At what point do you, or you DD decide that she's not going to make it as a pitcher?

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May 9, 2019
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For those parents who have daughters who were once pitchers, and are no longer pitching for various reasons.. I have a question.

What was it that made them decide to stop pitching and go onto another position? Was it that they realized they didn't have it? Or was it because they realized they didn't like it? Do you wish you had made the decision for her sooner than later knowing what you know now?

My DD has been pitching for about 2 years now. She is finally playing at B level, and while she was doing great in C, now at the B level, her velocity is just not considered anything more than below average to average. She works hard, but she isn't very strong, and doesn't have the frame to carry much more weight on her body to generate more speed. She could still work on mechanics and such to try to generate more speed, but I'm starting to wonder if I should try to convince her to focus on hitting and being an infielder more to prepare for what I feel will be inevitable. The only thing I can say about her is, she is definitely the most accurate, and composed pitcher at this age group and level that I've seen. Yes I'm her Dad and maybe there is bias, but I know based on stats, she doesn't walk as many batters as others I've seen.

So just wondering from other parents who were in the same situation, where you had a daughter who was good at other positions, but she was also a pitcher so she shouldn't work on those other positions as much, later to realize you may have been better off putting pitching in the rear view mirror sooner.. any insight and advice would be really appreciated.
 
May 9, 2019
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This may oversimplify it or it may be the best advice you get but...

...what does she want to do?

Of course she wants to pitch. lol.. what 10 year old who plays softball doesn't want to pitch.
If she told me she didn't want to, I wouldn't be asking this question.
 
May 9, 2019
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At 10 she still has plenty of room to grow get stronger faster she may blossom into a great pitcher. I would let her decide if its still fun to her let her stick it out a couple more years. What is her speed at 10?

She tops out at about 43mph, but she tends to slow down during real at bats, so more like 39 to 40 in game.
She is about 4 foot 9 and may weigh around 65lbs.
 
Oct 26, 2019
1,375
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Of course she wants to pitch. lol.. what 10 year old who plays softball doesn't want to pitch.
If she told me she didn't want to, I wouldn't be asking this question.
I completely missed the fact that she is 10. I would keep working on it. A lot can change in a few short years.

Not to be contradictory - I know plenty of 10 year olds who don’t want to pitch. Kids don’t normally stick with things long term they aren’t having at least some success with. Not speaking about your DD directly, but just a generalization.
 
May 9, 2019
294
43
I completely missed the fact that she is 10. I would keep working on it. A lot can change in a few short years.

Not to be contradictory - I know plenty of 10 year olds who don’t want to pitch. Kids don’t normally stick with things long term they aren’t having at least some success with. Not speaking about your DD directly, but just a generalization.

Perhaps your circle of softball is larger than mine. The only girls who want to pitch but don't are the ones who don't put the work in, so they can't. But I'm sure there are some parents who force it upon their child to do something they don't want to for some reason. Personally, I would love it if she would just quit pitching and focus on infield since she is good at that.
 
Mar 6, 2016
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My youngest DD was pitcher from 8u to 12u. Top 2 pitchers in her age group...but never really liked putting in the work/bullpens each week. We'd go 1 or 2x at most during week. But it felt forced. She was successful so she jist "stayed the course".

I made the mistake with my older daughter of forcing her to do bullpens and she hated it bu tje time she was in 10u. So I told myseld not to dp the same with younger DD.

So she kept pitching and played C and 1B as well. But most of her time was at P. But the more chances she got at C and started throwing runners out she started asking to play C and less P. She eventually just flat out said "I really dont want to pitch anymore." Youbwould think with tons of success and AllStars each year and all that she'd be stoked to keep pitching....nope.

Some girls mo mattet how succesful early on just are "done" with it.

Witj pitchers...If a girl doesn't want to train and put in work...thats first clue. If they get out there on game day and don't really LOVE being in the circle ...thats a 2nd clue.

To me its not if they are successful or not...its letting them tell you or drop clues that..."Hey Pops...Id rather do something else."

Youll know when...just gotta look for the clues along the way.
 
Nov 26, 2010
4,784
113
Michigan
Of course she wants to pitch. lol.. what 10 year old who plays softball doesn't want to pitch.
If she told me she didn't want to, I wouldn't be asking this question.
She is 10, composed and accurate? You are worrying about the wrong things. She will develop and get stronger. Speed will come with strength and technique. Composure is the wildcard that sends many pitchers out of the circle. If you have that already, she is in a good position.
 
Apr 20, 2015
961
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Pitch as long as your daughter loves it and will work at it. In 10u big kids that mature early are the ones that look like they're going to make it. However, a large number of those kids never get any bigger and as they get older and smaller kids start catching up they're the ones that end up giving it up. 10u success in no way predicts future success.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
 

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