2023 pitcher to Florida

[quincy]

Ironically brother's niebor, committed to Florida about same age, she is there now.

She had a blast, just needed to call to say she was coming in and she would be on sidelines of football games, etc.

Think brother was jealous even though he hates Florida, it not a big10 school.

 

[Elk Grove Hurricane]

It was a combination of poor mechanics (more pushing the ball versus whip) and overuse that led to it. Every coach she played for, with the exception of myself, pitched this girl almost every game. That's why they moved on after three tournaments with my team. The reason given was not enough circle time. I had her pitching about 60% of the games in a tournament which is already too much at that age, IMO. The truth was a combination of that but more the Momma had to make sure her DD was "THE STAR" of the team and the spotlight had to be shown solely on her which didn't happen when my catcher was averaging 1-2 OTF HR's every other game.

My DD doesn't have anywhere close to the speed this one had, but even if she did I'd rather her play for you than for someone who has her pitching every game.

 

[BT3100]

We have a very special kid in our organization. At 13 she was throwing low to mid 60's. At 14 upper 60's. She committed to an SEC program recently. For someone like me who has never been around a kid that throws that hard I can tell you that it's an unbelievable experience to see a kid throw that hard. When she is throwing around the 17-18 year olds she makes them look like kids. The amount of work this kid puts into her game is just astonishing. Kids that are that committed to the sport are very rarely screw ups in other areas of life.

 

[YOCOACH]

My DD doesn't have anywhere close to the speed this one had, but even if she did I'd rather her play for you than for someone who has her pitching every game.

And I'd gladly take her. I'd far rather have a pitcher throwing in the high 50's-low 60's with huge movement on 2 planes and 3-4 changes of speed over a pitcher throwing in the high 60's, low 70's with little movement and no change of speed at the highest levels of play.

Few remember a former member on here named Hal Skinner. He was a Men's FP pitcher and fairly successful in his time. However, his theories on mechanics were a little bit out there and he was more of a "use what you got or if you don't have anything, make it up as you go," type of pitcher. i.e. he'd purposely slow his arm circle at the top for a split second to get the BR to leave early for a cheap out. One thing he used to say that has always stuck with me though, was that the pitcher's only job is to destroy a hitters timing as much as possible.

That said, I'd take commensurate levels of the former speeds and movement at my age level in a heartbeat. I've recently dropped back to 12U so if you're in my area and your DD's the appropriate age....

 

[warbird]

I have seen here since she was 9...Played against here a dozen times. Is she fantastic yes, Is she 67 mph...HELL NO! She is a legit 60 and that's a 100% fact.

Spin??? Id say no way. Does her screwball move? I guess so.

Is she really good. Yes!

But 2023 commit is a joke and speaks to how stupid things are getting!

The commitment really doesn't mean a thing!

She threw 63 against us in June. Saw the pocket radar myself. No reason to believe 66-67 6 months later isn't possible. I say CONGRATS to her and her family. People don't understand the level of commitment and hard work girls that verbal early have put in. I have seen numerous 14u players who are better than many D1 players right now. It's not like Tim Walton drew her from a lottery of random girls who bought a $5 ticket. Most of the nay-sayers wreak of jealously. If a school came to you and offered your 12-13yr old daughter a full ride scholarship, you wouldn't jump on it?!?! That is the pinnacle of the recruiting process. That is what every athlete and parent dream of when desiring to play in college and start on the whole travel ball experience. You would pass on that offer because she is too young? Props to this girl and her family. Well done and congratulations.

 

[Westwind]

Why wouldn’t Walton lock her up right before the recruiting rules likely change?

The speed she pitches isn’t the only thing he is looking at. It is part of the story, not the whole story. And now he is in a position to watch over her development as a player, whether he is supposed to give input or not. In effect, he is building the pitcher he wants on his team.

 

[riseball]

...If a school came to you and offered your 12-13yr old daughter a full ride scholarship, you wouldn't jump on it?!?! That is the pinnacle of the recruiting process. That is what every athlete and parent dream of when desiring to play in college and start on the whole travel ball experience...

Absolutely not!!! This is where people make the mistake of falling in love with the deal, or more accurately the possibility of the deal. The school has offered her nothing and in return she and her family will remove her from the recruiting process a full 5 years early. All for the possibility of a scholarship/deal down the road. Which if she is all that and a bag of chips would probably be hers for the asking 2 - 3 years from now. They are now "committed", she gets to put a big F on helmet, parents get to wear orange and blue to her high school games and have bragging rights of what may happen in the future. Meanwhile Walton keeps looking at other pitchers. Great upside for Walton and the Gator program with zero commitment and at no cost. Zero upside for the family and a crap ton of risk. Very foolish.

 

[Rocketech1]

I think riseball brings up some good points but if Florida is her dream school, why not verbal and start a long relationship with the university? If she is THAT good as a 7th grader (throwing mid-60's) I'm sure she will have lots of opportunities when she is 16 or 17 if the Florida verbal falls through. Secondly, most of the early verbal pitchers that my DD played with are still on track to play for their colleges in the next 1-2 years including Stanford, Ohio State, and ASU. I think verbals can work for many players and I personally wouldn't discount the idea if it was for my DD's dream school.

 

[TexAg1998]

And a 2018 DEcommitted from Florida State this week. Yet another reason why committing so early is stupid.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Sparky Guy]

Absolutely not!!! This is where people make the mistake of falling in love with the deal, or more accurately the possibility of the deal. The school has offered her nothing and in return she and her family will remove her from the recruiting process a full 5 years early. All for the possibility of a scholarship/deal down the road. Which if she is all that and a bag of chips would probably be hers for the asking 2 - 3 years from now. They are now "committed", she gets to put a big F on helmet, parents get to wear orange and blue to her high school games and have bragging rights of what may happen in the future. Meanwhile Walton keeps looking at other pitchers. Great upside for Walton and the Gator program with zero commitment and at no cost. Zero upside for the family and a crap ton of risk. Very foolish.

The girl plays for the Beverly Bandits. She is a good pitcher. Her mom is a Tincher instructor out of Indiana. Got to see her throw a few times last summer when she played on the 12U team. She is fast. Not sure about the mid 60 claim just yet, but she will most definitely be a force to reckoned with by the time she does hit college. She is a very determined, dedicated and focused player. Hopefully she keeps things in perspective and reaches her full potential.

Here is what Bill Conroy said about the early commitment on another board.

The 2023 player that verbally committed to Florida is a very talented player and believe it or not, her and her family did their due diligence, went on 5 unofficial visits with the urging of Tim Walton. I’m not a fan of the early recruiting process and I’ve been around long enough to remember when no one verballed until late their Junior year. I disagree with the previous poster and believe the new rules will give college coaches more time to evaluate, players more time to develop both physically and mentally and parents more time to decide what is really best for their daughter. There will be the same number of scholarships available, so I’m not sure this will effect lesser known teams/programs any differently than the current system.