My DD is a Jr. in High School. She has been pretty successful pitching in travel ball and has 2 offers to pitch at the collegiate level. She missed last yrs high school season due to injury, this year she is the #1 pitcher on her HS team. We live in Southren Illinois and play the best tournaments within a couple hrs of home with some pretty competitive teams and she does really well. She threw a 1-0 shutout at a tournament in st. louis last yr, against A level team from St. Louis, a parent from the other team sat behind the catcher with a radar gun gunning every pitch. He came up to me after the game and told me that he does that every game they play and that my daughter threw as hard as anyone he had gunned all yr and that her performance that game was the best he had seen all yr. She seems to do pretty at any level she plays.
Her go to pitches are a riseball, curveball, backdoor curve and a really nice changeup. She can hit all of these pitches with pretty good accuracy and consistency. She can also throw a drop, but she is not real consistent with it. Her velocity is right at 60mph. She is good enough with these pitches that her TB coach will usually only call a few fastballs a game, when she does throw a fastball it is only in or out and at the knees. While we see girls that throw it harder she seems to overpower teams with a good riseball and good change that she can throw at anytime with her curveball thrown in when working low in the zone. The threat of a good changeup thrown at anytime in the count seems to add about 5mph to her riseball.
So High school season starts. Coach doesn't like riseball so calls a high fastball instead, daughter hasn't thrown fastball up In zone for 3 yrs. Loves the drop ball and wants to call it when throwing down in the zone. Calls on average 1 or 2 changeups a game. I watch batters pull their shoulders and wonder why we are throwing them inside, batters drop their shoulders that we throw drop balls too. Last yr playing 16U travel ball in 112 innings she gave up 4 home runs, tonight she gave up 3 in 1 2/3 innings. She came home so mad saying I don't understand I told her they was crowding the plate and she kept calling outside high fastballs. I talked to the catcher and she confirmed what my DD said. I am at a loss at what to tell my DD and not sure if I should go talk to HC or not. I have always just tried to sit in the stands and cheer on the team and let DD handle things herself but this is really bothering me and I am afraid by the time the season is over her confidence will be shaken if not destroyed. I am looking for others experience on how they handled situations like this.
Sorry for the long post but this is frustrating
Her go to pitches are a riseball, curveball, backdoor curve and a really nice changeup. She can hit all of these pitches with pretty good accuracy and consistency. She can also throw a drop, but she is not real consistent with it. Her velocity is right at 60mph. She is good enough with these pitches that her TB coach will usually only call a few fastballs a game, when she does throw a fastball it is only in or out and at the knees. While we see girls that throw it harder she seems to overpower teams with a good riseball and good change that she can throw at anytime with her curveball thrown in when working low in the zone. The threat of a good changeup thrown at anytime in the count seems to add about 5mph to her riseball.
So High school season starts. Coach doesn't like riseball so calls a high fastball instead, daughter hasn't thrown fastball up In zone for 3 yrs. Loves the drop ball and wants to call it when throwing down in the zone. Calls on average 1 or 2 changeups a game. I watch batters pull their shoulders and wonder why we are throwing them inside, batters drop their shoulders that we throw drop balls too. Last yr playing 16U travel ball in 112 innings she gave up 4 home runs, tonight she gave up 3 in 1 2/3 innings. She came home so mad saying I don't understand I told her they was crowding the plate and she kept calling outside high fastballs. I talked to the catcher and she confirmed what my DD said. I am at a loss at what to tell my DD and not sure if I should go talk to HC or not. I have always just tried to sit in the stands and cheer on the team and let DD handle things herself but this is really bothering me and I am afraid by the time the season is over her confidence will be shaken if not destroyed. I am looking for others experience on how they handled situations like this.
Sorry for the long post but this is frustrating
