Pitching faster

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Mar 20, 2015
174
28
My DD is 11U or has one more year of 12U next spring but she has been pitching for over 4 years. Over the course of this time I have noticed a direct correlation to the more often she throws the faster she gets. As an example, last year she pitched for two concurrent week long tournaments so for those 2 weeks she threw almost every day but on a restricted pitch count. At the end of the 2 weeks she had picked up about 4 mph. This year she is faster than last year but has not had a big jump in speed. She has pitched on a regular practice schedule of about twice a week but because of her new teams schedule the weekend tournament time has been less rigorous.

My question is as a longer term goal of building speed for high school years does it makes sense to increase pitching time now or does it not matter. In other words if she pitches more now and gets faster in the short term does 1) the speed sticks with her and she will get even faster as she practices in older years, or 2) it doesn't matter she can pick up the same amount of speed by pitching on a more rigorous schedule at an older age.

Obviously there is also a balance between getting better and protecting against an overuse injury.
 
Jan 18, 2018
22
0
I am not a pitching guru and my daughter has never been a pitcher. However, I have been around the game quite a while and realize that pitcher parents put too much emphasis on velocity. In high school and especially at the collegiate level, very few pitchers can be successful with velocity alone. Command (being able to consistently hit spots) and movement are way more important. With an 11 year old, it is not too soon to start focusing on those two things and let the velocity thing take a back seat. Hitting spots with multiple moving pitches is the key to success for a pitcher.
 
Mar 4, 2016
66
6
there is never to much emphasis on velocity...that's a lie

I agree. You can't discredit speed just because command and movement are also important. If you have really great movement and control, you can get away with only decent speed, If you have great speed and great movement you can get away with not hitting your spot every pitch. When you have all 3, thats when you find yourself pitching for a D1 school.
 
Sep 28, 2015
150
18
OP,
Speed comes from mechanics and strength/growth and the trick is to keep each of them in perspective from year-to-year. I love racing and it is just like any other sport so let’s make a weird comparison 🤪.

In other words, think of it as learning to become a race car driver. You start at the 50cc class of go-cart and every year you go up size of cart until you get to a full size car.

Each year you better you do 2 things: work up to going as fast as you can which requires good driving technique. Mashing the pedal and cursing won’t help and driving slow won’t work!

The point is without good mechanics you won’t go fast. AND most importantly once you have maxed out speed at the 50cc class then there is no reason to keep pushing the car harder!!

Enjoy racing the rest of the year and then work hard the next year in the 100cc class to work up to max speed again by building and improving on skills. Rinse and repeat!




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Feb 17, 2014
7,152
113
Orlando, FL
I agree. You can't discredit speed just because command and movement are also important. If you have really great movement and control, you can get away with only decent speed, If you have great speed and great movement you can get away with not hitting your spot every pitch. When you have all 3, thats when you find yourself pitching for a D1 school.

My DD pitched in the SEC with a top speed of 70+ and she will be the first to tell you that speed is of least concern when compared with movement and location. Even if you have great speed and exceptional movement you will get lit up if you leave it on the plate. In her world if you had the whole ball on the plate it was considered a fat pitch. At the top levels if you cannot locate the pitch you have nothing.
 
Mar 4, 2016
66
6
"My DD pitched in the SEC with a top speed of 70+"

"speed is of least concern"

Really?


I dont see many 58mph pitchers in the SEC
 
Mar 4, 2016
66
6
I'm not saying its the one component you need but to say too much emphasis on it sounds a bit crazy to me. I think all 3 are equal but if you have better than average movement then you will be okay with less than average speed. Obviously you have to be able to throw strikes but if your command is a ball or 2 off your spot, then good movement and speed can off-set that.
 
Nov 18, 2013
2,255
113
there is never to much emphasis on velocity...that's a lie

I wouldn’t say it’s a lie. Speed on its own, especially in college will get you lit up. Where I agree is too many parents blow off speed when their kids throw well below average. Good speed is important, it’s just not the only consideration.
 

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