Adjusting to Faster Pitching

[CobraAssist]

RED - Absolutely classic. I thought the tears were going to be from her hands stinging or something like that, but tears of joy....PRICELESS.

BOOTH - TOTALLY AGREE!!! Have actually been coaching the girls to try and get their foot down as the ball leaves their hand just to get them started a little sooner. The fact of the matter is, with each pitcher comes an adjustment. We're trying to make these girls understand also, that the At-Bat starts in the on-deck circle. If they're just standing over there looking around, and not practicing their timing, than they're already behind in the count. Again, we're dealing with 9-10 year olds.

 

[42'sdad]

If we're having troubles catching up to faster pitching. We will have them put bunts down to get them some confidence and put some pressure on the defense. I believe bunting for first year 10's is a great way for them to get comfortable in the box and also a greater percentage to put the bat on the ball and have success. A lot of times if you can get a few bunts down and their defense throws the ball around, that can get into the pitchers head and then they start aiming the ball which equals slower pitching.. We don't even work on swinging with 1st year 10's until they can all get the bunt down!!

 

[SoftSocDad]

We've faced two girls (one this past weekend was actually clocked with a gun, so there's no debating) throwing right around 55 mph,

Yeah, that didn't happen. Ray-Ray isn't 10u anymore.

50 yes, 55 no. Either way, teach your players various bunt techniques. Making contact is key.

 

[CobraAssist]

Soft - still cracks me up that you can dismiss what someone saw with their own 2 eyes on a JUGS radar gun (and with such arrogance. Is that a west coast thing?). Rest assured, there are REALLY BIG girls in Texas that are throwing that hard. Either that, or JUGS is a crap brand, which last I checked, they weren't. Am I saying it's the norm...no I'm not. For the most part, we see girls throwing between 40-45. However, WIN a couple of bracket games, and you start running into aforementioned BIG GIRLS, from teams that have the highest point totals and then it's a whole different story. Teams come to mind: Texas Shock 01 out of Mansfield, TX, the Louisiana Rippers 01 out of West Monroe, LA, and the USA Select 01 out of Bossier City, LA...all three of these teams have at least one girl that is ridiculously large, and is throwing really hard. Think about the evolution of softball as a whole. Think about how much bigger, faster, and stronger the girls are compared to how they used to be. There is a coach in Texas that is about 6-6 270 lbs. His daughter should be a 2nd year 10u, but she's playing up. I'm 5-9, and the girl is taller than I am. Again, exception, not the rule, but this girl is hitting TITANIC homeruns, and she's 11 at most. Actually looked up on a couple of different websites (not that it matters) where it shows average fastball speed of a pitcher playing 10u. It says that 50+ is rare, rare doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

Bottom Line - maybe I'm seeing the next Lisa Fernandez. Maybe these girls are topped out, and won't ever grow another inch. But trust me when I say that "Ray-Ray" is alive and well in 10U. But hey, it's not like it's anything you can see with your own 2 eyes, so you can think what you want.

 

[SoftSocDad]

Soft - still cracks me up that you can dismiss what someone saw with their own 2 eyes on a JUGS radar gun (and with such arrogance. Is that a west coast thing?). Rest assured, there are REALLY BIG girls in Texas that are throwing that hard. Either that, or JUGS is a crap brand, which last I checked, they weren't. Am I saying it's the norm...no I'm not. For the most part, we see girls throwing between 40-45. However, WIN a couple of bracket games, and you start running into aforementioned BIG GIRLS, from teams that have the highest point totals and then it's a whole different story. Teams come to mind: Texas Shock 01 out of Mansfield, TX, the Louisiana Rippers 01 out of West Monroe, LA, and the USA Select 01 out of Bossier City, LA...all three of these teams have at least one girl that is ridiculously large, and is throwing really hard. Think about the evolution of softball as a whole. Think about how much bigger, faster, and stronger the girls are compared to how they used to be. There is a coach in Texas that is about 6-6 270 lbs. His daughter should be a 2nd year 10u, but she's playing up. I'm 5-9, and the girl is taller than I am. Again, exception, not the rule, but this girl is hitting TITANIC homeruns, and she's 11 at most. Actually looked up on a couple of different websites (not that it matters) where it shows average fastball speed of a pitcher playing 10u. It says that 50+ is rare, rare doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

Bottom Line - maybe I'm seeing the next Lisa Fernandez. Maybe these girls are topped out, and won't ever grow another inch. But trust me when I say that "Ray-Ray" is alive and well in 10U. But hey, it's not like it's anything you can see with your own 2 eyes, so you can think what you want.

Pics or it didn't happen. Even a shaky cell phone video would suffice. I'm actually big on personal privacy, so I am just poking fun with that. I don't really expect or want you to post pics of an 11-year-old girl not your own. But maybe send a note to Amy with the name of this player and she can hold it in confidence for the next 6-7 years.

Yes, many things - and people - do come in big sizes out in Texas, including some rather tall tales. Some people might see it as only a 10% difference, but from 35 ft, there is a major difference between 50 and 55. Game speed 50 is rare enough at 10u, but I have never seen a claim of 55 in 10u before, other than Ray-Ray, of course. 55-57 is what the best 12u pitchers are throwing, with the elite among them hitting the occasional 60.

Just find a way to make contact.

 

[CobraAssist]

Sent Amy the name of the girl that absolutely dominated us that we saw clocked at 54 mph. She's an '01, but an older '01. Tall tales in Texas....say it ain't so.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Sent Amy the name of the girl that absolutely dominated us that we saw clocked at 54 mph. She's an '01, but an older '01. Tall tales in Texas....say it ain't so.

LOL, the truth comes out and 55 really was an exaggeration.

 

[Wellphyt]

Why not just have an adult male throw windmill from 30'-32' away? At that age, I never even used a screen. If you really want to hum it in, you can take a walk up step or two starting from 33'-35' feet.

My DD's 10u Allstar coach brought in a 18y/o girl to pitch batting practice to the team to get them used to a couple of pretty stout pitchers we had to face, and that worked as good as anything.

When Ted Williams faced Virgil Trucks, he said he would start his swing early on plane where Virgil most often threw his fastball. If it wasn't there, he would stop his swing.

Another option is to have the girls hit out of Epstein's "Number One" position. Bat is held against deltoid. Back elbow is slotted against side and front forearm is up off the chest. The batter goes to toe touch and waits. When the pitcher throws the ball, the batter drops her heel and swings. This set-up totally strips a player's style out of the equation and has them basically hitting from the launch position. They don't have to worry about anything except dropping their heel and swinging.

IMO 10U girls can't be expected to make solid contact against a pitcher throwing 55mph from 35', so make sure you show them genuine enthusiasm if they strike out swinging. If it were me, I would let the girls know that success against this pitcher is swinging the bat. If they go down swinging, I would be happy and consider it a successful learning experience; and I wouldn't care if they swung at pitches out of the strike zone. The girls need to understand that an opponent throwing 55mph from 35' is helping them become better hitters; even if they strike out; because they get the chance to see the best. Buy a thank you card, have the girls sign it, and send it to the pitcher.