How Fast Does DD Throw?

I always tend to under state my DD's speed - I prefer to under promise/over deliver, but it has always been amusing listening to parents with rose colored glasses pull numbers out of their keister.

chrispots said:

I'll give you some perspective...from my personal database...some are students of mine, some are girls I've used pocket radar on at local\regional\national tournaments.

9U Pitchers: High: 44; Median 35
10U Pitchers High 49; Median 41
11U Pitchers High: 51; Median 45
12U Pitchers: High: 53; Median 46
13U Pitchers: High 56; Median 46
14U Pitchers: High: 60; Median 50

I don't use "mean" because some girls get radar-itis when I bring out the radar. Also, some girls have 100 pitches tracked and others have 20...

At 10U I could care less about spin rate...you're 35 feet away...speed (should) over come spin at that distance..spin becomes more relevant at 14U as their movement pitches become more important as hitters improve.

My 2 cents...CP

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These numbers seem pretty close to what I've seen here in the Philadelphia area. I've used the pocket radar on the 10U and 12U pitchers in DD's organization and none have throw over your highs.

JAD said:

I always tend to under state my DD's speed - I prefer to under promise/over deliver, but it has always been amusing listening to parents with rose colored glasses pull numbers out of their keister.

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Had a parent in DD's organization (at 12U) tell me her DD hasn't thrown a pitch under 50 mph in months. I pull out the pocket radar and clocked 47 mph 3 times. Response: "My radar gun isn't right."

Snotbubbles said:

Had a parent in DD's organization (at 12U) tell me her DD hasn't thrown a pitch under 50 mph in months. I pull out the pocket radar and clocked 47 mph 3 times. Response: "My radar gun isn't right."

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Of course! It's your radar. Yup.

Faaaassssssst

It doesn't matter. What matters is how effective is she on the mound.

My daughters speed was always a little slower than other pitchers on our team but her location and movement was good. Uhmm...isn't that what every parent says who's daughter throws a little slower? Ha, Ha. Anyway, now at 16 her speed is a lot better and it's not such a noticeable difference.

When we were in 12U, we had a pitcher on our team that was FAST. No movement, just fast. We brought home trophies. It was great. But then we moved to 14's and she got lit up. My DD then became more "successful" because we had trained ball rotation and focused on hitting corners - fortunately our coach was not interested in speed. My DD also only had a FP, Drop and Change and she hit her spots and could make the ball move. Her change was dangerous. Now we are learning the rise and screw and these are more successful with faster moving balls. She has just turned 14 and throws upper 50's, so the speed is welcomed with these new pitches. So, my view, teaching and focusing on (only) speed is a short-lived success at a young age unless you have mastered the art of taming a flaming ball. Speed is needed, but there is a time and place when it is needed and fortunately we had a coach that held her back until the time was right. Lastly, I've seen 66mph+ pitches being hit for a HR and 6 mph pitches strike out consistently. Batters today are getting much better at tracking pitches and training faster hands, so that ball had better be moving as it is coming in otherwise it WILL get lit up.

I gun dd very rarely so was pleasantly surprised when she went to a college camp last weekend and was 4 mph faster than she was a couple of months ago. Funny thing is her PC will look at her and say, "Oh she's throwing about x mph now." He's been correct every time within 1 mph and he does not gun her.

I think it is helpful to track progress but to do it every few weeks like I've seen coaches in my area do is a little much, IMHO. I totally agree that movement, especially at the 14U and above ages, is what proves to be more effective. Obviously having the ability to combine both speed and movement is the most effective, especially when a good CU is thrown in the mix.

Well... I don't know, I don't care, isn't such a good answer....in my mind anyway. Think about the time and effort that a serious young pitcher puts into the craft. Velocity is most definitely something that they should be working to improve.... in conjunction with other measurables like spin, and location. Seeing the results of their hard work can be incredibly motivating. How do they set goals if they "Don't know"? I see it pretty often on here.... the comment that "Speed doesn't matter"... but in reality, we all know it does. Don't we? It's not the ONLY thing that matters. But it's pretty darn important.

Let me go at this from a college recruiting standpoint.
Why do you think the number one measurement taken at a college clinic is speed. As soon as the speed data is given to the head coach and pitching coach.....notice where they gravitate to over the remainder of the clinic.
They are checking to see if the flame thrower has any pitching skills....like location, ball movement, and speed variation. Without the high speed that pitcher probably won't have received a sniff......so yes speed is important....but you better be able to back it up with some of the other extremely important pitching skills.