Pitching speeds at the TCS Showcase

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Mar 13, 2010
1,758
48
Girls throw their hardest at about 16 y/o. They mature fast and after that any speed increases are minimal.

Not true. It seems that way because most softball players in America stop playing between 18-25 (unless they're elite players) If you stop at your prime you won't see any improvement because you're not continuing to play!

Go watch masters fastpitch and tell me they're not still improving or are faster than they were at 16.

(from someone in a country where fastpitch continues on as long as the body holds up)

In Australia the peak is not 16 for our girls. We also don't run them into the ground. They have time to mature and let their bodies rest. That's why despite us having nowhere near the pool of players that America does, we still are able to be up the top rankings in the world. (we have 32,000 people playing softball. In the entire country. That includes juniors, seniors, masters. That also includes men)
 
May 4, 2009
874
18
Baltimore
Really...but there are speed increases after, how does that work? Oh they continue to get better...of course.

So you tell Finch, et al, their best days are behind them, when they got better after college?
Tell a 17 year old she is over the hill? What is college some static plateau?
Ridiculous. Look at the men who keep on trucking.
It used to be true of women but there are not adult fp leagues any more.

I pitched better when older. More consistently at the top speed and in creating speed changes.

I don't buy this statement at all. Until there is a league that goes until 40s.

You pitched better when older, you didn't say faster. Don't confuse the two. No you don't tell a 17 year old they are over the hill, because you are striving to make them better. If your theory was right Jennie Finch would be throwing about 90mph now. Speaking of the men, they peak at about 25 y/o. I have been around both for a long time and the point at which they plateau is pretty clear. I guess you have college girls under your tutelage that have gone from 58 mph to 67 mph. Please share these stories with us.
 
May 4, 2009
874
18
Baltimore
I hate to burst your bubble, but girls by and large don't get faster after age 17. You should know that given what you have seen. I don't care what weights they lift, their bodies. especially the bigger girls are mature by then. Give me a success story where you have seen someone's speed get dramatically faster in college and I may believe you. It happens in baseball because the male body doesn't hit it's peak until around 25. Guys can go from 85 to 95 mph as they get to manhood, but it is rare. Do you think Osterman got faster in college, or after?
 
Jan 27, 2010
516
16
Osterman is an example of a pitcher that her strong suit has always been movement and not speed. I feel quite sure her movement and location has improved since HS. Lisa Fernandez gained quite a bit of speed in a short period of time during her later years according to Steve Huff's post recently. It could have been a change in pitching mechanics, weight lifting among other things.
 

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
I hate to burst your bubble, but girls by and large don't get faster after age 17. You should know that given what you have seen. I don't care what weights they lift, their bodies. especially the bigger girls are mature by then.

????

This reasoning seems like it goes against all logic.

Unless strength and speed and agility have absolutely NOTHING to do with how fast you can pitch what exactly would stop a player getting faster as they got older - especially if it was something they concentrated on? Naturally improvements become smaller and smaller in terms of measurable gain but they can still be there. We know there does not appear to be a technique limitation with the men's game having pitchers who are exceeding 80mph.

This also goes against everything I have seen in other sports that rely on strength and speed as well. Woman track and field athletes get faster throughout college and regularly afterwards if they move onto the pro ranks. I see the majority of WNBA/Pro Basketballers who are clearly better, faster and stronger after college when they can dedicate all their time to the sport.

Now if you argue that the reason you don't see big speed improvements is because players switch to working more on the non-fastball pitches where there might be more to gain for the effort you are putting in I could see something worth investigating. Maybe looking at an optimal speed/spin ratio point for the best timed movement of a particular pitch would be something to look at as well.

Average age of a US Olympian for 2004 for men is 27 - for woman 26. If they weren't improving significantly beyond a maturation age you would expect that the woman's age would be significantly lower because more younger 'mature' athletes would be making the team especially in those sports where physical maturity is the main component of the sport (swimming & gymnastics where small or sleek is balanced out by older athletes in sports such as sailing/various horse events/shooting events).

Or am I missing something here?
 

Coach-n-Dad

Crazy Daddy
Oct 31, 2008
1,010
0
DD went to a camp at Humboldt State University a few weeks ago. Coach Cheek used the gun on every single pitcher there for a minimum of 3 pitches. Of the 25 pitchers there only 3 hit that magical 60mph mark and only 1 hit it on all 3 pitches. The girls were from 13-17 years old.

Speed is very important to some college coaches.
 
Mar 11, 2009
431
0
I seen Katie Burkhart pitch to ASU girls recently(in the fall) and she looked alot faster and more dominate then when she won a national championship in 2008.
 

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