Advice for all the younger age groups: Stop playing so SLOW

[marriard]

Just spent a few weekends doing some younger age group games (and some older ones as well).
HS age teams - they look for 10-15 minutes or so per inning as a goal. And that is for completing the whole inning - not a half. Not always achievable of course, but in general that is where you need to be. Within the same tourney with 1:15 finish the inning HS teams averaged just less than 6 innings per game... 12U was right below 4 innings per game. 10U was over 3 - but not 4.

Without fail; 12U and below TAKE WAY TOO LONG PER INNING. And most of it is within your control. Some of my observations...

• Pitchers - stop going to 3-2 on every other batter (or more)
  • Throw more strikes; especially FIRST PITCH STRIKES (you should be aiming at ~70% FPS)
  • Learn to throw a STRIKE ON-COMMAND; you need to be able to throw a strike AT LEAST 80% of the time when you want to. NOTE: This is not 'letting them hit it' - this is 'throwing a pitch in the strike zone when I want to because otherwise, I will walk another batter'.
    • If you can't do this, you certainly can't throw a "drop-curve on the outside corner" for a strike.
    • The number of 10U and 12U games won by the pitcher just throwing the most strikes is incredible. Instructors.... maybe they should do more of this and less on other things.
  • Stop screwing around with bad batters. Get two strikes on them quickly, play around with your developing pitches if you like for a couple of pitches and on 2-2 blow it right by them. The number of walks on girls who couldn't hit the ball pitched down the middle every game has been stupid.

• Coaches- Stop wasting time;
  • if your pitcher has a fastball and some semblance of a change up that is your signs; fastball and changeup and in or out. That is it. - If she thinks she throws a drop, screwball, rise or whatever (and she probably doesn't) then she can pick from them herself but it is a fast one and a not so fast one.
  • Stop always calling for moving pitches the pitcher cannot execute on 2-2 counts if she can not throw strikes most of the time. Yes, you are developing your pitcher as well as playing - but move the game along as well.
  • Your batter is either going to hit or bunt. That is it. And 90% of your team is going to hit 90% of the time. Most of you don't have the balls to call anything else anyway.
  • Your runner is either going to steal or not; one sign covers that. Doesn't even need to be a real sign (Yes my hand resting on my hip can be the steal sign of the day)
  • Wristbands make everything go FASTER if you USE THEM PROPERLY. You don't need 1,000 options on them - you can have 1,000 numbers to call out, but they should be for a few things (like above). Stop it.
  • You can have a team meeting AFTER the game. You don't need one EVERY HALF INNING. And stop having it on the field - get in your dugout. And definitely don't argue with me when I make you.
  • You have several subs or 14 girls in the line up. One of them can be the backup catcher between innings. Have them ready to go if your catcher is going to hit this inning or is out on the base paths.
  • You don't need complex plays or trick plays that waste a bunch of time to win. Either you are good enough or you are not.
  • Just in general - you are the worst offenders.

• Catchers
  • No matter what Daddy or Coach says, after the pitch you should have the ball for about a second. Throw it to a base or the pitcher. Running around like a lunatic at a runner who isn't going anywhere (or that you can't stop) is just making you (and me) tired.
  • You don't need the umpire to tell you to throw the ball down, you do it on the fifth pitch. Just do it.

• Batter
  • For the most part you are at the mercy of everyone else in terms of speed, but stay in the box, take a couple of warmup swings and get in there and attack. Your coach wants you to hit 99% of the time.

And so on...

 

[clarity]

Are you calling strikes if batters don't stay in the box between pitches?

 

[Lobster Birch]

I agree with all of this, and I also get frustrated that with a 0-2 count the coach gets..."coachy" and calls pitches the pitcher can't really throw reliably and all of a sudden it's a 3-2 count - seemingly every time!

However, there are also many, many times where I've seen a batter down 0-2 and I'm thinking "this girl has no chance of putting the bat on the ball" and then they rip one.

 

[marriard]

Are you calling strikes if batters don't stay in the box between pitches?

Nope. If it gets bad I will warn the batter and the coach and that normally puts a stop to it, but then they just stay in the box with one foot and waste the same amount of time. Most of the time it isn't too long anyway - just very time-draggy.

HS aged teams for the most part just get on with the game

 

[flash277]

Coaches, get your catchers ready, and if they are on base when inning ends, get out there and warm up the pitcher while she gears up, that, in my opinion, s the biggest waste of time.

 

[flash277]

Marriad, have you ever called a ball in a pitcher who was just taking too long to pitch, or the team took a long time to get on field? Or have you ever not allowed warm ups because team took too long?

 

[_MIA_]

Hey @marriard I didn’t know you were in TX umpiring DD’s games this weekend. You should have stopped by and said hello. I was the guy turning purple behind the OF fence...

 

[Gambler Bob]

I will add.

Coaches, have your courtesy runners ready to enter the game when needed. If I had a nickel for every time a coach asks for a courtesy runner and the player can't find her helmet. I would be able to retire earlier.

 

[Chris8]

When I read the title...I thought this was going to be a Howard Kobata moment...."YOU TO SLOW!"

I agree with @marriard yet some 10/12's.....they just don't have that skill yet, pitching. They are developing and it may not be the coaches call pitches but just what the kids got. We've seen plenty of that at times.

 

[Northball]

Pitchers: You don't have to take 5 warm-up pitches. They've always been told that's what they can take so they take all of them. When my DD was in a groove/the weather was hot/she had thrown a lot of pitches/knew she would have more innings later/etc., she would cut her warm-ups down, sometimes to just one for the throw-down. She did it on her own since she knew best how she was feeling. Maybe she would waste a little time in the circle if the defense wanted to get their warm-ups. Why waste perfectly good pitches?