upon where you DD is physically right now. If she is completely physically mature (and some girls are at 14YOA), she'll be lucky to pick up 5 MPH. If she is physically immature and gets much stronger and more coordinated over the next 4 years, she could add 10 MPH.
Without seeing her, my guess is that she'll top out at slightly under 60 MPH. But, it depends a lot on her physique, work ethic, time management and instruction.
Almost any reasonably athletic girl can throw 50MPH. It is pretty rare for a HS pitcher to hit 65 MPH.
Hal said:
Hal sells fairy dust in addition to his book.
In baseball, they pay a pitcher who can throw 100 MPH millions of dollars. There is a tremendous financial incentive for people to throw 100 MPH. So, why aren't lots of 100 MPH pitchers? In fact, shouldn't Hal be teaching baseball pitching?
The truth is that the vast majority of people can't throw a baseball 80 MPH, let alone 100 MPH, no matter how much they work and how much they believe.
The absolute max for a baseball pitcher is around 100 MPH. Here is the article that explains it: Article on maximum pitching speed in baseball
- Apr 12, 2013
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cant believe it
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Has she attended any overnight camps, yet? My DD went to the UofI after 7th grade. She had a good time and actually found out that she didn't want to go to college, at all.
