Coach pitch for 10u

[Eric F]

This is true. Had the same experience with my DD's. But in the OP's context of Rec Ball and the development of players, what about the other 99%?

Again, this is only my experience, but I didn't ever feel like there was a lack of development happening because of player-pitch at 10U. Although there were good pitchers and not-so-good pitchers, pretty much every girl who was getting regular pitching action on their team was also getting some sort of additional outside instruction (clinic or private instructor). None of the rec team coaches that we came across attempted to instruct pitching mechanics.

 

[Eric F]

As far as getting reps at home I agree that’s huge (albeit easier said than done in rec). I’m always looking for ways to get kids to practice on their own. I’ve often mused I’d have an all-star team if parents would just spend 15 minutes/day playing catch with their dd. How can we get kids to do that? Probably a topic for a different thread. But I think a big part is simply making the game fun and exciting so they want to practice on their own.

What I found is that the ones that want to do the extra work, will. The ones that don't, won't. This can also be largely influenced by the attitude of the parents and their willingness/ability to facilitate the extra work. As a coach, all we can do is encourage them to put in the effort.

 

[_MIA_]

I appreciate all the strong opinions and I’ve loved reading the responses, and I will continue to read.

For a moment, think of softball as a product. There are lots of competing products these girls can choose from (soccer, volleyball, swim, martial arts, etc). I’ve heard complaints from my league officials that “every year we lose more kids to soccer.” When I take a step back and look at my league’s product I see why kids might look elsewhere. Games move slowly so we consistently hit the two hour max. Kids have to arrive 30 minutes before gametime (60 minutes for pitchers). That’s a 3 hour commitment – not to mention the two hour practices. All for what? A whole lot of standing around. I’m on the girls about being in ready position. But I know they gotta be thinking, “Why? Everyone knows this pitch will be too wild to hit.” So far this season (we're 100% kid pitch this fall) we've scored ~50 runs. I think just one or two of those runs were truly *batted* in.

I certainly want to develop pitchers and teach kids to play the right way. But it’s gotta be fun, right?

As far as getting reps at home I agree that’s huge (albeit easier said than done in rec). I’m always looking for ways to get kids to practice on their own. I’ve often mused I’d have an all-star team if parents would just spend 15 minutes/day playing catch with their dd. How can we get kids to do that? Probably a topic for a different thread. But I think a big part is simply making the game fun and exciting so they want to practice on their own.

One of the main things sports can teach is that if you want to be good at something you need to work at it. I was a Larry Bird fan growing up and the one comment he made that stuck with me was that his biggest fear was that he would meet somebody on the court who had worked harder than he had..and that was what drove him. Not everybody grows up to be 6'9" and ambidextrous but that attitude can be applied to other aspects of your life. I used it in school for example.

Unfortunately with the way society is nowadays the onus is on parents to work with their kids because nobody plays outside in the neighborhoods anymore. That is tough for a number of reasons including work and the lack of some parents to be able to properly work with their kids. I am lucky that I have a job (professor) with a lot of freedom to set my own schedule and I played baseball through college so I am comfortable working with my DD (and son when he gets old enough). When I coached my DDs basketball team last winter we were only allowed to have 1 practice a week. However my DD and I would go to the park 2 or 3 other times a week to play and I would invite whoever wanted to come out with us an play to do so. I did have some kids show up and they really seemed to appreciate the extra time spent working/playing and my DD enjoyed not just having her boring old Dad with her.

 

[dbronstein]

DD previous rec league was 8u coach pitch 10u modified. Hated it because the coaches would have their players not swing to draw the coach pitch.
New rec. League is 8u coach pitch and 10u full kid pitch, no drop3, no stealing home first half fall only. It is a very successful program because the TB players and coaches are encouraged to participate. First year TB 10's all play and second year TB 10's bottom half of the team all play, which really helps with the pitching and catching.
The league throughout the season also hosts clinics once a week for free. The clinics have catching, pitching, hitting, and speed/agility. The way it's scheduled you can attend 3 things in a night. The private instructors and high school players coach at each of the workouts.

