Attacking a dominate pitcher- 10U

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Jun 8, 2016
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The main problem is the % increase is huge. If you are usually facing 40 then 50 is a 25% increase. If you would apply that to 18U softball and kids are used to facing 60 then that would be equivalent to facing 75...I would guess the 18U kids, while not "scared", would probably have issues too ;)
 
Aug 2, 2019
343
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I don't have any advice, but I've dealt with the same thing. I'm of the opinion that it is irresponsible for parents/coaches to have a player that has true A level talent, play in C. They should play up in class or age, not dominate 9 year olds moving up from rec.

I feel bad for the umpires in those situations. DD played against a 10C team with a girl that was throwing 53. They had legit C level catching. An ump caught one in the throat and left in an ambulance. It was extra innings in the tourney championship game. They got another ump back to the field, but the team forfeited because the pitcher was so upset she couldn't continue.

First time we faced this girl, my daughter wore one of those fastballs. She was 4'8" about 70lbs at the time.
 
Jul 31, 2015
761
93
second year 10u (which may have a girl who is actually 12 years 6 months old)

Can you explain how this is possible? I'm curious about the math.

Because if a player turns 11 on Jan 1st, and is therefore eligible to play 10U for that year, she would be 11 years, 364 days on Dec 31st of that same year. So someone playing 10U on Dec 31st would be very close to 12, but not over it.

What am I missing?

Thanks!
 
Jul 31, 2015
761
93
I don't have any advice, but I've dealt with the same thing. I'm of the opinion that it is irresponsible for parents/coaches to have a player that has true A level talent, play in C. They should play up in class or age, not dominate 9 year olds moving up from rec.

I feel bad for the umpires in those situations. DD played against a 10C team with a girl that was throwing 53. They had legit C level catching. An ump caught one in the throat and left in an ambulance. It was extra innings in the tourney championship game. They got another ump back to the field, but the team forfeited because the pitcher was so upset she couldn't continue.

First time we faced this girl, my daughter wore one of those fastballs. She was 4'8" about 70lbs at the time.

Being a parent on the other end of this, I can tell you it is not a happy experience, most esp for the player. My DD towered over everyone in 10s and she also had 70-80 lbs on most of them. She just wanted to play but was placed her at the wrong level; the ensuing distortions were not fun. She would strike nearly everyone out and every hit was extra bases, when she wasn't getting intentionally walked. One time she had 11 Ks in an inning (D3K). Our team went through 3 catchers before finally pulling the SS in to catch so we could make the final out. It was hard to watch. Even the umpire called a time out just to get a break.

She had played up into 12U for the regular season, but the league wanted her on 10B All-Stars for the summer. It was a terrible decision. I think in retrospect I should have lobbied harder for her to play 12C for the summer, because although she got to play with her friends, there were true safety issues. Plus, she was on the receiving end of many unglamorous comments from the opposing teams. At 11 years old!
 
Jun 19, 2016
858
63
My DD could throw 51 by the time she was 2nd year 10U. Although she did strike out a ton of batters I promise you she was not unhittable. The fact that this girl hasn't hit any batters tells me that she isn't pitching hard inside. Even the pitchers with the best control should be hitting some batters... especially at 10U.

The stepping out issue is a big problem. Once it starts it is really hard to break. My DD started doing it after getting hit a few times in 10U and she was doing it until she was well into 12U. I honestly think I would try and create some kind of token award for getting hit by pitch. Like maybe a helmet decal. That may keep them in the box but it could have some negative consequences such as leaning into a pitch.
 
Aug 2, 2019
343
63
Being a parent on the other end of this, I can tell you it is not a happy experience, most esp for the player. My DD towered over everyone in 10s and she also had 70-80 lbs on most of them. She just wanted to play but was placed her at the wrong level; the ensuing distortions were not fun. She would strike nearly everyone out and every hit was extra bases, when she wasn't getting intentionally walked. One time she had 11 Ks in an inning (D3K). Our team went through 3 catchers before finally pulling the SS in to catch so we could make the final out. It was hard to watch. Even the umpire called a time out just to get a break.

