Better Competition

[DropcityUSA]

While hitters clearly benefit in their development from seeing better pitchers, do pitchers benefit as much from seeing better hitters in the development process?

Does a pitcher facing strong teams and hitters from earlier ages help development?

I’m looking at some of the distances (8-10 hours away) my DD’s 1st year 14-U team is traveling for the just the fall and it’s becoming quite the commitment at a young age.

 

[_MIA_]

While hitters clearly benefit in their development from seeing better pitchers, do pitchers benefit as much from seeing better hitters in the development process?

Does a pitcher facing strong teams and hitters from earlier ages help development?

I’m looking at some of the distances (8-10 hours away) my DD’s 1st year 14-U team is traveling for the just the fall and it’s becoming quite the commitment at a young age.

I would say it helps but not as much as it helps hitters. With pitchers the benefit is more mental than physical e.g learning how to work out of trouble, bounce back after a bad inning,etc

 

[Tazman]

I've seen it help a lot for my 14u by not always getting easy strikouts, having meatballs get hammered, dealing with a lot more fouls, fighting in games where a run or two changes the outcome, and throwing rises that don't get chased as easily. It's helped her develop her craft and gain confidence by competing against the best. That said, whether it's worth the drives/flights is in the eye of the beholder.

 

[chinamigarden]

The best competition to make pitchers and hitters better is the competition on her team for playing time. Many parents manipulate where their dd plays to eliminate this crucial fight for circle time. But that’s where they improve the most.

 

[lostcreek1]

I think better competition makes pitchers better because it forces them to develop other pitches. Also I don't think 14u would be considered such a young age in softball. There are 10u teams flying across the country to play.

 

[Chilixa]

It is a balance. Dominating inferior competition doesn’t benefit you after awhile but it is good for their confidence. Going up in competition too much before they are ready can also crush their confidence.

You want them to have success but also some failure along the way. How they respond to failure will be critical to how far they go. Hard hit balls when you leave the ball in the middle of the plate can quickly teach a pitcher the importance of hitting their spots. It can also help emphasize the need to have a strong secondary pitch.

As long as the pitcher is having some success I think it is good to face harder competition. Emphasizes what they need to work on. Without some success though they may just want to give up.


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[_MIA_]

Also I don't think 14u would be considered such a young age in softball. There are 10u teams flying across the country to play.

Bold is partially true (a lot of kids are almost fully grown by that age but recruiting still not officially possible) but giving an example in ludicrousness to back up the claim is probably not a good idea..

 

[_MIA_]

At the end of the day it is a balance between what is best for her development as a player,what is best for her development as a person and what is best for the family as a whole. At first year 14's, for me 1 of those 8-10 hour trips might be fine for the Fall. That said here in OK school ball is in the Fall so by 14's nobody really plays tournaments till late Oct anyway. We usually do 2 tournaments and then a team camp or two at OU/OSU (the OSU one is usually before school ball ends)

 

[Vertigo]

What worked for us before fully committing to a team that played better competition was guest-playing as a pitcher for higher-level teams.

 

[RADcatcher]

While hitters clearly benefit in their development from seeing better pitchers, do pitchers benefit as much from seeing better hitters in the development process?

Does a pitcher facing strong teams and hitters from earlier ages help development?

I’m looking at some of the distances (8-10 hours away) my DD’s 1st year 14-U team is traveling for the just the fall and it’s becoming quite the commitment at a young age.

Playing against better competition is a true test.

Playing against better competition is where we find out if our practice/training is working for us.

Not~ playing against better competition 'makes us better'.