7 “Pitchers” on team

[Softball5]

Coaching a 12U travel fast pitch team. 2 solid starters with great fundamentals/mechanics and change ups and one is working on another pitch or two. Both got grit and have performed well. Easy and obvious 1 and 2.


Then I have a 3rd who needs a lot of work over the winter but I definitely see the potential and hope she’ll fix a couple of her mechanics over the winter and be solid in spring/summer.

Then I have FOUR other “pitchers”. These are girls that all pitched off and on at rec ball. They want to pitch, but all their mechanics are SO bad they need to start over from scratch. All four of them are really awesome kids and say they want to pitch. They are not throwing strikes, are wildly inconsistent, lobbing the ball barely over the plate, but their parents keep at it that they want them to pitch.

I don’t want to hurt these girls feelings or even discourage them because who am I to tell them they can’t work and get better. As a coach and life long softball player/fan, I know that most likely these four girls do not have what it takes to put the amount of work in that they need to fix what is wrong and then the drive to work to push harder and more. I’m not saying they can’t do it, just that it is very unlikely as anyone who knows fast pitch pitching knows how much dedication, drive and work it takes to be successful. I would never tell them this but I have talked about the work and dedication it truly takes to become a pitcher at travel level.

The parents of these four girls keep reminding me that their daughters are also pitchers. I don’t know what to tell them at this point because I know they just don’t see it. I’ve thrown 3 of them randomly at scrimmage games/round robins and they all bombed and walked girls and hit girls, it was a major detriment to the team and hurt our vibe and score but it was a scrimmage game so I wanted them to have the opportunity to step up and show what they got. Their parents still seem oblivious to it and are asking to warm their daughters up too.


It is not possible to warm up 7 pitchers before a game. The parents don’t have gloves or offer to help with that either. Do I tell them to get a real pitching coach and start from scratch and once they at least have correct mechanics they can try again? I just don’t think it’s fair to the team to let them go out there in an actual tournament and bomb and put the team into such tough game deficits and situations.

I know as a coach I should be able to easily verbalize this to them, but I do care about the girls and while I have tried to help them, it’s just not there. I just can’t have a 7 pitcher rotation but the parents are just not getting it. They know that this is travel team and the rules were very clear that playing time and positions are earned, yet here I am getting emails asking for their kids to pitch in games or at least have them warm up before the game.

After another email, I need to address this because it’s weighing on me and it just keeps coming. Then they see one of the other bottom pitchers pitch and they want their kid too.

FYI, I have given basic drills and helps to have them get their basic mechanics changed and fixed and not one girl seems to have changed, gotten better or worked them. Main problem with all four, they bend over, all weight forward, no push/drive and all arm. I’ve spent time with them all, showed the player and parents the drills, but I’d easily bet they are not doing them or working them.

 

[Agbracing]

It sounds like you are in a bad spot and the sad part is there is not a good answer that will make everyone happy. If you try to keep the lower 4 happy you make others mad. If you do nothing the 4 will probably get mad. If you are trying to build a team for the future then you have to bite the bullet and have a heart to heart with them as they bring it up next time. Express the good their players do and what their role on the team is honestly. And at the present time pitching is not one of their roles. Explain that pitching is a skill position that the player and parents must be committed to and work on their own to get better. If they get lessons and work for a bit then you will give them some opportunities in practice or scrimmage to show their improvements. Maybe even set some benchmarks that a tournament pitcher would have to meet in order to get in the pitching rotation. Maybe even suggest they stay playing rec to get some game pitching reps. Offer to go to a lesson with them and check out their instructor to pressure them into taking lessons. More then likely they will not be very happy and will probably decide to look around for a team that needs a pitcher. And if that is the case then honestly in the long run you will be better off. It will always be an issue and you will lose players either way you handle it. Make wise decisions on who you make mad.

 

[CMMom1740]

Maybe say that anyone who is interested in pitching must be in weekly lessons? Sounds like some of them won't want to invest the time/$.

