How much time do you devote to practice with your pitchers in a regular practice? Should I just have separate practices for them? Should I expect them to practice on their own? It is a 12U team that has some potentially good pitchers but I am not sure how dedicated they are to put in the time to work at it. How do you guys do it?
Working with pitchers in practice
- Thread starter Loopes10
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I usually do not ask this but is this rec. or travel ball?
How many coaches do you have?
Can you peel them off one at a time to throw to a coach, or better yet a catcher so they can work P/C at the same time?
How long are your practices?
How many pitchers do you have?
How often do you practice?
I know many teams have P/C report early or stay late.
Can you peel them off one at a time to throw to a coach, or better yet a catcher so they can work P/C at the same time?
How long are your practices?
How many pitchers do you have?
How often do you practice?
I know many teams have P/C report early or stay late.
Usually I will ask pitchers and cathers to come 30-45 minutes before practice, if it fits in the schedule. 12U most pitchers will do work on their own outside of team activities, just practicing or with a pitching coach. My daughter is a pitcher and we work at least 3 times a week and she is 9. It is also important for a coach that will be calling the pitches in the game to get familiar with their pitchers, so thier should be some kind of practice/communication with the coach they are currenlty playing for.
Yes, they practice before the rest of the team, with the catchers. Yes, they practice on their own almost every day and they need to see a pitching coach, once a week. If they are not dedicated to extra practice they will soon be passed up by other girl's. Also, without the extra work, they will wear out quickly.
We have 3 coaches and I have pulled them away sometimes. We have 5 girls that can pitch but the breakdown goes like this, 1 that it's her main position and 4 are serviceable but all of them are very involved with other positions. We usually have 2 hour practices and are practicing twice per week. Any suggestions?
12U TB pitchers need to be working on their own outside of practice or they are not going to be TB pitchers for long.
I would just have an as needed separate C and P practice.
I would just have an as needed separate C and P practice.
- Feb 7, 2013
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Excellent point that is often overlooked. If you are a coach and insist on calling your own pitches (instead of the catcher) then it is critical that you sit on a bucket and catch your pitchers so you know their strengths and weaknesses. It is also a perfect time to get to talk to them one-on-one about pitch strategy, confidence level, questions or concerns they might have. Work together. As a coach, you guys/gals work so hard on defensive and offensive drills and yet often neglect one of the most important aspects of fastpitch which is developing your pitching/catching battery and learning effective pitch calling to take advantage of your talent.
