What pitches should a 12U player have at this point?

[CJ D]

Again, he didn't write it. He copied an article. Sheesh.

Anyway, you give me a 12U pitcher who can put her fastball where she wants to, and when she misses, it's not for a strike, and who has command of her change up, and she'll win a lot more games than she loses. Throw in the ability to get that fastball up in the low to mid 50s, and vary the speed, deadly....anything over that is just lagniappe. It is very difficult to be effective with screwballs and drops at 40'. The extra 3' at 14s helps a ton. Not to say there aren't 12s who can do do it, but just that it is going to serve you better to have command of the pitches that they will need to be effective in games in 12s.

 

[coach james]

I'm more of a drop ball fan instead of the fast ball, but at a 12u level, I'd expect the kid to have pretty good control of her hard stuff (should be in the high 40's to mid 50's by 12u) and the ability to throw a consistent change up. Anything above that is a bonus!

 

[eastcoast]

I can't even get them to throw a C/U. In the situations around here, no one is calling pitches. Their FB is generally 42ish, we practice C/U a lot and drop has been introduced. I think a screwball is a possibility. You get out of pitching, what you put in and I and not seeing a lot of 12 yos put much in.

Amy, I think you are talking rec ball right ?. That is definitely not true in TB teams.
If you have been to this years ASA/USA 12U nationals, pretty much every girls throwing mid to high 50s. Majority of them had good fast, CU, and drop. It was awesome to watch some of the best teams from SEC area.

TournamentASA | Tennessee ASA

 

[JJsqueeze]

First that is against copyright to put the whole thing in and not a link, but that is here nor there. Separate it out, please.

If you give me the name of the author, I will correct my comment.

This makes no sense to me. If it is neither her nor there then why mention it. And Chillax is a verb not an adjective. As for KR having a riseball, she may have one but I don't remember seeing it in the games I watched. If it was a good pitch for her why not throw it more. Can you imagine how devastating she would be with a good riseball to compliment that drop curve and CU? She threw low time after time in the WCWS don't you think if she had a good rise she could have used it to effectively mix it up? I'm not buying it. If its not a pitch you throw in a game as part of your arsenal then you don't have the pitch. This material is copyrighted and cannot be reprinted without the express written consent of JJ, the squeezer.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

No. I am coaching girls that are in TB. Two of the teams recently returned for 12U nationals. We would be the western B nationals.

 

[Ken B]

Link to Cindy's Article:
Coaches CornerA Pitching Lesson fromKeilani Ricketts « Softball Excellence

 

[softballmom77]

I am chillax, you were the one just writing a 100 mile essay on something that is not true. She did not use the rise in a game where they did not need to nor did they want the ball to go yard on them. Keilani has at least four pitches; one of which is a rise. She is also 6 feet, and left handed. If someone wants to get their kid to the next level, (right handed and 5 foot 6 by college age) they are going to need more than two pitches. So I kindly request more research or attention to the games before you write something that in depth on a false premise.

..KR is known best for the pitches described above!

I'm sure she can throw every pitch but that's neither here nor there!

This thread was about a 12 year old....


So at 12 yo my DD threw her fb on both corners and her change. She could hit her spots and was very effective with the change using when they least expected it. Not just on 2 strike counts. Let her pitching coach help her play around with some new pitches and also how to throw the same pitches she has with just diff speeds.
.

 

[Ken B]

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[JJsqueeze]

lkjdlkjdflkjdflkdlkjdlkjdlkdjlkdjldkjldjkdlView attachment 4328

bahahahahaha...so subtle yet says so much.

 

[Madsdad]

At the 12U level so many girls and more importantly parents/coaches think speed is everything. My daughter was slightly above average at the 12U level for speed, her location was above average. Her change up was and is still her best pitch at 14U. As she learns how to use it, and very its speed, it becomes even better. Her fastball is a peel so she is able to keep the ball on the ground 90% of the time. Change of speed is a young girls best friend, just try to explain that to parents and coaches. She may never have overpowering speed but so far it has not hurt.