Becoming a dedicated pitcher only, when???

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

Jul 1, 2019
172
43
Hmm...maybe.

"Pitch calling strategy is very complicated...study the batters, study their swing, study their batting stance. Determine wind speed and wind direction. Check the tide tables and the farmers almanac. Plug the info into my new quantum computer, running the latest greatest artificial intelligence directly from MIT...and...voila...low and inside to 12U batters."

In other news: 12U kids like ice cream.
I'm not totally sure it takes a quantum computer to find flaws in a 12U swing (plus it wasn't windy so that was fortunate for his calculations). I will say that overall I'm seeing most pitchers being told to throw low and away 90% of the time right now, leading to batters crowding the plate to reach the outside. Being able to work both sides comfortably plus changing speeds kept a fair amount of the batters she faced off balance, rather than most pitching calling resulting in just trying to blow a fastball past them on the outside. No different than throwing every pitch inside and hoping they never catch up to it. I guess in the long run, I'd still rather have her learning the art of pitch selection now rather than at 16U.
 
Last edited:
Jun 11, 2013
2,619
113
When you can't play at the level you are playing in the field or at bat or when you think you are taking too much time away from pitching working on other things. Hopefully neither of these ever happen and you can continue to play. I liked to not have pitchers hit but on almost every team we ever played the P were top hitters too.
 

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,131
113
Dallas, Texas
I'm not totally sure it takes a quantum computer to find flaws in a 12U swing (plus it wasn't windy so that was fortunate for his calculations). I will say that overall I'm seeing most pitchers being told to throw low and away 90% of the time right now, leading to batters crowding the plate to reach the outside. Being able to work both sides comfortably plus changing speeds kept a fair amount of the batters she faced off balance, rather than most pitching calling resulting in just trying to blow a fastball past them on the outside. No different than throwing every pitch inside and hoping they never catch up to it. I guess in the long run, I'd still rather have her learning the art of pitch selection now, than at 16U.

First, there isn't a whole lot of art to pitch selection. The art is in your DD's ability to throw the ball.

Yes, your DD should know to work both sides of the plate and change speeds. But, it takes 15 minutes to learn the concept. (It takes years of practice to be able to execute, but the concept is very easy to understand.)

In the movie "Heart of the Game", Bill Resler made a tremendous observation about adults and sports. Some adults want to "touch the magic"...they want to do something so they can take credit for the success of the athletes.
 
Last edited:
Oct 4, 2018
4,596
113
I'm rather curious about this coach. I think it's refreshing to hear a coach tell a pitcher they're going to help with the mental approach, help with observing holes in swings, weaknesses, pitch selection, etc. 2 questions: #1. Is this coach actually going to do this or will he get so wrapped up in games that he goes through his motions and not teach the game as he's promising. To be fair, most coaches do this where they just call pitches, write their notes, and don't teach the game DURING the game. #2. Assuming he's going to actually do this, what are his credentials for doing this? What does this guy know about setting up hitters in fastpitch softball? 12u Softball is where the line is a complete blur between good pitching and bad hitting. A half decent pitcher can make a coach look great at the 12u level but someone 1/2 decent at the 14u level isn't going to have the same effect.


Makes me wonder if a coach really wants this, might it work to have them observe a game during a tourney when they're on a break. Sit with the girl and watch the game, discuss pitch strategy, comment on what that pitcher is doing, why they are calling certain pitches. Or even do it with game film (of their game or a college game).

Seems taking the girl off the field is not the best way to handle it.
 
Apr 20, 2015
961
93
While I agree with most here that 12u/14u is too young to specialize. How do you handle a 14u pitcher that is on different levels with her pitching vs hitting? If her pitching can get her on one of the top PGF National teams but not be good enough to bat. Or play down and be one of the top 5 batters but not getting to pitch against the best teams. How would most of you handle the decision of which skill set to put on back burner?
You get on a pgf team like mine that hits everyone in pool play whenever the tournament allows and let her pitch in bracket....my team is 06 and always looking for this kind of pitching feel free to reach out. #5 at PGF last year.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
 

Top_Notch

Screwball
Dec 18, 2014
512
63
How do you handle a 14u pitcher that is on different levels with her pitching vs hitting? If her pitching can get her on one of the top PGF National teams but not be good enough to bat. Or play down and be one of the top 5 batters but not getting to pitch against the best teams. How would most of you handle the decision of which skill set to put on back burner?

As a PGF owner once said to me, there is good exposure and bad exposure. That'd be an easy question to answer for me. Pitchers are always in demand. So are hitters, but good pitchers are fewer in number. If your daughter can pitch on a top team but the bat isn't there, I'd take my chances all day long on the better team to let her pitch and not hit.
 
Apr 20, 2017
152
28
As a PGF owner once said to me, there is good exposure and bad exposure. That'd be an easy question to answer for me. Pitchers are always in demand. So are hitters, but good pitchers are fewer in number. If your daughter can pitch on a top team but the bat isn't there, I'd take my chances all day long on the better team to let her pitch and not hit.

That is what our general feeling has been. And what we have done the last couple of years. This was going to be her first PGF this year but due to the rona that got changed. IThe sad part is she actually has one of the most powerful bats in her age group. In a cage or practice she can knock the hide off the ball. Has finished second in every home run derby she has been in but has not had a coach to believe in and willing to commit to getting her live reps to finish developing. I tell people her bat needs work and reps but then she don’t even get at bats in pool games. I have decided I’m going to start telling coaches she is the biggest bat they will ever have and see if that might get her more opportunities. Tonight and most nights she will go out to our cage and hit for an hour or two while knowing she probably will not get an at bat this weekend. Sometimes this can be a confusing and crazy road for these girls.
 
Apr 20, 2018
4,564
113
SoCal
That is what our general feeling has been. And what we have done the last couple of years. This was going to be her first PGF this year but due to the rona that got changed. IThe sad part is she actually has one of the most powerful bats in her age group. In a cage or practice she can knock the hide off the ball. Has finished second in every home run derby she has been in but has not had a coach to believe in and willing to commit to getting her live reps to finish developing. I tell people her bat needs work and reps but then she don’t even get at bats in pool games. I have decided I’m going to start telling coaches she is the biggest bat they will ever have and see if that might get her more opportunities. Tonight and most nights she will go out to our cage and hit for an hour or two while knowing she probably will not get an at bat this weekend. Sometimes this can be a confusing and crazy road for these girls.
This is why it is important that you address the coach and ask questions before joining a team and before you pay for uniforms and start-ups. These coaches that take on 19 player$ for a 12u team have to juggle line-ups to get ABs for all of them and maybe at your DD expense.
 
Apr 28, 2014
2,315
113
Also import to note that great quality practices are just as important, if not more important than games. If you have a choice to play on a team with 12 players that holds average practices or a team with 18 players that runs outstanding practices you should seriously consider the team with the larger roster.
 
Nov 4, 2015
320
43
Do what makes your DD happy. If she wants to hit, then get her on the best team you can that allows her to hit. My DD is about to start high school. I know that is 4 years of softball that she gets to play, but it is also ONLY 4 years of softball that she gets to play. We spend a ton of time together because of softball. It's going to be awful when it ends. But if your DD is spending 1-2 hours hitting at home, then she deserves to get to hit in games because SHE wants to. They are kids. They need to be having fun because the grown up world is coming fast and it isn't always a fun world.
 

Latest posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
42,809
Messages
678,966
Members
21,423
Latest member
Wes_K
Top