Practice expectations by age

All,
My DD is first yr 12u and is on her 3rd yr of pitching. She loves softball and pitching and has been successful in TB playing with/against the best local talent. She is not a unicorn that loves to practice and play games every day so I am really trying to reign in the crazy "can't fall behind" thoughts that most TB parents have.

I have taken to heart a comment by [MENTION=10413]riseball[/MENTION] that if you are blessed with the abilities to pitch at a higher level then anything pre-14 is not critical for future success (some liberties taken with interpretation).

So how much is enough at each age to prevent burn out but not "fall behind"?

My plan is to practice to a goal for that age and not push for more unless she wants to.
So for us it was/is:
9- Get into pitching and survive. (11 months a yr)
10- Pretty good at fundamentals and throw FB, CU in games. (11 months a yr)
11- Focus on quality fundamentals and consistently locate FB and CU. (9 months a yr)
12- Get serious about making a movement pitch game ready. (10 months a year)

Who has been there and done that with a DD that thrived with a less is more approach at a young age?

we started working on pitching in the off-seasons in 2013, when dd was 10.
before that, pre-season (Feb-March) and in-season (April-July) only. (threw her first pitch in a rec game in 2011)

Off-season, we try to get 2-3 workouts a week in.
I keep the pitching workouts short (40-45min), and we also work on hitting mechanics.

Our "off-season" is shorter now that she is older and playing travel. (November-March)
This year, in the Fall, I sensed a little burn-out, so we took November off.
That was a very good decision. She came back with a renewed passion. That's good.

As far as your development progression by age goes:
each kid is different, but I will say that the majority of kids out there are learning "breaking pitches"
waaaaaay too early, long before they have demonstrated solid mechanics and posture.
And most don't learn and master a decent change up before they move on to other pitches, which I also think is a mistake.
(just think how often you see a p5 DI pitcher flub a change up! Except for the handful that *really* rely upon that pitch, of course...)
I would say not to worry about movement pitches until 14U, unless your DD is really exceptional.

Just one man's advice

The pitching coach of DD has said more than once that he wants her to be the best college pitcher and see her on ESPN, not the best 10U/12U/14U pitcher. When you are in the forest it's sometimes difficult to see the trees. Her coach brings a different perspective and says what she's doing now really doesn't matter. I sometimes wonder if he says this so I will have to pay him for 6 more years of lessons. lol

A couple of thoughts....

1) Your schedule shows pitch development, but does not mention how often she is practicing per week.
2) When my DD was developing we added pitches as we could because it gave me an excuse to practice longer.
3) Throwing 25 pitches each of a FB, CU, Curve and Drop is more fun than throwing 100 FBs.
4) I would suggest shooting for at least 2 months off per year. We shut down Thanksgiving through January.
5) Developing a good FB and CU is important, but is it effective for the level TB she is playing?
6) Learning to pitch is a marathon, not a sprint, but your DD needs to be effective along the way or she may give it up.

For in-season the practice schedule is 2 during the week and 1 on the weekend so basically every 2-3 days for about 30 mins. The off-season is no softball and doing other activities.

Thanks for the perspectives on pitch development for the fun part and basing it on the need.

Keep the succcess stories coming......