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Dec 16, 2016
11
3
For my DD she struggled to throw strikes at 10U, but the moment she moved to 12U and started using the bigger ball and throwing at 40' it was like magic. Her strike percentage increased dramatically.

She was (and still is) a tall girl with big hands, so moving to the 12" ball was a much better fit for her.
 

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
At lessons all my catching students use 12" ball.
Yep even 9 &10 year olds.
Includes framing, fielding and throwing.
Hitters 12" inch also.

Never have any issues with them going to their practices or games then using smaller ball.

For catchers, they are able to reach 2nd in 10u age brackets.
Come time to move up to play 12u with 12" they routinely reach 2nd in the air, accurately!
Get to be starters because of it.

Avoid the learning curve gap and prepair ahead of time for the size difference!
 
Last edited:
Mar 10, 2020
734
63
At lessons all my catching students use 12" ball.
Yep even 9 &10 year olds.
Includes framing, fielding and throwing.
Hitters 12" inch also.

Never have any issues with them going to their practices or games then using smaller ball.

For catchers, they are able to reach 2nd in 10u age brackets.
Come time to move up to play 12u with 12" they routinely reach 2nd in the air, accurately!
Get to be starters because of it.

Avoid the learning curve gap and prepair ahead of time for the size difference!
dd only used 12" ball during her weekly workouts.
She only pitched one year with the 11" not sure she new it was smaller.
When she moved back to 40' she said it was better to not be on top of the batters. She said she could relax and throw.
55% to 60% strikes and a change up by 10.
 
Oct 4, 2018
4,611
113
In lessons, when my DD is focused and intent, she can hit the glove 25-30% of the time.

How much time do you spend practicing pitching off the plate, when you are only really hitting your spot on the plate 25-30% of the time. At this age, could intentionally throwing (practicing) off the plate have some girls start to struggle with throwing strikes again?

It's like the age-old marketing advice: LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

My DD can locate her fastball and changeup. It's perhaps the single-most effective weapon she has. Work on it. And then work on it more.
 
Sep 19, 2018
928
93
It's like the age-old marketing advice: LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

My DD can locate her fastball and changeup. It's perhaps the single-most effective weapon she has. Work on it. And then work on it more.
I thought it was Real Estate!!!
We do focus on spots. But we are always focusing on the black. My comment was specifically in regards to how much time do you practice locating off the plate.

Truthfully, control is not the issue (comparatively for an 11 year old). The issue is intent. As a first year 11U, she throws hard enough to "throw" the ball by bad hitters. But not hard enough to throw it by good hitters. So she needs to take the next step and start pitching.
 
May 15, 2008
1,913
113
Cape Cod Mass.
I go against the grain on the velocity vs location debate. Once a girl has learned the basic mechanics I emphasize speed first with location a close second. However I don't want velocity to the point where a pitcher is wild. My reasoning on this is that the mechanics that a pitcher learns that foster control will often have to change when they try to throw faster. The usual thought is that you learn control then speed up the motion for more velocity. My thought is that you learn the mechanics for velocity and then learn to control it. A pitcher with good control will always get lots of innings at the lower levels but eventually you have to learn to throw hard.
 
Jan 28, 2017
1,661
83
Well the speed/location deal has to do with the level you play. Both are important of course. Movement and location can be good at most levels and possibly all levels if the speed is average for that level. Elite speed for the level is elite for a reason and tough to deal with.

Imo, 55 at 12U Class C level will blow people awaybut get crushed at Class A ball without location.
 

Top_Notch

Screwball
Dec 18, 2014
512
63
Once a girl has learned the basic mechanics I emphasize speed first with location a close second.

This is how my DD learned to pitch. Her PC stressed mechanics and speed. Not sure how it came to be, but these two actually gave her very good control.

Her previous team coach would tell her to practice hitting her spots in practice. She's never done this. Instead she would concentrate on her mechanics and speed, and these two always allowed her to throw it where she wanted. DD has always had very good control.
 

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
Well the speed/location deal has to do with the level you play. Both are important of course. Movement and location can be good at most levels and possibly all levels if the speed is average for that level. Elite speed for the level is elite for a reason and tough to deal with.

Imo, 55 at 12U Class C level will blow people awaybut get crushed at Class A ball without location.
👍
ADD ....and elite speed is only as good as the off-speed mixed in!
 

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