Waiting for the coach pitch is no different then waiting for a walk. At least with the coach coming it to pitch they get a chance to swing the bat and the fielders can play.

Having all these TB players in your league is much different than most typical rec leagues. So it's not a fair comparison.

 

[djcarter1966]

One of the main things sports can teach is that if you want to be good at something you need to work at it. I was a Larry Bird fan growing up and the one comment he made that stuck with me was that his biggest fear was that he would meet somebody on the court who had worked harder than he had..and that was what drove him. Not everybody grows up to be 6'9" and ambidextrous but that attitude can be applied to other aspects of your life. I used it in school for example.

Unfortunately with the way society is nowadays the onus is on parents to work with their kids because nobody plays outside in the neighborhoods anymore. That is tough for a number of reasons including work and the lack of some parents to be able to properly work with their kids. I am lucky that I have a job (professor) with a lot of freedom to set my own schedule and I played baseball through college so I am comfortable working with my DD (and son when he gets old enough). When I coached my DDs basketball team last winter we were only allowed to have 1 practice a week. However my DD and I would go to the park 2 or 3 other times a week to play and I would invite whoever wanted to come out with us an play to do so. I did have some kids show up and they really seemed to appreciate the extra time spent working/playing and my DD enjoyed not just having her boring old Dad with her.

This is unfortunate but true as I mentioned. I remember when I started teaching my DD2 to catch and throw maybe around 5 or 6 it was an adventure as always chasing lots of balls. My son is ten years older and was playing in HS ball then every now and then we would just go in the backyard and start tossing the ball around I remember once just goofing around like I use to when I was a kid pop flies caught behind your back or throwing monster curves seeing how much break we could get or just humming it in there to see how loud you could make your glove pop after about 15 or 20 minutes we turned to go inside and there was my DD2 on the patio just amazed she looked up and said "Daddy how do you and Joshy do that?" like it was magic or something...well you don't really know how because I started just like her tossing with my dad and my brother then friends and all of a sudden you just don't remember a time when you could not. Fun memories and times...at least got my mind off those 10U rec walk fests for a second.

I do think a rec experience versus a travel experience at this age is vastly different and on the rec side of things flexibility is going to be key because as a poster said nobody wants to sit around for hours watching paint dry which in some cases is more fun than 10U rec all kid pitch. Although when my son first started 8U coach pitch in Alabama I remember our coach throwing balls in there at a really good clip and most of the kids were not hitting to well while other teams lobbed the ball in but after a month or so of practice our kids were crushing it while other teams were still lobbing moon balls into the kids. I think it is important that even with coach pitch no pitches with arcs are allowed it forces coaches to throw it fairly fast because without an arc pitched really slow balls do not make it to the plate.

 

[dbronstein]

Put it this way. My 8 YO DD takes around 500 swings or so with me a week and maybe 300 to 400 ground balls a week in probably 5 or 6 hours of individual work. In 4.5 hours of practice a week with her travel team she probably gets 1/10th of the swings and 1/15th of the ground balls...and my instruction is better too

I guarantee you most typical 8U-10U rec players are not getting anywhere close to this kind of practice. They are getting the 3-4 hours a week their team practices and maybe a couple hours of playing catch and hitting with mom and/or dad, at best.

To me this issue is the same in baseball. Until pitchers can throw strikes the game is just boring to the other players. They learn to swing at terrible pitches and then one day have to face a real pitcher who just blows them away. I think each league needs to determine the best situation for all of their players and do that.

Exactly.

