Pitching 10u blues

Dandan111 said:

My daughter has really stepped up this year pitching all of our first
4 games. We have won all 4 but last game was close. We have a weak
10u rec team with a good pitcher.
She's made almost all the outs with strike outs. She throws a lot of
Balls mixed with strikes that cause long innings and she's getting down
On herself thinking everyone is mad about her inconsistency.

I've told her we are winning with her pitching but she doesn't see it
and the longer the innings are the more she worries.
How can I help her? Pushing her at practice seems to make her think
She's not doing good.

Thanks

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DD's first season of pitching was 10u rec when she was 9. Five months of practice over the winter with some Hillhouse videos and she was a monster in rec. The first month was hard as it was either a K or a walk - and about 1 to 1 ratio. She was not happy with the walks and felt she was letting down her teammates that just stood there and either watched a walk or watched the batter strikeout. Her velocity was way above the rest of the league and her walks were similar to kids throwing in the mid to low 30's. We tried to tell her that but it did not do any good. It really bugged her. But, she kept working on her mechanics and finally got her walks down by post season. She is a hard worker but her hatred of walks really drover her and was partially responsible for her growth that year.

Next year she played 12u and we told her since she was playing up whatever happened was ok. At 10u we always told her whatever happened was ok, but it never really worked. The playing up thing seemed to click and whatever extra, internal angst she had was minimal. There may be something you can say to help her or she may have to work through it on her own. Just try to be there and always support her, no matter what.

She is 11 now, and looking at her numbers in her 2nd year at 12u, she has 65 k's, with 10 walks, in 33 innings, but is back to REALLY hating walks. It's always something...

quincy said:

I do not know how she is pitching in games but do not let her start trying to guide the ball for strikes, it is counter productive.

If was easy everyone would pitch.

10U we moved players all around, seemed like DD always had the worse defense we could field. The other pitchers needed more defensive help so it made sense to her and me.

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I HIGHLY recommend young pitchers throw into a tarp for a good portion of their pitching time. It allows them to focus on proper mechanics vs. the results of the pitch. It also allows the parent to focus on the mechanics vs. worrying about getting drilled between the eyes with a pitch...

I agree...

(IMO opinion about 20' trap, not game distance).

Dandan111, you are missing the whole point. You are talking about winning, and she is talking about achieving excellence.

Good athletes are a mix of (1) a desire to win and (2) a desire to play better.

Your DD is frustrated. She wants to pitch better, but doesn't know how. "Winning" a bunch of rec league games isn't going to make her better. My guess is that she has watched better pitchers and wants to be like them.

She is demanding of herself and wants to get better.

As far as practicing 10 months a year in Indiana...my DD grew up in chicagoland, and she practiced 10 months a year.

Also...she may not like basketball as much as pitching.

As they mature, I only want the pitchers throwing 60% strikes.
Also tell her about unearned runs. That generally makes a pitcher feel better.

Sluggers ,she wants to please everyone. She feels pressure from being the only pitcher. As far as practicing 10,11,12 mo a year. That could but
more than likely won't happen. I was sort of joking about basketball but as the season changes so will her sport. But that is up to her, she was basketball
crazy not very long ago. Now we're softball. She played up with the big girls today and pitched a inning. She was her happy self. Less pressure when your
Sharing the pitching.
I don't know that travel ball will be in her cards but who knows, she's only 10. I just try to help her the best I can. 60% strikes is a good goal. Thanks Amy.

Amy in AZ. said:

As they mature, I only want the pitchers throwing 60% strikes.
Also tell her about unearned runs. That generally makes a pitcher feel better.

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All runs are against Dd.

quincy said:

All runs are against Dd.

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yes, but probably not all earned runs.

JAD said:

I HIGHLY recommend young pitchers throw into a tarp for a good portion of their pitching time. It allows them to focus on proper mechanics vs. the results of the pitch. It also allows the parent to focus on the mechanics vs. worrying about getting drilled between the eyes with a pitch...

Click to expand...

great idea, i am stealing it ! I am definitely going to seize on this for my DD who is also struggling with searching/reaching for the zone (see thread I started yesterday). will get the reps and build muscles and muscle memory. Thanks!