Why are you here?

[schwabach]

This is one of a couple websites that I wish I knew about before my daughter started playing. For me, the lesson I would have learned sooner, perhaps, is to not try to push my daughter. It worked out in the end, but maybe I could have butted heads a bit less.

Also, I was able to offer good advice to a parent whose daughter had a uncommon knee condition called osteochondritis dissecans.

 

[Rolling Hard]

Combat boredom. LOL. Really, DFP is good place to exchange ideas and learn from others. FREE TOO! I read some of the pitching stuff and my DD doesn't even pitch. I find it interesting. I tell pitchers dads they should check it out. They rarely do. I am not sure why. I want to asked them, do you really think your DD is going to improve because you are paying money every week to a coach that is still teaching hello elbow?

 

[Mike-Coach-Q]

The best thing I got from this site was the friendship I made with Eric F, his daughter Maddie and on to Haley who ended up at the high school I coach at.

I started out with pitching back in 2013 when Boardmember change the pitching world. Just recently I started posting on the hitting side. The method I'm sharing is unpopular to many, but everyone has been polite and complementary even if they disagree or view things differently. I'm not looking to change anyone but share with those that want to teach this pattern because I've probably made every wrong turn and mistake. I have hours and hours of video from the beginning swing to intermediate level swing that can help someone learn quicker.

 

[Westwind]

Good topic and it’s timely for me.

I have been thinking about why I hang around here and if I will continue to do it. I have one left playing but I have less and less opportunity to help her since she is becoming an adult and plays in college. I’m transitioning to head cheerleader I guess.

So far I came up with this:

I’m still pretty interested in a couple parents journeys

I find it entertaining

I get a laugh out of several people here regularly and I like to try out my comedy.

Lately though, I see some posts and I think “I could help them”. Yet I would be making the same old post I have made 20 times. It gets repetitive. I end up making snarky posts about college softball instead and then deleting them because while I know it’s supposed to be all in fun, not everyone gets that.

Its kind of on me that I’m not as interested in helping. I think I need to try to do better with that.

Here is an example of the repetitiveness: There is constant need for bat sizing advice. I have asked for a sticky on this topic time and time again. I used to love to respond to bat questions. Now I’m just tired of giving the same old advice in a couple threads per month.

This is the single best fast pitch resource on the net. It’s free and it’s entertaining. It isn’t run by a group with an agenda to promote certain orgs and players and no one has asked for my credit card number. It’s a good place to be.

 

[Orange Socks]

How I got here and why I stay are two different things? During this journey many people's interests evolve and change over time. When I first arrived I was looking at bat reviews, to looking at different hitting drills, to college recruiting, and now I come on hear to help out where I can and do my best to give non sugar coated views that even your closest friends won't give you .

Cool story to share. This is why I'm still here. I shared a little bit about this previously. Short story. I see a kid pitch that I have not seen pitch in many years. She is now 5'11" and was wowed! There is something there that passed the eye test for soon to be high level pitching. I am friends with this dad since I was his age division commissioner back in rec ball days. She was on a 16U team that has 100 teams in Texas. And I firmly believe you need to be on the right team, with the right coaches that have relationshps with the coaches of the schools you want to attend.

After that phone call, I helped set up a conversation with a 18U Gold team coach that I thought would be a great fit. He then got some of his current players feedback as they faced her during district play which in turn turned into a workout with the team. The coach told the dad that he didn't need a pitcher but really wants to join anyway. She is a rising Jr. Fast Forward to this past weekend. The kid pitched in front one of her target schools (the college me and her dad attended) and the feedback was very positive. The team played well too, against VERY solid teams. Boom! Just like that. It makes me feel good that I can pay it forward.

 

[Recent Addict]

After I gave up asking DD to pitch, she decided on her own at the end of 11u that she wanted to be a pitcher. I frantically searched the internet to find out how to start her out and wound up with all the wrong information (HE). Realizing I could only harm her, I asked the Dad of the best pitcher I knew. At the time she was #1 for our HS as a Freshman. Tonight she starts her last run through our state playoffs and in a couple of weeks will be heading off the a Mid-Major D1. BT3100 said he and his DD would gladly help. She was helped by an older girl when she started and felt it was her & his duty to help the next generation. He turned me on to this site and the pitching stickys. DD spent the entire summer throwing 4 or 5 buckets worth of balls into a net while her older brother filmed it for me while I was at work.

I've spent countless hours reading posts from years ago learning as much as I can. And I am still taken back, when I read guys like Wasserman, Hillhouse and Pauly still posting on here. I read New Posts daily and try to share my experiences, along with some wise cracks. I refer everyone to this site, but rarely do any of them come here and stay. I've bought new bats, used bats and even read a ton of ANNASDAD's glove posts and fell down the hole of TTB vs whatever else there is that is definitely wrong

The softball journey is full of pitfalls and a ton of misinformation. No way I could have survived to this point without this site and help from those that have been through it, and DD is only 14u. I don't respond to posts that are just looking to start an argument or prove their opinion is the correct one, but I have to admit some of them are entertaining to read. DD was taking lessons from a Tincher disciple and a Pauly disciple at the same time, but I didn't post in the thread about the differences because it devolved into a back and forth on which poster was better (no offense, I don't think anyone is better).

I will be on here until I stop wanting to learn or no one cares to learn from me. I can't begin to pay back what BT and this community have provided to me and DD, but I can try. DD has started helping our local 10u Rec Select team's pitchers and hopefully started a couple on the journey the correct way.

 

[whiporee]

It's a good community. We argue sometimes, but it's a nice group of people who have a common interest, and have spent a lot of time thinking about it.

I've learned some stuff, but mostly it's been support. It's good to talk to other parents who have gone through a lot of the same things, and to occasionally have good things to know. Most of the folks here play at a higher level than DD does, and it's good to hear their experiences even if they aren't always translatable to out situation. But it's always good to have people who sort of understand what you're going through. That's not always an easy thing to find in the world.

 

[Eric F]

I came for the tacos. I was very disappointed to find out there weren't any tacos, but I haven't figured out how to leave.

It all started when my DD made the 8U rec all-star team, and I was looking for way to help her be a better hitter. I messed her up pretty good for a while as I was still trying to make some sense of the different info I was discovering. Eventually, it lead us to work with @Mike-Coach-Q, who helped her reach a new level in her swing.

By the time my DD decided to try being a catcher (9yo), I got some great guidance from this site that lead me to the NECC video, attending an NECC clinic, and then hosting an NECC clinic. What she learned in those first couple of years was a foundation for her game behind the plate that continues to pay off. The other super-valuable info at the time was Austin Wasserman's throwing mechanics info. The cannon that developed out of that info has been a big part of my DD's effectiveness on the field.

Throughout our journey, I've tried to share what I've learned - good stuff and bummer stuff - just as the people before me shared their journey. Most notably...Cannonball, redhotcoach, kinghtsb, Crankermo, FFS (despite my battles with him), FP26...and a bunch of others I can't recall at the moment.

 

[Eric F]

There's also this...

 

[bmakj]

gotta be someplace

if you aint where you're at, you're nowhere.