Early Velocity for Pitcher a Handicap?

[texasck1]

In another thread about pitching speed, an opinion was stated that if a pitcher is fast at a young age, they will not reach their full potential because they never had to work hard to get better and that the pitcher who has to work harder to gain velocity will eventually pass her and become better pitchers. I'm interested in if this is something that others here agree with.

 

[Greatdaytobeawildcat]

Totally depends on the kid. Genetics, personality, access to training, money, luck. Some kids will thrive on early success, get positive reinforcement, get good training and continue to excel. Some will be complacent, or wither under heightened expectations. There’s no rule, some of the best were the best when they were 9. Some develop later.

 

[cnardone]

I believe early failure will turn off more kids than early success will make them complacent.

 

[ang2bmd]

Agree that comment was way too general. I've definitely seen dominant pitchers at 10u be average at 14u and kids that could barely get it over the plate stick with it and be solid at 14u but I've also seen kids who have been dominant their whole career stay dominant. The difference is those kids had parents and coaching early on that knew they wouldn't be able to blow it by kids forever with speed. They made sure there was also good control, good mechanics etc. Spin and location is awesome but without speed when you miss you will likely get hammered. A hard throwing pitcher can make more mistakes. She definitely can't win without spin and location but she can get away with a lot more.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[Eric F]

You forgot the "Maybe...Maybe Not" option in the poll.

 

[YOCOACH]

In another thread about pitching speed, an opinion was stated that if a pitcher is fast at a young age, they will not reach their full potential because they never had to work hard to get better and that the pitcher who has to work harder to gain velocity will eventually pass her and become better pitchers. I'm interested in if this is sohemething that others here agree with.

The saying is, " Hard work will beat talent when talent fails to work hard." This usually proves true by second year 14U. Most pitchers will quit pitching by then because they've failed to work as hard as necessary to break the top 2 or maybe 3 at best. The rest of the saying goes, "IF talent works as hard as those that don't, there's no stopping them on their way to the top!" Many don't know the second half of the saying and fail to achieve their full greatness and quit because others that have worked harder to surpass them often do. In other words, players that rely on their inherent athleticism will ultimately fail if they don't work as hard, if not harder than those that have limited athleticism. After 20 years in TB as a coach, I've seen this proven every. single. time!

 

[black17]

When we first made the jump from rec league to travel (10U) we stepped up with the same team. Team was a really talented mix for a rec team and we did ok in B level travel season. We had a pitcher that had both GAS and CONTROL at 10U. It was all because she matured a lot faster then the rest and could throw BBs from the closer pitching distance. She was the tallest kid on the team by about 5 inches and we had a big team for the age.

Long story short, she never even made varsity for her school team because she was not athletic AT ALL. Great kid and dominated in 10s and 12s, but I feel she reached her full potential. It just happened to be in 12U.

Some kids just have a higher ceiling and that's all that matters.

 

[chinamigarden]

Only if errors in mechanics are ignored because she can physically overcome the poor mechanics. Because eventually the other pitchers will catch up physically. So who has the better mechanics will likely be the faster pitcher at older ages.

 

[Agbracing]

This is a very interesting discussion to me. But I’m not sure it is more true, false or equal. For girls that are just naturally bigger and stronger that just rely on size and strength without focusing on mechanics this could be very true. They will eventually top out below their natural ceiling. Girls that are taught proper mechanics and to throw hard. That the control will come in time will take longer to develop but are setup to reach more of their full potential. Girls that are just taught to throw strikes at a young age seem to have more problems down the road because when they try to increase velocity then they loose all control and many times fall back to their comfort zone of slowing down to throw strikes or hit spots. Everyone has their own thoughts as to how to develop pitchers. And another question that could be asked along these same line is girls that are just taught to throw strikes while successful at a young age get passed up down the road because they do not have the minimum velocity to be competitive.

I personally look at it a little different then many people. I have a strong background in college athletics so I look at things long term instead of one season at a time. I think a girls future should be used in the equation of which path a young pitcher should take. If they are going to be 6 ft around 16/17 then they should be taught velocity and mechanics first. Then let the control and spin come with time. It will take longer for them to be a competitive pitcher but it sets them up to be the most successful long term. If a girl is going to top out at 5’6 and 100 pounds wet then she might be better off of learning to throw control and strikes and enjoy the ride of being a top pitcher in the younger years. But know that more then likely her end role will not be pitching. Yes I know there are several instances of smaller girls or 60 mph pitchers being successful. But for those few that do make it there are 100’s that didn’t or will not make it.

 

[_MIA_]

When talking about reaching/approaching a player's ceiling, the only way the answer to this is yes (in an averaged sense) is if you assume, in an averaged sense, that a) instruction is poor and b) players don't have the same motivation if they are good at a young age


While a) may be true , in my experience being good at a young age typically motivates a player since being good at something makes it more fun (anybody who says this isn't true is lying...sorry) and the more fun something is the more you want to work at it Note I am NOT saying a kid who is average at a young age will not be motivated. Only speaking to the proposed scenario..

Of course if a) is true, then the player who is average at a young age wouldn't be any better off (in that sense) then the kid who is good so...