Went to a 12u tourney this past weekend and the consensus best pitcher was throwing 53 had an excellent change up and a curve. 01 birth year. There were several kids in the 50-52 range. They all had good size. I seen the consensus best pitcher 1.5 yrs ago in 10u she was about the same size physically and was throwing 50-52.
Who is right?
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I am a firm believer that a pitcher has to be pushed to get better. I have seen a lot of really good 10U pitchers who never learned a new pitch and never made significant speed improvements at 12U and even 14U because they were never pushed by the level of competition they faced.
Pitcher's parents need to find a balance between playing for the best team they can (facing better competition), while still being the #1 or #2 pitcher to maximize circle time. My DD and I have been very blessed in the fact that her TB has "grown" with her through the years, but parents who are not as fortunate need to be prepared to change teams to find the proper "balance".
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- Oct 22, 2009
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I recently had this conversation with one of my pitching dads. When to move her to travel ball and push her a little more.
She was 10 and finished up #2 pitcher in her 10u league.
#1 and #2 pitcher threw about the same speed, mid 40's, but #1 pitcher was slightly more accurate (not my pitcher--she's a push it down HE pitcher).
#1 went on to play 12U travel ball.
#2 which was mine, her dad and I talked about what to do with her. I suggested she stay in the league for a season (fall). Gain some more experience-she was a first year pitcher this Spring, and gain some more skill.
So far it was the right move, she's #1 pitcher in 12u, she's undefeated and throwing her fastball, change and drop well.
Her dad said, her friend-the #1 pitcher that went to travel ball, is struggling and feeling defeated after such a great 10u league season.
I told her dad we'd evaluate her after the fall and see if she could benefit staying down one more season, or moving on to travel.--But yes, keeping her challenged and motivated is the key, I don't want her to move to 12u travel to be challenged if she's going to be sitting the bench, she needs to be pitching.
You can't stay in League too long either. There is a girl here at one of the local parks where I instruct. I've seen her pitch in the warm up area since she was 10. Horrible mechanics but just a beast size wise, so could throw pretty hard. Did great through 10u, did great through 12u league, did great through 14u league. Now she's 15. No more league, she's still playing here for the local travel club, but she no longer pitches.
This is something I wish more parents of pitchers would understand.
I do not want to diminish the importance of rec leagues, but the sooner a player can move to TB, the better. My DD started playing TB at 9, but did not start pitching until she was 10. We were a C-level TB team, which was basically a rec league all star level. The problem with staying in a rec league program too long is that the number of "entry level" TB teams diminishes at 12U, even more at 14U, and are almost non-existent at 16U. The skill level divide between rec and TB will increase every year as the top girls in the rec league make the transition to TB. A girl who was an "average" 10U rec league player can suddenly become a 12U all-star, not because she improved her game, but because all of the 10U all-stars switched to TB!
Whenever a pitcher makes the transition from league ball to TB, they are going to take their "lumps". I have NEVER seen a rec league pitcher join a TB team and dominate. The transition from 35' to 40' and an 11" to 12" ball magnifies the transition from 10U to 12U.
