12U pitchers throwing 58-60 mph

[Towny9]

I know who she is, and she seems to be well-respected. It wasn't a criticism of her training.

I know one 2024 girl on her sheet left when she changed organizations. I wonder if that was more an organization decision rather than a family one?

Not sure. I’m not that familiar. I didn’t take it as criticism. I just know from baseball the context of throwing to radar guns matters. I’m not sure if it is the same with softball, but in baseball a run and gun type throw is going to be significantly faster than a normal windup from the mound. Any softball pitching guys know if that’s the same in softball? If you are seeing kids throw slower live then what they post on a radar gun (with any instructor) that could be the difference. Like I said I’m not sure what type of throwing they do with her to make the speed board.

 

[ArmWhip]

I posted this in another thread. Sandercock's recruiting video. She lists her fastest pitch as 68mph, however the video shows a different story.

Kathryn Sandercock's Softball Recruiting Profile

Evaluate Kathryn Sandercock's softball recruiting profile. Learn how this Bishop O'Connell High School student is connecting with coaches in VA and nationwide.

www.ncsasports.org

 

[MaddieDad]

Not sure. I’m not that familiar. I didn’t take it as criticism. I just know from baseball the context of throwing to radar guns matters. I’m not sure if it is the same with softball, but in baseball a run and gun type throw is going to be significantly faster than a normal windup from the mound. Any softball pitching guys know if that’s the same in softball? If you are seeing kids throw slower live then what they post on a radar gun (with any instructor) that could be the difference. Like I said I’m not sure what type of throwing they do with her to make the speed board.

The girls throw indoors at her facility. It is at 43 feet from a rubber mat with pitching rubber attached to the floor. There is no run and gun. It is with proper mechanics and game like situation. The rubber doesn’t have a deep rut or soft traction like some fields.

She does try to pair girls up to get them amped and competitive. When my daughter has thrown Rita will take video and use that to give feedback on mechanics. So she is not trying to let them do something other than a standard pitch.

The only thing is pitches are not called balls or strikes. Most of the girls are giving it their all with no regard for hitting a batter etc. I imagine some are going to be 2 or 3 mph above game. I know for my girl her max with Rita is 2 above game cruising speed. The adrenaline and competition with other girls helps!


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[MaddieDad]

12U pitchers throwing 58-60 mph
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I can’t speak for timing but I think she continued to see Rita after she signed and posted recruiting videos.

I am not saying game speed will be max effort 1 rep but it is indicative.

We have faced 5 or 6 of the girls in the 14u age and those girls all cruised within 2 or 3 of their posted max.


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[MaddieDad]

The jugs gun she uses is, in my experience, is about 1-2 mph faster than the stalker gun or pocket radar. I have no fist hand experience with her, but I believe most of those speeds are indoors. I’m not 100% sure of the context they were taken in (regular windup vs run n gun style). I can attest that a lot of the kids that go to her throw pretty darn hard. It seems like every central VA kid I meet at a tourney who throws hard goes to her.

Like I said she uses 3 measurements and all have been within 1 mph of each other when I have been there.


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[MaddieDad]

From VA also - we know a # of girls that go to Rita. Her list of former players is impressive. The radar gun I usually see in the pictures of hers is a jugs gun. I have the same one but it runs off black and decker batteries that are pretty impossible to find anymore sadly.

What are of VA are you from? I would probably take my DD to her but it’s a little over 2 hours from me.

I am from Northern VA. It is a 90 min to 2.5 hour drive depending on traffic. It has been worth it. I would suggest her videos. The content is similar and we did that for a while. My daughter has fixed a couple nagging mechanical issues that Rita diagnosed and gave drills to fix very effectively. She gained velocity from that and has other items to keep improving. It is worth it plus getting to spend that time in the car with my girl is a nice side benefit and some of our best talks.


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[benjey]

This isn't meant as a knock on any of her pitchers and Rita may be an amazing pitching coach but I know DD has played against a number of her pitchers over the last 4-5 years who we saw posting speeds that were not even close to game speed. I'm not talking about 1-2 mph but sometimes 5-6 mph. Based on my in game pocket radar readings.

 

[Towny9]

The girls throw indoors at her facility. It is at 43 feet from a rubber mat with pitching rubber attached to the floor. There is no run and gun. It is with proper mechanics and game like situation. The rubber doesn’t have a deep rut or soft traction like some fields.

She does try to pair girls up to get them amped and competitive. When my daughter has thrown Rita will take video and use that to give feedback on mechanics. So she is not trying to let them do something other than a standard pitch.

The only thing is pitches are not called balls or strikes. Most of the girls are giving it their all with no regard for hitting a batter etc. I imagine some are going to be 2 or 3 mph above game. I know for my girl her max with Rita is 2 above game cruising speed. The adrenaline and competition with other girls helps!


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Thanks for the info. We are pretty happy with my DD’s PC down here in southeastern VA, but have thought about making the drive when she gets older if she wants to spend more time on pitching. My DD is our teams #3 pitcher and in a sense, she is the perfect #3. She wants to pitch some, but not put all her eggs in the pitching basket. She’s always thrown strikes and had a good changeup, but the velo isn’t there yet. If she doesn’t pitch much one weekend she is ok with it.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

This isn't meant as a knock on any of her pitchers and Rita may be an amazing pitching coach but I know DD has played against a number of her pitchers over the last 4-5 years who we saw posting speeds that were not even close to game speed. I'm not talking about 1-2 mph but sometimes 5-6 mph. Based on my in game pocket radar readings.

I think that's fairly common. Let's be honest. It's good for business if you can say you have girls throwing 65+ all the time. And, I'm sure she is not alone in this tactic.

70 MPH is astonishingly hard. If you have access to a Jugs Super Softball machine, I recommend putting it about 37 feet from home plate and dialing it up to top speed. Then get behind the plate with a catcher's mitt on and take a bunch to the mitt. The ball looks like it's shot out of a cannon.

Again, it's not questioning her ability as a trainer. I just believe it's exceedingly rare for girls to throw that hard in games. I think your assessment of 4-5 MPH below is probably accurate.

 

[FlSoftball]

We only use pocket radar in game or whatever the college coaches are using that day. I will usually clock my 15YO DD at the beginning middle and end of game to see what the cruising speed is. Her pitching coach never clocks her in lessons and we are fine with that so when she is asked for her PR it is her cruising speed in game. Just by the eyeball we think she has popped a few a couple mph over her PR but I did not get so will not use that number. We have one pitching couch around here that only
Uses rev fire for speed and spin and every time I see someone post something holding the handheld up on their tweets i LOL. They are usually off by 4-8 MPH since the catcher sits almost on top of the plate. I have clocked so many of them just to confirm the 4-8 number


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