JAD, Curious as to what age did your DD start to be the #1? As I remember she wasn't so fast at a younger age. So, how did her younger years go with her pitching time?
She's 97th percentile for height. She's the youngest on her team but the 3rd tallest. Hitting, we'll see. So far so good but we're still adjusting to live pitching. Anyway, she has no desire to be a primary first baseman. When she's not pitching she really prefers short stop. Personally I love watching her at short almost as much as when she's pitching. Then again, I love watching her play any position.A primary 1B needs to be tall and have a BIG STICK in the older age groups of high level TB and college.
JAD, Curious as to what age did your DD start to be the #1? As I remember she wasn't so fast at a younger age. So, how did her younger years go with her pitching time?
That is a great question! My DD was the #1 pitcher on her 10U team not because she was a great pitcher, but because we were a C-level TB team and she was all we had! If she was on a 10U A-level team she would have been the #3 or #4 pitcher and I bet her career would have turned out much differently. We used the fact that she was the #1 pitcher as motivation for her to work hard because her team was counting on her. Softball is a marathon, not a sprint, and I am HUGE believer that circle time is the most important ingredient for improvement. A pitcher gets better by pitching AGAINST the best hitters, not by playing on the best team and pitching against weaker competition. A players goal should be to play as high a level of TB as she can at 16U, and college coaches do not care if your DD went to PGF or ASA nationals at 10U, 12U, or 14U....
A players goal should be to play as high a level of TB as she can at 16U, and college coaches do not care if your DD went to PGF or ASA nationals at 10U, 12U, or 14U....
Yes, but don't you think that if she pitched at PGF, ASA nationals the experience playing against top competition molds her into a better pitcher?
Everyone says that what you did at 8U, 10u, and 12U doesn't matter but I disagree. I think it all matters and helps develop you into a quality player (as well as a love of the game). There is a chapter in Malcolm Gladwell's book "Outliers" that resonated with me. His premise was that Canadien hockey players who went on to play in the NHL were disproportiately the kids who were born early in the calendar year. Because these kids were more physically and mentally mature than their peers born late in the year, the older kids were more likely to make the all-star teams. And because these kids made the all-star teams, they got additional playing time and played against better competition, and most importantly got better than their peers. Because they were better and older than their peers, they made the all-star team the next year, and this cycle continued year after year after year.
That is a great question! My DD was the #1 pitcher on her 10U team not because she was a great pitcher, but because we were a C-level TB team and she was all we had! If she was on a 10U A-level team she would have been the #3 or #4 pitcher and I bet her career would have turned out much differently. We used the fact that she was the #1 pitcher as motivation for her to work hard because her team was counting on her. Softball is a marathon, not a sprint, and I am HUGE believer that circle time is the most important ingredient for improvement. A pitcher gets better by pitching AGAINST the best hitters, not by playing on the best team and pitching against weaker competition. A players goal should be to play as high a level of TB as she can at 16U, and college coaches do not care if your DD went to PGF or ASA nationals at 10U, 12U, or 14U....
The hypothesis in "Outliers" is that the players chosen for All Stars get additional practice, training and playing time.....