I started this as a response to another thread but then thought maybe it had enough merit to warrant its own thread.
This may sound a little advanced for young pitchers (and lots of advanced pitchers) but just bear with me on this as it might be the easiest skill to add into their repertoire.
There is a technique called Effective Velocitythat is very prevalent in baseball pitching that is becoming more widely accepted in fastpitch softball. Basically it has to do with the reaction time a hitter has to get the bat head to contact. In essence the exact same speed pitch thrown at different locations creates different effective velocities because of how far the bat head has to travel to make solid contact.
For example a 60 mph fastball in the middle of the zone has the effect of a 60 mph pitch; that same 60 mph pitch located low and outside corner will have an effective velocity of a 58 mph pitch; that same 60 mph pitch located up and inside corner will have an effective velocity of a 62 mph pitch. Think of that....a 4 mph range on the exact same pitch.
Now if a pitcher can just add a couple mph up to 62 mph or take a couple mph off to say 58 mph now their range can be near 8 mph....that is significant relative to a hitters ability to read and adjust the timing of their bat launch.
Varying a pitch speed by plus or minus 2 mph should not be real difficult for most intermediate to advanced pitchers.....now what if they can also mix in a true change up for good measure.......big advantage pitcher. What's really neat is that there aren't a whole bunch of "fancy pitches" needed......just a plain old fastball with varying speeds and a change up.
For a much more in-depth look at EV you can check out this website:
http://www.hittingisaguess.com/F_book.html
This may sound a little advanced for young pitchers (and lots of advanced pitchers) but just bear with me on this as it might be the easiest skill to add into their repertoire.
There is a technique called Effective Velocitythat is very prevalent in baseball pitching that is becoming more widely accepted in fastpitch softball. Basically it has to do with the reaction time a hitter has to get the bat head to contact. In essence the exact same speed pitch thrown at different locations creates different effective velocities because of how far the bat head has to travel to make solid contact.
For example a 60 mph fastball in the middle of the zone has the effect of a 60 mph pitch; that same 60 mph pitch located low and outside corner will have an effective velocity of a 58 mph pitch; that same 60 mph pitch located up and inside corner will have an effective velocity of a 62 mph pitch. Think of that....a 4 mph range on the exact same pitch.
Now if a pitcher can just add a couple mph up to 62 mph or take a couple mph off to say 58 mph now their range can be near 8 mph....that is significant relative to a hitters ability to read and adjust the timing of their bat launch.
Varying a pitch speed by plus or minus 2 mph should not be real difficult for most intermediate to advanced pitchers.....now what if they can also mix in a true change up for good measure.......big advantage pitcher. What's really neat is that there aren't a whole bunch of "fancy pitches" needed......just a plain old fastball with varying speeds and a change up.
For a much more in-depth look at EV you can check out this website:
http://www.hittingisaguess.com/F_book.html
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....actually, 58 mph, 52 mph, and 46 mph.
️) this is something I have not heard anyone talk about, but I have told my dd that in order to get out good batters she has to hit her spots and vary her speed, besides just her change up. Its nice to know I wasn't just talkin out my butt. It's also nice to here if she can master it, she can be very effective with a fastball and CU. She's 14 and only has a fastball, working on her change. She has an idea of the spins and grip for screw, drop and drop curve but she doesn't practice them much. She's working on some tweaks right now,
lol that sounded funny when I read it in my head, it made laugh. 
