Our daughter is a pitcher/utility at 16U. She has mostly been a one sport kiddo but got interested in other school athletics in middle school. She is tall and thin so the volleyball and basketball coaches were on her all the time. I think she likes the school spirit a lot too.
She really likes...
I agree with Amy. I was taught taught to hit for placement like that - way back in the day. We have a tough time getting our kids to "get it" today. Seems they all want to upper cut about 35-40 degrees which usually ends up in a pop up out to the outfield (should only come up about 10 deg)...
Bill,
Let's make em all go back to wooden bats. That might even it up again.
I agree that pitchers get a bad rap and everyone wants to blame them and call illegal pitches. Afterall they are the princesses out there.
But the rules are rules and everyone needs to play by them. Thus - start...
For the most part they won't get called. Mechanics are not good but that's another story.
Pitcher 1 - w/o a rubber hard to tell about hop but she is trying to keep the drag toe down on most pitches. I did see a time or two that she appeared to replant before the front foot was down. She needs...
Lost one two weekends ago in 16A. Pitcher had 10 K's, no walks and if I remember 0 earned runs. We still lost from a couple ill timed errors.
Still love this game though!!
I'd like to respond to the initial question about field conditions and the core comments. First, definitely contact the TD and get that circle fixed. The legal ramifications are bad and the added cost to all of us is just one problem. They may have to shut down the park if they get sued. It's...
I got to watch them play over the weekend at home. They got spanked by a lesser team, twice. I know their ace is out with a stress fracture on her throwing wrist but that was absolutely ridiculous. That team is way too good to play that way. They didn't make many real errors, just several...
The other option of course is to have 1st base cover home on passed balls. If there is no swing, runner on 3rd, take off towards home to cover.
There may not be a safe way to cover except as mentioned above - stay inside the baseline and out of the way of the runner and those spikes.
Working...
Not sure that was funny as I have been nailed in the ankle before and it ain't funny...
I usually don't gear up and I don't use the bucket except for the up close drills - to save my knees.
I find sitting on the bucket makes it really hard to catch those drops. I hate catching drop balls, but...
I agree with most of what you suggest for breaking in a new glove. Good post.
I would suggest that you use the glove conditioner that the glove manufacturer suggests.
Most new gloves today are already "oiled" or conditioned to some degree from the shop, be it a factory glove
or a totally...
We are in the midwest also and play in cold weather too. High School ball is in the fall so usually no issues there about cold.
In the past few years we have broken just about every brand of bat there is. Anderson, Combat, Easton, Louisville, and others.
Maybe we just need to go back to wood...
Huge ice storm here. Glad you get to work outside.
This is probably posted somewhere else on here but give this drill a shot.
Arm Circles: Need some kind of weighted ball, regular ball and light ball.
-Position yourself on one knee. 45 deg to catcher so you are in good alignment
idea...
Hey Mud,
That is very true. That is true for fastpitch pitching as well. You gotta stay in line with your target. Some call it the "K" position in drills. The same would be true for making a throw across the infield, gotta maintain a target. What I was concerned with is the fact that so many...
The next time your at the park, watch several different players. A lot will hike that back leg up like a MLB pitcher when they release. Generally those throws are inaccurate. Not always though.
I am not saying to keep the back foot planted, of course you can't do that but to let it slide forward...
An observation I have noticed over the years is that too many kids let their back leg fly when making a throw. Not sure how I noticed this but those that keep it on the ground and let it slide forward have much better control of the throw. It doesn't affect the speed or distance by keeping that...
That video is nuts! You have to admire these elite athletes for coming up with new ways to keep themselves at the top of their game!
I don't think I could even stay on that ball, let alone pitch. Go Monica.
In our neck of the woods 16A is where it is at. We have some very good Gold teams, probably too many now but the girls that hope to play college ball are playing 16A a long as they can. The college coaches are spending more time at the 16U tournaments and showcases then at the Gold tournaments...
I agree with that Mark, that's what I meant.
When the girls were younger - 12A, the really hard throwers could blast a pitch right down the middle and get most batters. At 16A that ain't happening. The girls that still only have speed are getting blasted out of the park. You gotta have the...
Oh, and I also wanted to mention that a good pitcher understands that strikeouts are not the end all. Most of our pitchers are taught to pitch for outs, not necessarily strike outs. Pitching for grounders and pop ups are almost guaranteed outs when you have a solid defense behind you. That...