Here are some of my thoughts
First of all please excuse me, I did not intend to come across as calling you a liar. All I was trying to say as to the "leap", is that if a pitcher pivot foot comes up, loses contact with the ground, is airborne, has a vertical element, or whatever we chose to call it, inside, then one would think she would do the same outside, unless she uses a different technique outside, which I think defeats the purpose of doing all the work in the gym. Muscle memory and all, and muscle memory has to do with feet and legs too.
I understand what you say about "replant" for balance. Toe draggers will also use the pivot foot for balance as they drag. But when a pitcher drags her cleats instead of her toe or side of the foot, a "replant" is suspected. Especially if the drag is interrupted, not smooth and fluid. With the slide and replant one can usually see the evidence of the replant by observing the marks she leaves in the dirt (drag line). There will be a few inches to or even up to a three foot drag mark, and it is a fairly straight line towards home, and then a clear point where she replants, you can see it when you examine the dirt, you can see the imprint of the cleats, and then the next drag starts from that point usually off towards the first base line (for a right hander). Pitchers that drag toe down are rarely suspected.
I commend you for being proactive and getting her a new coach. And it is a good thing that you did because the game is changing. Here is what Dee Abrahamson, Secretary-Rules Editor, NCAA Softball Rules Committee had to say on June 3, 2010: We haven't always paid as much attention to this issue as we probably needed to. Players have developed bad habits or learned incorrect techniques. As they work illegally, they develop different issues. Our challenge has been trying to change the culture of the game. We have two options. Option 1 is to start at the grassroots level. Take all the eight- and 10-year-old girls and teach them how to do it right. To do that, we would be taking the least developed group of coaches and least developed group of umpires to make the change, and in about eight years, when they come to college, we have fixed our game. Or, Option 2 is that we can go top-down and use the most professional and well-educated group of coaches, and the most professional and most experienced umpires and make the changes much faster, so it makes the most sense to work top-down. They can start fixing the problem, and we can get it on TV and get our professional coaches to learn how to teach it right. Then they can teach somebody who can teach somebody and it will get to the eight year olds.
This is not an easy time for softball. This problem was created adults, and I find it hard to believe that all coaches and instructors didn't know that what they were doing was wrong. Some have made good money teaching illegal techniques, counting on the rules never being enforced. The pitchers are innocent here as they were taught illegal techniques, by adult instructors and coaches and have pitched the same way their entire careers, but they are being embarrassed and humiliated on some of our sports biggest stages and that is unfortunate. But coaches should have seen this coming. My association has been increasing their emphasis on illegal pitching over the last few years.
I think that Leapers and Replanters have unfortunately become victims of the increasing popularity of the college game and the coverage that comes with it. These girls just wanted to be like their heros, Abbot, Finch, Osterman, etc. Problem is Abbot, Finch, Osterman pitched when the pitching rules were not being enforced. Millions of people are watching the same illegal pitching techniques at the same time because the game is on ESPN and their coverage and analysis through the regionals and the wcws have put this issue in the light. It's in Hi-Def and slow-mo with great angles, and the fans, players, coaches and umpires watching at home across the country wonder why these calls aren't made. Governing bodies and umpires can no longer look the other way and have to train and encourage their umpires, coaches and players with this. Not enforcing the pitching rule is not only disservice to teams with legal pitchers, it is a disservice to the 12 year old girl that needs to be fixed, and it sets up future umpires that will call it for conflict. But worse I think it delegitimizes our sport. How is women's softball to be taken seriously and how are umpires to be respected if they don't step up and consistently enforce the pitching rule, one of the most important, most visible and consistently broken and un-enforced rules in the book. If the illegal pitch is to be done away with, the calls must be made on the high school diamond during a JV game in the middle of nowhere as well as on national television in Oklahoma City. It is not an easy thing to do and I understand why many choose not to, and there is no joy in calling illegal pitches Especially when state tournament umpires or WCWS umpires had a girl a few games ago and said nothing.
But again, that is changing. And I don't think the NCAA is going to back down on this. Governing bodies, reacting to years of complaints from a coaches and upon the advise of their coaching committees, are directing umpires to make these calls, and they are, all across the country.
I would not be against the rules being changed to allow the pivot foot to loose contact with the ground. I would never be in favor of allowing the replant. And I like the chute rule. Some associations don't allow a girl to step back with the drive foot before the pitch, and make the pitcher have both feet in contact with the pitchers plate at the start of the pitch. I would be in favor of letting them all step back or start with the drive foot behind the plate.
I do wish we had one rule book, with no state by state adaptations.
ump
On another note, many people will ask, if we called the first 4 pitches of the top of the inning illegal, why not the next one to the second batter, is it because she fixed it? The base ump calls the pitchers feet, and in a two man crew, once there is a girl on base, the base up now watches the runner as the pitch is delivered. And plate umps rarely call feet. But of course now they want the plate ump to call the feet as to outside of the chute.
