Pitchers Parents: Opinions Needed

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Nov 27, 2012
197
18
Till she is in 14U, she should lean towards more innings. If she is a 3rd or 4th pitcher in an A team, she is not going to pitch against the best teams, they will use their ace. Young pitchers need mound time so they can develop. Sitting on bench will not do any good to a pitcher. When she goes to 16U or 18U and hopefully committed to a program by then, she need to look for a team that will play tough competition.
 
Nov 26, 2010
4,784
113
Michigan
For years on this site I've read comments about how to decide which team a DD pitcher should be on. There always seems to be two common themes: get her on the team where she will pitch the most or get her on the best team you can so she can pitch against good competition.

Well, DD is in a position to choose between these two options. She can join an "A" team where she will be the third or fourth pitcher and get limited innings but face top competition or join a "B" team where she will be the first pitcher and pitch as much as she wants. What are everyone's thoughts?

Maybe you need to find an option 3. A team that plays better competition then the B team does, but where your dd will be the #2 pitcher.
 
Jul 14, 2018
982
93
DD2 is pitcher and for many years we would pitch in any league, or any opportunity... Hit your spot equals a success, period. Worry about the batter after you master that.

I have to agree with this. I've never seen DD let up or get sloppy just because she's throwing a perfect game against a weak team. If anything, it lets her try to mix in a movement pitch that she's not mastered against a live batter. Repetition in game situations is the most important thing for a pitcher through 14U. And I only include 14U because the really weak pushover teams have stopped playing by that age, so you're going to get decent competition in any game.

DD is a second-year 12, and played on a strong team last year where her innings were limited. She actually pitched against the strongest teams we faced -- IMHO the coach didn't want his star pitcher getting smacked around so DD got offered up as a sacrificial lamb in a number of games. It proved that she could take a beating without losing her cool.

This year we went with a weaker team to get more innings, from what I've seen in tryouts and practices DD will challenge for the #1 or #2 spot.
 
Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
I have to agree with this. I've never seen DD let up or get sloppy just because she's throwing a perfect game against a weak team. If anything, it lets her try to mix in a movement pitch that she's not mastered against a live batter. Repetition in game situations is the most important thing for a pitcher through 14U. And I only include 14U because the really weak pushover teams have stopped playing by that age, so you're going to get decent competition in any game.

DD is a second-year 12, and played on a strong team last year where her innings were limited. She actually pitched against the strongest teams we faced -- IMHO the coach didn't want his star pitcher getting smacked around so DD got offered up as a sacrificial lamb in a number of games. It proved that she could take a beating without losing her cool.

This year we went with a weaker team to get more innings, from what I've seen in tryouts and practices DD will challenge for the #1 or #2 spot.

Whatever his reasons, he did her a favor.
 
Jul 14, 2018
982
93
Whatever his reasons, he did her a favor.

That's my silver-lining take as well. She only started three games in eight tournaments, pitched two innings of relief in another. Of the four games, she faced the eventual tournament winner in two of them and a finalist in the third. The other one was a silly mercy-rule four inning blowout where she struck out eight and didn't allow a baserunner, which was oddly satisfying :D
 
Jul 2, 2013
381
43
Thanks for the replies everyone.

First off DD is playing 14U. She played on a decent A team last year and was the third pitcher. She would have loved to stay on that team but it fell apart late in the tryout process meaning opportunities were limited. The coach of the A team she tried out for does NOT have a daughter who pitchers (neither does the B team) but the team has been together for a few years and the top pitchers are pretty well set. She is an A level player defensively and offensively but not an A level "top of the rotation" pitcher right now which is what led to looking at a lower level team in the first place.

After reading through all of these and discussing with DD, the decision was made to go with the B team (that aspires to be A) for the fall and get as many innings as possible. We will re-evaluate after that and decide if she wants to stay there or look for something different during the winter months. She is also taking this as a challenge to use the fall and winter to become the best pitcher she can.

Worst case scenario the team isn't what she wants and she gets a ton of innings and looks to move on. Best case, they are a great team and advance to A quickly with her as their #1 pitcher.
 
Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
DD has pitched for a while. The only time I was annoyed was when they stopped her for a while, no idea why. Big game for us anyways they threw her out there, she did not do well. She hadn't pitched in 2 months. Communicate stuff. Would have done things differently. Was DD's life ruined, no.

if I knew she was not going to pitch I would have shut her down, pitching wise, and gone back to gym.


Last fall we pitched 5 or 6 pitchers.

Like you said work through fall and winter, some of the players can improve so much.
I think you need innings but you also need time to regroup. They get to caught up in game.
 

WARRIORMIKE

Pro-Staff Everything
Oct 5, 2009
2,815
48
At the Jewel in San Diego
We have done both. You want to find a coach that knows what pitching is . If they can develop and set their pitchers up for success then you should be fine. We went the direction of more reps.
 

JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
My answer is "it depends"...
1) Does your DD want to play in college?
2) If the answer to #1 is "yes" where is she in the recruiting process?
3) If the answer to #1 is "yes" what size school? P5? D1? D2? D3?
4) How much lower is the B-level team? Do they ever "play up" in tournaments?
5) Do the coaches on the A-level team understand the recruiting process?
6) Are the coaches on the A-level team committed to winning or getting their players recruited?
7) Showcase schedules?

I am a big fan of being the #1 or #2 pitcher on a team, on most teams the #3 and #4 pitchers see limited circle time in blow out games, pool games or against inferior competition. If your DD wants to play P5 it helps to be on on a team in a marquee organization that plays in the top showcases. Other schools do a much better job of finding talent on other teams.
 
Jul 2, 2013
381
43
My answer is "it depends"...
1) Does your DD want to play in college? Yes
2) If the answer to #1 is "yes" where is she in the recruiting process? Just starting really.
3) If the answer to #1 is "yes" what size school? P5? D1? D2? D3? She would love P5 but realistically she is probably more of a D2 prospect at this stage. Of course things could change.
4) How much lower is the B-level team? Do they ever "play up" in tournaments? The coach really wants them to play A and they will play A tournaments but I would guess mostly B.
5) Do the coaches on the A-level team understand the recruiting process? Yes. The head coach has quite a bit of experience with all ages of teams.
6) Are the coaches on the A-level team committed to winning or getting their players recruited? Honestly the A team was a mid-level team last year but played in some big tournaments.
7) Showcase schedules? That would be the goal of the A team but they will have to work their way to that level.

I am a big fan of being the #1 or #2 pitcher on a team, on most teams the #3 and #4 pitchers see limited circle time in blow out games, pool games or against inferior competition. If your DD wants to play P5 it helps to be on on a team in a marquee organization that plays in the top showcases. Other schools do a much better job of finding talent on other teams.

My answers are above.

The goal would be to get her to a point to where she could really hit recruiting hard at the 16U level if she still wants to a year from now. By that time she will have a better idea of what she wants out of a college and not just a softball program.
 

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