- Oct 19, 2009
- 638
- 0
We've been looking for a strong pitcher for our 1999/14u team and I got this call from a dad expressing interest in having his dd try out. According to dad, she is the star student of her pitching coach who has clocked her at 60. All this time I've never heard of her because she has been playing All-Star Rec on an 18u team. Now her dad feels it's time to get her back with kids her own age on a real travel team. According to dad, everyone has been after her to come play travel ball. He says all of this to me over the phone. While I'm skeptical, I'm also interested so we arrange a tryout.
So they pull up to our indoor cage and when she gets out of the car my first thought was that she was the younger sister and mom sitting in the passenger seat was actually the player who had come to tryout. That thought was quickly dashed however when dad introduced the family. She looked like she could be on a 10u team. Well dynamite comes in small packages so I checked my judgement.
I invite them in and instruct her to start stretching and warming up with dad. I have a pitching mat set up and it was at 43'. I go into the bathroom for a minute and when I come out I see that the mat has been moved up to 35'. I asked why she moved it and she said that it was too far?!?! I explained that no it was already at the correct distance and please put it back. I walked to the back of the cage and pull out my radar gun which quickly confirmed what I had already figured. Crow-hopping and slinging 45 mph, all the while dad is lavishing her with praise and then goes on to tell me this is the farthest distance she had ever pitched from. Apparently when he told me she'd been clocked at 60 I can only assume they were on the METRIC system. Lesson learned from now on I will clarify it was MILES per hour.
I can't make this up. OMG. Now I have to meet her pitching coach.
So they pull up to our indoor cage and when she gets out of the car my first thought was that she was the younger sister and mom sitting in the passenger seat was actually the player who had come to tryout. That thought was quickly dashed however when dad introduced the family. She looked like she could be on a 10u team. Well dynamite comes in small packages so I checked my judgement.
I invite them in and instruct her to start stretching and warming up with dad. I have a pitching mat set up and it was at 43'. I go into the bathroom for a minute and when I come out I see that the mat has been moved up to 35'. I asked why she moved it and she said that it was too far?!?! I explained that no it was already at the correct distance and please put it back. I walked to the back of the cage and pull out my radar gun which quickly confirmed what I had already figured. Crow-hopping and slinging 45 mph, all the while dad is lavishing her with praise and then goes on to tell me this is the farthest distance she had ever pitched from. Apparently when he told me she'd been clocked at 60 I can only assume they were on the METRIC system. Lesson learned from now on I will clarify it was MILES per hour.
I can't make this up. OMG. Now I have to meet her pitching coach.