 

[marriard]

Coaching a 12U travel fast pitch team. 2 solid starters with great fundamentals/mechanics and change ups and one is working on another pitch or two. Both got grit and have performed well. Easy and obvious 1 and 2.Then I have a 3rd who needs a lot of work over the winter but I definitely see the potential and hope she’ll fix a couple of her mechanics over the winter and be solid in spring/summer.

Then I have FOUR other “pitchers”. These are girls that all pitched off and on at rec ball. They want to pitch, but all their mechanics are SO bad they need to start over from scratch. All four of them are really awesome kids and say they want to pitch. They are not throwing strikes, are wildly inconsistent, lobbing the ball barely over the plate, but their parents keep at it that they want them to pitch.

I don’t want to hurt these girls feelings or even discourage them because who am I to tell them they can’t work and get better.

So this is straight forward assuming your top 2 pitchers you like are putting the work in that the others are not and it is important to know that as head coach you are the person to tell them (and their parents) HOW they would need to work to get better :

"Parent, if your DD wants to pitch, I need to see her start weekly lessons with one of the following local pitching coaches once per week and at least 1 - preferably 2 nights - of practicing what that coach is teaching her outside of our practices. That is is what our current best pitchers are doing - and if your DD REALLY wants to pitch at this level and above, that is what she is going to need to do. Once they have 3-4 weeks with this routine and I can see they really are dedicated, then I can start see is she is improving at our scrimmages and practices and when they are ready I can work them into the rotation."

Adjust your message based on what your top 2 are doing (and frankly if they aren't doing something similar to this already, they are not going to last as pitchers either).

You are not promising them pitching in games, but you are setting out what they need to do to even be considered. If they don't do it and some parent brings up having their DD pitch, you can simply say "Until she is doing what I said she needed to do to become a pitcher, I can't consider her"

If one of the girls asks about pitching, you can somethign similar - to pitch you need to do the following "XXXXX. I have already told your parent this (or I can talk to your parent about this if you would like me to).

That should weed out the ones that want it versus the ones who don't. If there are ones that want it, great.

 

[MadBandit22]

Coaching a 12U travel fast pitch team. 2 solid starters with great fundamentals/mechanics and change ups and one is working on another pitch or two. Both got grit and have performed well. Easy and obvious 1 and 2.


Then I have a 3rd who needs a lot of work over the winter but I definitely see the potential and hope she’ll fix a couple of her mechanics over the winter and be solid in spring/summer.

Then I have FOUR other “pitchers”. These are girls that all pitched off and on at rec ball. They want to pitch, but all their mechanics are SO bad they need to start over from scratch. All four of them are really awesome kids and say they want to pitch. They are not throwing strikes, are wildly inconsistent, lobbing the ball barely over the plate, but their parents keep at it that they want them to pitch.

I don’t want to hurt these girls feelings or even discourage them because who am I to tell them they can’t work and get better. As a coach and life long softball player/fan, I know that most likely these four girls do not have what it takes to put the amount of work in that they need to fix what is wrong and then the drive to work to push harder and more. I’m not saying they can’t do it, just that it is very unlikely as anyone who knows fast pitch pitching knows how much dedication, drive and work it takes to be successful. I would never tell them this but I have talked about the work and dedication it truly takes to become a pitcher at travel level.

The parents of these four girls keep reminding me that their daughters are also pitchers. I don’t know what to tell them at this point because I know they just don’t see it. I’ve thrown 3 of them randomly at scrimmage games/round robins and they all bombed and walked girls and hit girls, it was a major detriment to the team and hurt our vibe and score but it was a scrimmage game so I wanted them to have the opportunity to step up and show what they got. Their parents still seem oblivious to it and are asking to warm their daughters up too.


It is not possible to warm up 7 pitchers before a game. The parents don’t have gloves or offer to help with that either. Do I tell them to get a real pitching coach and start from scratch and once they at least have correct mechanics they can try again? I just don’t think it’s fair to the team to let them go out there in an actual tournament and bomb and put the team into such tough game deficits and situations.

