Advice for future

[MandM]

Best laid plans... thought it would be good for DD to get extra pitching as guest (and thanks to those who helped with advice with pitch calling).

First game- she played 3B, made some good plays, hit well. Second game we move to new field, and this is her game to pitch. As soon we are at field, I notice there is something in the field in front of the pitcher's plate. I ask the coach- what is that thing in front of the mound? he walks out- it is some kind of mat. OK. DD goes out to take warmup= i see her walking back and forth over this thing- trying to smooth it down and cover it. First inning- so so. She hits 2nd batter- I think- weird- she hardly ever hits batter- but no runs score. Second inning, not so good control, hits another batter, few WP, numerous passed balls. They score 2 runs, I walk over between innings. What's up. Turns out mat has numerous holes that DD's drag foot as leftie are getting caught in- throwing her off balance. Plus she leaps, out far enough that she lands off edge of mat- in divot. I make suggestions- move around on plate? leap over mat? Call attention to coach, who speaks to ump- lots of shoulder shrugs- not affecting other pitcher (RH)- nothing works- DD is rattled- game goes downhill from there- worst outing EVER. DD's psyche is bruised. Look at seeding last night- they are scheduled on that field for AM. I email coach- DD will not pitch for you on that field, its not fair to her. He gets to fields early, has them switch fields. Good outing (no hits- three walks) team wins 8-0 . DD feels redeemed.

With regard to day before- I don't think there was anything else I could have done in that situation. I have read threads before about how pitchers need to suck it up and adjust- find a way to get the job done. What do you do in a situation like this?? I need to file away for future reference.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

What the heck is a mat doing out there? Never seen that in my life.

Mine is a LHP, she always has to smooth, rebuild, dig, her lane because of all the RHP drag holes, paths. But I'm not sure what this "mat" was for. Wish you'd snapped a pic, I'll probably never see that and hope you don't see one again.

 

[MandM]

IDK- equally baffling to me!! I had never seen this either and noticed it immediately (I am not sure what that says about me and my level of vigilance) What was weird was that they could pull the plate up and move it for the 12u game - so I am not even sure what the purpose of the mat was- my DD said it was like carpet covering. AND if the bruised psyche and loss weren't enough- it totally ruined her new (worn them ONCE before) cleats.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Kudos to you for speaking up. It also sounds like she could have torqued her knee or ankle trying to work with a mat in front of her.

 

[starsnuffer]

Next time go out there, reach down, yank the thing up out of the dirt, and say, "Hey blue, you should get this fixed".

-W

 

[nanotech14]

I have seen them put in matts in the batters boxes before to keep them from developing a big hole before,but never in the circle??? But I do like starsnuffer's idea the best!!!LOL

 

[halskinner]

She has WAY too much weight on her pivot foot if a hole in the carpet snags her. Her pivot foot toe should glide right across it.

 

[Hillhouse]

In other countries (New Zealand and Australia for example) Mats are used on almost all softball fields for pitching. There is no "rubber" that is used. It's a giant hard rubber mat. This is because there are so few actual softball fields in NZ that many parks are used for multi use: cricket, soccer, softball, rugby, etc. So to prevent the pitcher from digging holes in the pitching area, a giant mat is placed there. There is a slab of rubber glued on top of the mat to be used for the rubber. Due to the antiquated pitching rules requiring pitchers to keep 2 feet on the rubber, it's the part that is glued on the mat that is used for that purpose.

I suspect that this mat was used for similar purposes as what they're used for in batter boxes: to prevent giant holes.

then agan, what do I know??

BH

 

[GOINGDEEP]

This is because there are so few actual softball fields in NZ

What a crime, someone call the UN.

 

[MandM]

She has WAY too much weight on her pivot foot if a hole in the carpet snags her. Her pivot foot toe should glide right across it.

I know she has too much weight on her drag foot still- it was a bit lower down in the list of "unfortunate habits needing to be fixed"- in the scheme of things correcting posture was first and this is the next target. I would sure like to know your thoughts on how to correct this habit- with the exception of no shoes on concrete- cause I don't have that to practice on here.

That being said, the holes were only part of the problem, the mat stuck up above the level of the ground- that is how I saw it in the first place- and would catch her foot, but it was worsened by the fact that she had too much weight on her drag foot to begin with.