First of all please excuse me, I did not intend to come across as calling you a liar. All I was trying to say as to the "leap", is that if a pitcher pivot foot comes up, loses contact with the ground, is airborne, has a vertical element, or whatever we chose to call it, inside, then one would think she would do the same outside, unless she uses a different technique outside, which I think defeats the purpose of doing all the work in the gym. Muscle memory and all, and muscle memory has to do with feet and legs too.
I understand what you say about "replant" for balance. Toe draggers will also use the pivot foot for balance as they drag. But when a pitcher drags her cleats instead of her toe or side of the foot, a "replant" is suspected. Especially if the drag is interrupted, not smooth and fluid. With the slide and replant one can usually see the evidence of the replant by observing the marks she leaves in the dirt (drag line). There will be a few inches to or even up to a three foot drag mark, and it is a fairly straight line towards home, and then a clear point where she replants, you can see it when you examine the dirt, you can see the imprint of the cleats, and then the next drag starts from that point usually off towards the first base line (for a right hander). Pitchers that drag toe down are rarely suspected.
I commend you for being proactive and getting her a new coach. And it is a good thing that you did because the game is changing. Here is what Dee Abrahamson, Secretary-Rules Editor, NCAA Softball Rules Committee had to say on June 3, 2010: We haven't always paid as much attention to this issue as we probably needed to. Players have developed bad habits or learned incorrect techniques. As they work illegally, they develop different issues. Our challenge has been trying to change the culture of the game. We have two options. Option 1 is to start at the grassroots level. Take all the eight- and 10-year-old girls and teach them how to do it right. To do that, we would be taking the least developed group of coaches and least developed group of umpires to make the change, and in about eight years, when they come to college, we have fixed our game. Or, Option 2 is that we can go top-down and use the most professional and well-educated group of coaches, and the most professional and most experienced umpires and make the changes much faster, so it makes the most sense to work top-down. They can start fixing the problem, and we can get it on TV and get our professional coaches to learn how to teach it right. Then they can teach somebody who can teach somebody and it will get to the eight year olds.
This is not an easy time for softball. This problem was created adults, and I find it hard to believe that all coaches and instructors didn't know that what they were doing was wrong. Some have made good money teaching illegal techniques, counting on the rules never being enforced. The pitchers are innocent here as they were taught illegal techniques, by adult instructors and coaches and have pitched the same way their entire careers, but they are being embarrassed and humiliated on some of our sports biggest stages and that is unfortunate. But coaches should have seen this coming. My association has been increasing their emphasis on illegal pitching over the last few years.
I think that Leapers and Replanters have unfortunately become victims of the increasing popularity of the college game and the coverage that comes with it. These girls just wanted to be like their heros, Abbot, Finch, Osterman, etc. Problem is Abbot, Finch, Osterman pitched when the pitching rules were not being enforced. Millions of people are watching the same illegal pitching techniques at the same time because the game is on ESPN and their coverage and analysis through the regionals and the wcws have put this issue in the light. It's in Hi-Def and slow-mo with great angles, and the fans, players, coaches and umpires watching at home across the country wonder why these calls aren't made. Governing bodies and umpires can no longer look the other way and have to train and encourage their umpires, coaches and players with this. Not enforcing the pitching rule is not only disservice to teams with legal pitchers, it is a disservice to the 12 year old girl that needs to be fixed, and it sets up future umpires that will call it for conflict. But worse I think it delegitimizes our sport. How is women's softball to be taken seriously and how are umpires to be respected if they don't step up and consistently enforce the pitching rule, one of the most important, most visible and consistently broken and un-enforced rules in the book. If the illegal pitch is to be done away with, the calls must be made on the high school diamond during a JV game in the middle of nowhere as well as on national television in Oklahoma City. It is not an easy thing to do and I understand why many choose not to, and there is no joy in calling illegal pitches Especially when state tournament umpires or WCWS umpires had a girl a few games ago and said nothing.
But again, that is changing. And I don't think the NCAA is going to back down on this. Governing bodies, reacting to years of complaints from a coaches and upon the advise of their coaching committees, are directing umpires to make these calls, and they are, all across the country.
I would not be against the rules being changed to allow the pivot foot to loose contact with the ground. I would never be in favor of allowing the replant. And I like the chute rule. Some associations don't allow a girl to step back with the drive foot before the pitch, and make the pitcher have both feet in contact with the pitchers plate at the start of the pitch. I would be in favor of letting them all step back or start with the drive foot behind the plate.
I do wish we had one rule book, with no state by state adaptations.
ump
On another note, many people will ask, if we called the first 4 pitches of the top of the inning illegal, why not the next one to the second batter, is it because she fixed it? The base ump calls the pitchers feet, and in a two man crew, once there is a girl on base, the base up now watches the runner as the pitch is delivered. And plate umps rarely call feet. But of course now they want the plate ump to call the feet as to outside of the chute.
