Not at all, just hope you realize your statement " If a coach/parent knows it is a problem then they should address that before game time and not expect the rules to be ignored because DD was not properly instructed when starting out." is oversimplifying the leaping issue at 10u. You cannot fix a 10u leaper before the game. As I have mentioned countless times, that is fixed in the backyard by 100's if not 1000's of reps. I was asking if your DD was a pitcher because if she was, you should know how long it takes a 10 y/o to fix a mechanical flaw like that.Nope, does that disqualify me from this discussion?
in all seriousnessNot at all, just hope you realize your statement " If a coach/parent knows it is a problem then they should address that before game time and not expect the rules to be ignored because DD was not properly instructed when starting out." is oversimplifying the leaping issue at 10u. You cannot fix a 10u leaper before the game. As I have mentioned countless times, that is fixed in the backyard by 100's if not 1000's of reps. I was asking if your DD was a pitcher because if she was, you should know how long it takes a 10 y/o to fix a mechanical flaw like that.
I believe that maximing the distance of a leap results in about a 5MPH to 10MPH drop in speed for a pitcher throwing 65MPH.
Well I have 2 positions.
As an umpire, I had this a couple times calling 10U games. I didn't call it, the coaches didnt say anything. After the game I told the coach about it, he says he's working on it. That needs to be straightened out in practice. I'm not going to show up at a 10u game and call the first hop and make that pitcher become a walk machine, that's not good for anyone, that would make a miserable game for everyone playing and watching. I'd probably let it go in 12u too, with more warnings for the coach that this isn't gonna fly the older they get. If one of the coaches brings it up to me, I'll call it. 14 U and up, I've called it, that's my limit.And here is where the problem begins. Prime example of letting it go at the younger ages because they are just learning and are so young. Parents and coaches then have no reason to try to get the player to break the habit because, “They never call it anyway.” Player then continues to pitch this way and all of a sudden when she’s older and it is getting called in HS, she falls apart. Why not use it as a teaching moment at this age so that they are forced to correct it before the muscle memory becomes too difficult to fix? I get that this may sound harsh at 10U but the umpires are not doing this player a favor at that age by allowing it to continue.
Alright @texasheat! Way to bring it.Well I have 2 positions.
1. Big picture position --- Drop the dumb rule. No advantage is gained by doing it so who cares. Anyone who knows anything about vectors will tell you that leaping will decrease your speed, not increase it. You waste energy by lifting your body in the air, rather than propelling it towards the target. So save the anecdotal evidence of "Well one of our pitchers pitches faster when she does it". Science disagrees. Everyone one else in the world is allowed to do it except the USA. . All it does at this point is cause "rule book warrior" coaches and idiot parents searching for excuses on why their jenny struck out 2 times in a row to go ape during games. And yes I used to be one of them.
2 Since it is presently part of the game and girls are expected to adhere to the rules, my position is that calling it over and over will not fix the problem during the game because a 10 y/o with mechanical flaws cannot turn things like that on and off. So simply point it out to the pitcher and to the coach. Stop the game, call the coach to the circle and discuss. Resume game. Move on. Or do it after the game. Either way is fine. Then pitcher and parent work on it in the backyard in the coming weeks. Don't ruin that game trying to teach a lesson/punish a 10y/o by calling it dozens of times until she is either pulled or the other players fall asleep during the game. I REPEAT --- IT WLL NOT FIX THE PROBLEM DURING THE GAME.
Y'all act like I'm an alien or something for thinking this way. Obviously I'm not the only one that thinks this way since everyone agrees that most umps don't call it a bunch of times during a game. Heck that's what started the thread. An ump not calling it. Maybe you guys are the one's that need to rethink your position and realize that calling it over and over does nothing to fix the problem? Nah, that can't be it!!! Because all of you have DD pitchers and know how long it takes to fix mechanical issues. But I digress...........
And I already told you once what age it should be applied. The age of never.
I'll leave this here for you guys. It's a post from sluggers a few years ago.
People talk about "the unfair advantage of the leap". If there were an advantage, why aren't male pitchers leaping like crazy? How come the international pitchers aren't leaping?
The truth is that leaping creates no advantage.
Pitching is about momentum transfer. The pitcher gets the body going in a straight line toward the target, and then stops the body with her left side (for a right hand pitcher). If the timing is good, then the momentum that was built up is transferred to the ball. The key is to get as much of the body moving toward the target as possible. Pretty simple.
What happens to momentum if the pitcher leaps?
Let's assume a pitcher maximizes the distance of her leap. That means, she is leaping at a 45 degree angle.
Some of momentum the pitcher has created is used in launching the body up instead of forward. A pitcher leaping at a 45 degree angle will lose 30% of her momentum toward her target. That is a *lot* of lost momentum.
I believe that maximing the distance of a leap results in about a 5MPH to 10MPH drop in speed for a pitcher throwing 65MPH.
Ray