When did you know?

GeorgeZip said:

1. When did you know that your daughter had it or at least was getting there.

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I knew my DD had it when she was pitching with good control and cruising in the mid 50's during games at a fairly young age.

2. When did you know it was over?

When I had to drag her to pitching practice instead of her asking me.

That said, I'm down to 1 Pitcher because of a series of injuries so DD has started to practice again after not pitching for 5 years. She's still in the mid to upper 50's which isn't exceptional speed for 18U but she has good movement and decent control so as far as I'm concerned, that's great for a catcher.

GeorgeZip said:

If people actually answer this thread one thing I would like if answering #1 as yes is how/what is a good way to know if your daughter is using I/R and/or not using I/R?

For me I feel like I'm half way to number 1, but I'm just not quite sure. My daughter is at about the right speed, I video her and it all looks about right for her age, 12, but when you're doing things that you're not an expert at you're never sure.

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The best way I found out to know if my DD is using I/R is for us to go and see javasource.

My DD is also12. We are on our fifth month since we switched from "forearm fire" to I/R with brush. Like you I'm not an expert and find my self never sure. If you can find a PC that teaches what is found hear on DFP that should get you on the right track.

You might consider trying it yourself. I just started in January and unfortunately I'm not a natural so I'm working hard at it. My effort to learn along with my DD has changed the dynamics of our practices together. It gives her a little break while at the same time she "coaches" me. She gets a kick out of me when I can't hit the Bow Net from 25 feet away and instead hit the block wall on either side of it in our basement. Or I hit a floor joist!

Do you record and playback in slow motion? This works well because you see what's really happening, especially when people like us don't have the experience to see what's going on in fast motion. Plus, it allows DD to see what she is doing and make adjustments based on what she just watched. Plus, once they watch what they're doing it helps keep the arguing to a minimum.

shaker1 said:

That "last pitch" business sounds tough. Not lookin forward to it!

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It is not as bad as you think. By then they are practicing with the college team almost exclusively. Your day-to-day involvement becomes less and less. But when you watch the pitch that you KNOW is the last one, the tears will flow. They won't be tears of sadness, because you know this will come. It's tears of relief, joy and a million other emotions because she has crossed the finish line after giving over half her life to a sport in the most pressure packed position on the field.

While tearfully hugging my DD after she walked off the field for the last time I told her she'll never have to throw a competitive pitch again unless she wants to. For her, that was it. She was done, with no regrets.

We are still early on our journey. But I can remember when we realized we had "something" on hands. 7 year old all star game and DD was "pitching". Bases were loaded with two outs. Hitter pops a small fly in front of the plate. In one fluid move DD runs at the ball, scoops it up off the first bounce and dove onto home plate to beat the runner for the third out. The crowd went wild and I was thinking it might be time for something more for us. On our 4th year of travel and still amazed at the "heady" plays she makes.

What is ''it"?

Since I'm having to ask, my DD must not have ''it''.

I noticed she had "it" about a year ago when we were walking through the grocery store and she was pitching in stride was she walked. Over the next few weeks this continued, every third or fourth step was a "pitch". It didnt matter where we were, Im relatively sure she didnt even know she was doing it. Now shes a 2nd year 10u and is pretty successful at it. We are currently beginning the process of going to IR. We are working on it now but I can tell its going to be a journey to say the least.

I remember when I would count pitches while sitting on the bucket. I would count balls, strikes..... and pitches I couldn't catch with normal effort. When I started doing this, the balls I couldn't catch out numbered balls & strikes combined.

DD pitched for about 8 months before she ever pitched in a game. She decided she wanted to pitch at the end of a rec season and the next rec season was her first year pitching in rec games. She played up to 10u. I remember early that season going to a coaches clinic with the Butler HC and asking him when was the right time to decide that DD wasn't a pitcher. He told me to never give up. I'm glad I didn't. The next year was her first year of travel and by the end of that season she was throwing 45ish and a lot of strikes.

This is easy, I have 2 girls, one for each side of your question

answer to #1: I knew she 'had it' all along- she is in college and still playing, now having the best softball experience of her
entire career. When she was younger, I asked her at least 2x a year if she wanted to keep playing. I wanted her to
play because she wanted to play, not because I was a coach.

answer to #2: It was over when she said it was over- won the city championship at 10U and on the way home she said:
"Dad, I am done playing, I want to retire as a champion"

I knew it was over when I had to nag her to practice all the time. She then made the switch to catcher, and she's much happier and feels like she's helping her pitchers.

When did you know that your daughter had it or at least was getting there.

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For DD#1, about three times.

a) She 14YOA. She was playing on a 16U with Coach A and she didn't fit on the team. (That was when I was young and stupid.) She was picked up for a game with Coach B. She got into a groove and threw a 1 hit shut out, struck out 20 and walked 0. The other team wasn't "stellar", but they had some players.
b) She was on a 16U team playing a "real" 18U Gold team. The other team had a bunch of players going D1 to schools like Michigan and Florida. In the first inning of a 7 inning game, their cleanup hitter hit blasted a 2 run shot against her. My DD turned around, smiled at her teammates, and shrugged her shoulders like "Oh well. ***t happens." That was the last hit she gave up that game.
c) She was a college freshman pitching in Lubbock against Texas Tech, and got behind 3-0 in the first inning to their #4 hitter. The next pitch the kid hit into New Mexico. My DD didn't fold...she just smiled and dug a little deeper. She pitched well.

When did you know it was over?

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DD#3 had just finished her sophomore HS basketball season. She had worked her way from the end of the bench to a starter, had won a regional, and had been named all-conference. Softball seasons started Tte HS softball coach told her that she was going to start a game as a pitcher for the varsity. When she got to the game, the coach told her "you aren't a team player" and started another girl instead. DD#3 had no idea what she did or did not do. The other girl was a really bad pitcher.

DD#3 could play any (and I mean any) sport--unbelievable eye-hand coordination. She was "serious" about basketball. She looked at other sports as fun. The HS coach had taken the fun out of softball...so, she quit.