She had played up into 12U for the regular season, but the league wanted her on 10B All-Stars for the summer. It was a terrible decision. I think in retrospect I should have lobbied harder for her to play 12C for the summer, because although she got to play with her friends, there were true safety issues. Plus, she was on the receiving end of many unglamorous comments from the opposing teams. At 11 years old!
I get that there are two sides, and it's hard to always keep things level when some girls are 5'6" 130lbs at 11, while another girl her age will be 4'9" 75 lbs, and in 3 years they will be the exact same size. DD is a smaller kid, and has been playing against much larger opponents since Tball, so that part is normal and accepted. It's just when you see A level talent in the C division that it is troubling. Of course, when you get started you don't know where the right place is, or how to figure it out. I understand the nasty comments directed at the kids, and it's disgusting. I've seen parents and coaches screaming at a 9yo on an opposing team for a "hard tag". It wasn't a hard tag, imo, just an awkward play in a 10C game. No one was hurt or anything. Aside from the nasty words from adults, the opposing coach actually had one of his girls punch our girl in the shoulder during the post game handshake.
 
Oct 26, 2019
1,375
113
Can you explain how this is possible? I'm curious about the math.

Because if a player turns 11 on Jan 1st, and is therefore eligible to play 10U for that year, she would be 11 years, 364 days on Dec 31st of that same year. So someone playing 10U on Dec 31st would be very close to 12, but not over it.

What am I missing?

Thanks!
You are not missing anything this scenario is not possible.

Edited to add- At least not possible in the US. When I was a kid we played a team from the DR. I swear they were two or three years older than us. After the tournament was over we found out that they used their christening dates instead of their birthdates. Several of them were christened around two years of age.
 
Dec 11, 2010
4,713
113
This is a sign of a mental approach that is common with young and inexperienced players, and exactly why your girls are struggling with speed. The first concern is getting hit by the ball. As such, when the pitch is delivered (for the ones that stay in the box), they are waiting to judge location before they make the decision to swing. With this kind of velocity, there isn't the time to do things in that order. They have to get started on all of their pre-launch movements on EVERY pitch and BEFORE they know where the ball is going to be. The big part of this is being in the box with the attitude that they are going to hit the ball on every pitch they face. Get started early enough to be able to execute a good swing (not rushed) on time for the speed of the pitch. If you're late, you're not starting soon enough.
This is the heart of the matter. Great post.

Something else that really helps this issue and helps their hitting is to teach them to turn out of a pitch the right way.

You want them turning out toward the catcher. This doesn’t interfere with them loading properly, it’s sort of the same move. It also helps them protect their front side and when they do it right the ball almost always misses them or glances off.

You can practice it somewhat with foam balls or rolled up socks.
 
Oct 4, 2018
4,611
113
How often does she throw her change up?
If she throws it to every batter just make a plan for your girls to just sit on the change up. If she beats ya with the fast ball then so be it.

Yup. Sorry to sound braggy, but my DD pitched several 4 inning perfect games with 12 Ks, just using her fastball against novice players. No need to call for a change-up in those cases.

The other teams really should have tried bunting. Our bunt defense was horrible. And that's my advice to the OP: practice bunting, use it more in that game against the fast pitcher, and be more aggressive than normal on the bases.
 
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Oct 4, 2018
4,611
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I am familiar with your situation having observed something similar last year within our organization.

I guess first off I would say that a 10u pitcher with a 50 mph fastball who can also throw and locate a change up does not belong playing at C level. Unfortunately, you do run into this from time to time, often with parents or coaches who don’t realize they’re holding the girl back by not challenging her against A/B level competition.

... or with C level teams playing in tournaments where they are in over their heads. In our situation, it was both.
 

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