smells like tryout time

BT3100 said:

Produced a pitcher (2015) that is pitching for a top 5 program in the Nation. (Were a North East Team).

Click to expand...

If you have access to that pitcher or her parents I would suggest asking them what the keys were to their DD's success. A lot or marquee organizations have great pitchers, but if you peel back a couple of layers of the onion you will often find that the great players were either athletically gifted, had a tremendous work ethic, or both.

My DD is a pretty good pitcher and just signed her NLI to play for a P5 D1 school, and if someone asked me how much her current marquee organization had to do with her success I would estimate less than 5%...do not assume that getting onto a marquee organization is going to guarantee your DD the same level of success as other players in the same organization.

JAD said:

I would estimate that 80-90% of pitcher development should be done at home during bucket time and pitching lessons. Team practices should be about fundamentals and defense, not about developing pitchers. Games are opportunities to see how a pitcher stacks up against the competition, test her mental toughness, and to learn what she needs to work on during the week.

Most organizations do not have pitching coaches on staff, and I would be leery of the ones that do. I prefer the freedom to choose who my DD takes lessons from vs. being told we had to use the organizations pitching coach. I would also like to point out that being a great D1 pitcher does not automatically make someone a great pitching coach. Michael Jordan was a great basketball player, but he was a terrible coach...

Click to expand...

I couldn’t agree more with your first statement. Too many parents get wrapped up in circle time and don’t understand quality coaching and practice are far more important.

We happened to get VERY lucky with a program that had a PC on staff. They had a good reputation, but nothing close to marquee at the time. Long story short, I owe much of where DD is today to that program. I agree with you that I’d be very leery of any program that forced players to take lessons from their coaches and charged extra. There was no added cost and he’d work with pitchers 4-6 days a week. I have yet to come across coaches as knowledgeable, dedicated and generous with their time.

We had a little success which drew some attention, but never quite became recognizable on the national stage. We did quickly became the top program locally though. It wasn’t the name that drew people in. They simply had the best coaches and were the best at player development. Sadly as so often happens that program split up. Her old PC is still having a nice run of success. He got two pitchers into the SEC and several other players into P5 schools and several mid majors. He even contributed to a DFP member getting his DD into some Midwest catholic school. That’s a big thing of the marquee national programs. When you look at most players bio’s you won’t see the 14U teams that turned them into D1 caliber players or got them noticed. You only see the current 16U or 18U teams that collect committed kids to compete in national tourney’s.

Most recently her old PC started a program in SD called the Renegades and coached their 16U team. All that and he was never even a D1 pitcher.

I know of the organization that BT3100 is referring to - they do turn out very good players and I've personally heard a D1 coach in the Northeast area speak very highly of this org. He loves to see them at his camps. That being said, if the young lady is the pitcher I'm thinking of who the poster is referring to, her mom was a D1 pitcher and was her DD's PC. Having 24/7 access to your personal pitching coach can make a huge difference, I'm sure. I also don't personally know this young lady but it is pretty well known in my area that she truly had the drive and determination to succeed at an elite level; and she put a lot of work in on her own outside of the team atmosphere. It will be pretty exciting to watch her play this spring.

I respect JAD's point of view. I too spend countless hours on the bucket. And I agree that it takes a ton of work at home to build a top notch pitcher. My kid has only been around this type of team for a few months and it has made a huge difference in her ambition and desire to work harder.

BT3100 said:

I respect JAD's point of view. I too spend countless hours on the bucket. And I agree that it takes a ton of work at home to build a top notch pitcher. My kid has only been around this type of team for a few months and it has made a huge difference in her ambition and desire to work harder.

Click to expand...

There are a lot of really great TB organizations and coaches and I am glad that your DD's new TB team inspired her to work harder. Just make sure you and your DD continue to put in the extra work at home to get her to the next level, do not fall into the trap of thinking a marquee TB is the golden ticket. I know a lot of 14U pitching studs who went to marquee organizations and by second year 16U they were barely above average.