Young pitcher with a catcher who can't catch her

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Aug 23, 2016
359
43
DD is a hard thrower compared to the girls in her league (9 YO, cruises in the low 40s). But the catcher she works with can't actually catch her. She's afraid of the velocity and I see that she often closes her eyes and turns away.

So the passed ball has been DD's enemy. She has had innings where every pitch that didn't make contact with the bat got away from the catcher. These aren't balls in the dirt, they're mostly fastballs in or just outside the strike zone. (I imagine that it also makes it harder for DD to get strike calls on close pitches when everything gets away from the catcher.)

So DD is very discouraged. Her coaches are happy with her pitching, but she feels like she's a disaster because she can strike out five in an inning but 2 runs scored on passed balls. Her coaches tell her to keep doing what she's doing regardless of the catcher, which I think is the right thing to say except that it doesn't address her disappointment that she can strike out the side (and more) but it's nearly impossible for her to pitch a scoreless inning.

So how do I help her keep her head up? At 9 years old, "You're doing great and in the fall I bet you'll get a better catcher" isn't cutting it.
 
Aug 29, 2011
2,581
83
NorCal
You're doing great and in the fall you'll get a better catcher?

Is the catcher is willing to work with our DD outside of practice and games or is that not an option? If it is something she will do, taking the batter out of the equation can go a long way towards helping a rough 10U C get over her fear of catching speed.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
This is what you tell her, "The catcher is doing the best that she can and all you can control is what you do." As Sweet Lou mentioned, your HC needs to be working extra with the pitchers and catchers if he/she wants
his/her team to improve.
 
Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
DD got attached to C before season, personal C. Everyone liked this they looked good in practice.

1st game she pitched she struck out 17 batters in 4 innings, it was a mess. No one on our Team knew what to do, me included.

Arrgubally best player needed to catch for her next game, which has our other P and did not want her to catch.

If better C did not,become involved she would have taken year off.
 
Aug 23, 2016
359
43
You're doing great and in the fall you'll get a better catcher?

Is the catcher is willing to work with our DD outside of practice and games or is that not an option? If it is something she will do, taking the batter out of the equation can go a long way towards helping a rough 10U C get over her fear of catching speed.

The catcher isn't around for a lot of practices and works on catching with her dad. She does a great job for the other pitchers on the team, it's just DD she has a problem with.

DD works a lot with one backup catcher, who has gotten pretty good at catching DD. Coach has toyed with the idea of making her DD's personal catcher but he wants the starter to be able to catch DD as well, which I understand to a point.

This is what you tell her, "The catcher is doing the best that she can and all you can control is what you do."

I've been trying variations on this. She understands but doesn't - intellectually it makes sense but she's a kid so of course she feels like there's a magical solution out there.

As Sweet Lou mentioned, your HC needs to be working extra with the pitchers and catchers if he/she wants his/her team to improve.

I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately the starting catcher has a lot of scheduling conflicts so it's a challenge.
 

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,132
113
Dallas, Texas
So how do I help her keep her head up? At 9 years old, "You're doing great and in the fall I bet you'll get a better catcher" isn't cutting it.

It is very frustrating. But, there is nothing you can do about it.

Go get some ice cream, let her vent, and forget about it.

The more you stress about it, the more she stresses about it.
 
Aug 23, 2016
359
43
It is very frustrating. But, there is nothing you can do about it.

Go get some ice cream, let her vent, and forget about it.

The more you stress about it, the more she stresses about it.
How much should I let her vent? I'm okay with letting her vent about the situation but I don't want her frustration with the situation to turn into bad feelings toward her teammate.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
Feb 7, 2013
3,188
48
In all stars and/or on tournament teams she will have a good catcher; regular season rec can be brutal. Hopefully her coaches will draft at least one good catcher for the team. And then practice a lot with this pitcher/catcher battery. By the way it never ends, when DD was a freshman in HS, her JV catcher was horrible and couldn’t catch any pitch not thrown right down the middle of the plate.
 

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,132
113
Dallas, Texas
How much should I let her vent? I'm okay with letting her vent about the situation but I don't want her frustration with the situation to turn into bad feelings toward her teammate.

E.g.:

Her: "My catcher sucked today!"
You: "Yep. She has had better days. Hey, you want that dipped in chocolate?"

Dropped thirds are really frustrating for a Dad...you and her gotta let it go.

Dropped thirds are an indication of how good she is...so, not having dropped thirds at her age would mean she wasn't very good.
 
Aug 10, 2016
686
63
Georgia
DD doesn't pitch much but when HC would put her in - she'd have innings where she'd strike out 5 in an inning. C was still learning but it was very annoying to watch (this was first year 12U). Honestly I don't think DD was ever really that upset about it. DD is also a catcher and a much better catcher than pitcher.

I really think it does help for the P and C to practice together. In our EOS tournament a few weeks ago, it was DD catching and our primary pitcher pitching. That was some of the best sb they played all season (we went 3-2 and the two losses were by a total of 3 runs)
They are really good friends and it def helps to know your pitcher pretty well.

We also had another pitcher a few seasons ago - who while a pretty fast pitcher, she could get wild. When DD caught for her, it wasn't that bad. But put in a less exp catcher and there were balls all over the place (and DD was still struggling then with blocking well). Sometimes the faster pitchers are just harder to catch.
 
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