I don't think there is one answer to when kids should be left to sink/swim in the circle. Obviously travel programs need a unified ruleset but rec often has the ability to tailor the rules to the kids involved. Play a game with all kid pitch and one with modified coach rescue then ask ALL of the players which one was more fun. That will be your answer, which may not be the same answer as the group 20 miles down the road. For us it was clearly coach rescue. At 10U rec, fun = engagement = development.
For those of us in areas where we can't afford to push players away from the game due to overall numbers, flexibility in how we administer the game is critical.

+1000

Especially at younger ages, I'm a big proponent of developing ball players, not single position players. My DD has identified herself as a catcher since she was 9yo. However, she has also spent time at every other position on the field (including 3 very unimpressive inning in the circle - lol). I'm a fan of young players that can play many positions with a reasonable level of competency.

Totally agree. But they don't learn to play the field by standing around during a walk-fest. They learn by having to react to plays. Yes, you do a lot in practice, but there's no substitute for game experience. Plus the games are supposed to be the fun part.

 

[FP26]

While it would be optimal to develop all players together, the human body does not work that way. Kids develop at different rates and end up a different skill levels. Which I never bought into the nonsense that you keep an 8U-10U team together through 18U. It just does not work. Like pitchers I find that catchers receive little benefit in 8U-10U behind the plate. Aside from the cool gear and different glove it has minimal resemblance to what will be going on a few short years down the road. At the young ages the battery often resembles a game of lets pretend rather than actual softball. The catcher gives a signal for a pitch the pitcher cannot throw and then the pitcher attempts to get it within 3 feet of where it was supposed to go. Lots of walks and frustration with little value to all involved. There are exceptions but at 8U-10U often the catcher is the big girl who can do little else and she is gone by 14U when the athletes emerge and get behind the plate. I have developed more athletic shortstops into very good catchers after they are well beyond 12U-14U than I have had who have been groomed since 8U to be catchers. As the get older many find that they do not and probably will never have the athletic skills to succeed at that position in the future. These kids often get left behind in the late stages of the game because catching is all they know and despite everyone's efforts and best intentions are not suited to be behind the plate. In 18U the dugouts are filled with girls who back in the day were catchers and pitchers.

Funny you bring this up... A friend and I were just talking about this. The 18u team I coached this summer rostered 13 players. 12 of them pitched in little league (rec ball).

 

[_MIA_]

I guarantee you most typical 8U-10U rec players are not getting anywhere close to this kind of practice. They are getting the 3-4 hours a week their team practices and maybe a couple hours of playing catch and hitting with mom and/or dad, at best.

I realize that. I also agree that games and softball/baseball in general need to be fun..it is a game after all. However in my experience an activity is a lot more fun when you are good at it

 

[_MIA_]

Funny you bring this up... A friend and I were just talking about this. The 18u team I coached this summer rostered 13 players. 12 of them pitched in little league (rec ball).

A bunch of brave parents there..I am not sure I could take my DD pitching. My current LF seat would probably change to a "in the car with a blindfold on" seat..

 

[CNJ-Catcher06]

Our local rec LL was coach pitch in 8U, modified coach pitch in 10U. In both cases, things changed during All Stars/playoffs. 8U went to machine pitch (the blue flame) and 10U went to all kid pitch. Our biggest problem was often getting other leagues to agree on rules (nobody in the area had enough players to field more than one or two teams). Some coaches wanted walks until bases were full, others wanted a carried count, others a fixed number of pitches. It was a bit of a hot mess, but it's rec! Mostly for fun, and to help identify the girls who should be trying out for TB teams.

DD's pitching experience was mostly good in 10U rec. Her strength was in keeping the other coach off the field, because she could throw strikes. It gave her a lot of confidence to get lessons and try to pitch at the next level. Now she's getting lit up in 12U TB

One other point about coach pitching -- the best team in our area at the 8U & 10U level had a parent coach who could really throw. He would windmill and drop down to one knee in his motion and whip the ball down the middle. Our parents all rolled our eyes and smirked when we first saw his whole routine, but those girls were legit hitters and it probably had a lot to do with the pitches they were seeing.