I know as a coach I should be able to easily verbalize this to them, but I do care about the girls and while I have tried to help them, it’s just not there. I just can’t have a 7 pitcher rotation but the parents are just not getting it. They know that this is travel team and the rules were very clear that playing time and positions are earned, yet here I am getting emails asking for their kids to pitch in games or at least have them warm up before the game.

After another email, I need to address this because it’s weighing on me and it just keeps coming. Then they see one of the other bottom pitchers pitch and they want their kid too.

FYI, I have given basic drills and helps to have them get their basic mechanics changed and fixed and not one girl seems to have changed, gotten better or worked them. Main problem with all four, they bend over, all weight forward, no push/drive and all arm. I’ve spent time with them all, showed the player and parents the drills, but I’d easily bet they are not doing them or working them.

You can never have enough “good “ pitching. The problem is you have two solid starters and the makings of a 3rd if she puts her time in.
The remaining four sound like “aspiring” pitchers. They want to pitch and probably pitched some in rec ball but are not TB quality pitchers. They most likely haven’t displayed the dedication and ability it takes to be a good pitcher.
I would tell the parents of the four lesser pitchers that you have three pitchers that are more advanced than the others and they have earned their spots in the rotation.
I would also mention that if their girls really want to pitch they need to be considered a “pitcher in good standing”. Meaning they must have a dedicated pitching coach and have at least one lesson a week.
The cost alone of retaining a pitching coach may deter them from reminding/hounding you that their girls can also pitch.
If questions arise about your top three pitchers just tell them they are more advanced and you have a certain level of trust in their ability.
Bottom line it’s your team and as much as you appreciate the reminders your aware of the talent levels on your team.

 

[Cagman]

That sounds like a nightmare. Why would 4 girls who claim to want to pitch, be on a team with 2-3 legit starters. Like others have said, tell them to get involved in lessons all winter and come back in spring and beat out your starters.

Most young girls want no part of pitching. Too much pressure. Girls aren’t like boys, spotlight scares most. At least that’s been my experience. With exceptions of course.

 

[Sparky Guy]

The solution to your problem is simple. It's conveying the message in a way that gets through the rose colored glasses is what's going to be hard. Being very blunt is usually the best way. If you try to soften the message the parents and kids will twist your message into a promise. NEVER promise pitching time.

Your message to the girls and the parents needs to be simple. The team only has enough innings for 3 starting pitchers. If you want to be a starting pitcher you need to out pitch the 3 starting pitchers. Then, as the other posters have said, the parents need to get them to regular lessons with an IR pitching coach and let them know how much work they need to be doing on their own. They need to understand there are no short cuts.

If they start doing what they need to do then pitch them in live hitting practices to judge their performances, then in some friendly games. You can make your assessments from there.

 

[So Cal Seth]

The solution to your problem is simple. It's conveying the message in a way that gets through the rose colored glasses is what's going to be hard. Being very blunt is usually the best way. If you try to soften the message the parents and kids will twist your message into a promise. NEVER promise pitching time.

Your message to the girls and the parents needs to be simple. The team only has enough innings for 3 starting pitchers. If you want to be a starting pitcher you need to out pitch the 3 starting pitchers. Then, as the other posters have said, the parents need to get them to regular lessons with an IR pitching coach and let them know how much work they need to be doing on their own. They need to understand there are no short cuts.

If they start doing what they need to do then pitch them in live hitting practices to judge their performances, then in some friendly games. You can make your assessments from there.

I came here to say what Sparky just did. The communication to parents is - earn your spot. Your daughter wants to pitch? She has to earn it.

 

[CloudofDust]

Sounds to me like the parents want the kids to pitch more than the kids do. As others have suggested, I’d tell the parents to take the kids to pitching lessons or let them pitch in a rec league to gain experience.

Did you have tryouts for this team? If so, what positions did the bottom four pitchers play to earn a spot on the team? Obviously, you can’t keep 7 pitchers happy on the same team, even if they were all good. If the parents and kids can’t accept their roles then maybe they need to find a new team?

 

[grcsftbll]

Most young girls want no part of pitching. Too much pressure. Girls aren’t like boys, spotlight scares most. At least that’s been my experience. With exceptions of course.