I found a 14U Glory Adkins team that's ranked in the top 50 nationwide (NFCA.org) - is this 12U team expected to be as good as the older team? I ask b/c the pitcher seems to be throwing the same speed I've seen some 10C pitchers throw, and I would expect a pitcher on a "national" team to not have as much trouble locating pitches. (I know, it's only 12U, but if the 14U is a top 50, I'm assuming the 12U is also playing A/Open-level ball?)
Example of 12U coach pitch calling--please, don't be this guy.
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It was this Glory Adkins team: https://www.usssa.com/teamHome/?teamID=2796281
They're a second-year 12a team but I doubt they were throwing one of their top 2-3 pitchers against an 08 team that they've never heard of. They allowed 10 runs in 5 games and 6 of them were to one of the top 2-3 12a teams in Oklahoma so I'm sure they were just getting some work for someone against us.
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Their website has 21 teams listed under just the "Gold" team list. Not sure all Glory Adkins teams are expected to be A-Class.
- Feb 22, 2013
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I am a basketball guy. When I teach basketball, I teach kids to dribble with their dominant hand and their weak hand. The plays I set up can go left or right. When we play weaker teams, I don't coach my kids to blow by the kids using their dominant hand time and time again and only dribble with their weak hand when the defenders are better and they can't blow by the defender with their dominant hand. So why would I coach softball pitching different?
If I have pitchers at the younger levels that can hit spots on occasion, I will call pitches where the pitcher tries to hit spots and if I have a pitcher who can change speeds, I will call change ups during the game. My goal as a pitch caller is to make the pitcher better prepared fundamentally for the advancing levels of softball that she will pitch in during future events. Change ups and breaking pitches get hit by weaker hitters, but a pitcher will more likely be a better change up pitcher in high school or college if she has thrown several hundreds or thousands of change ups in a game situation, rather than only throw a change up to good hitters.
My coaching philosophy has always been to try to teach kids the fundamentals. If a kid is fundamentally sound at 12U, they will be a higher likelihood that the kid will advance in the sport at the next level. My goal isn't to teach the kids to win every game, but be able to make the girls softball team and be fundamentally sound enough to play at the high school level. So when I coached at the 12U level, I was the bucket coach calling pitch locations and change ups at the 12U level for the advanced pitchers. For the other pitchers, there was no need to try to call pitch locations and change ups, as the pitchers didn't put in the time to develop their pitching skills prior to the game. I agree with others that receiving a pitch signal and attempting to deliver that pitch at the speed and location desired is just another pitching fundamental and one to work on earlier than latter in a pitcher's development.
Returning to basketball, I coached more kids at the 12 and under levels that not only made their high school teams but also started on their high school teams because of teaching fundamentals and dominant and weak hand dribbling than any of my peers who kicked the crap out of my teams that were coaching their kids to blow by everyone with their dominant hands.
If I have pitchers at the younger levels that can hit spots on occasion, I will call pitches where the pitcher tries to hit spots and if I have a pitcher who can change speeds, I will call change ups during the game. My goal as a pitch caller is to make the pitcher better prepared fundamentally for the advancing levels of softball that she will pitch in during future events. Change ups and breaking pitches get hit by weaker hitters, but a pitcher will more likely be a better change up pitcher in high school or college if she has thrown several hundreds or thousands of change ups in a game situation, rather than only throw a change up to good hitters.
My coaching philosophy has always been to try to teach kids the fundamentals. If a kid is fundamentally sound at 12U, they will be a higher likelihood that the kid will advance in the sport at the next level. My goal isn't to teach the kids to win every game, but be able to make the girls softball team and be fundamentally sound enough to play at the high school level. So when I coached at the 12U level, I was the bucket coach calling pitch locations and change ups at the 12U level for the advanced pitchers. For the other pitchers, there was no need to try to call pitch locations and change ups, as the pitchers didn't put in the time to develop their pitching skills prior to the game. I agree with others that receiving a pitch signal and attempting to deliver that pitch at the speed and location desired is just another pitching fundamental and one to work on earlier than latter in a pitcher's development.
Returning to basketball, I coached more kids at the 12 and under levels that not only made their high school teams but also started on their high school teams because of teaching fundamentals and dominant and weak hand dribbling than any of my peers who kicked the crap out of my teams that were coaching their kids to blow by everyone with their dominant hands.
The calling of pitches is not in and of itself a bad thing. The bad thing is when the coach is calling a rise, crise, drop curve, backdoor curve, drop ball, change up, screwball, and God knows what else with a young pitcher who can only hit a location with her basic pitch through luck.
I’ll just point out that I doubt this team came all the way to another state to “develop”, necessarily. This coach also happens to be the coach I referenced in my post about the strangest game ending, who tried to decline outs like it was a penalty in football. I’d lean towards Sluggers criticism being warranted, in this case.
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It DOESN'T prepare them to pitch at advanced levels. It teaches them to wait for someone to tell them what to do.
At the MLB level, the pitcher is calling the game. The catcher knows how the pitcher wants the game called, and makes suggestions.
Learning how to receive a pitch signal takes about 5 minutes.
What has that got to do with the coach calling pitches?
The way to handle it is to coach. You tell the kid before the game, "Change speeds and hit the corners". you tell the kid between innings, "Remember to change speeds and hit the corners."
Sounds simple but that is really all there is too it. As they advance remind them not to use predictable patterns. Otherwise this quote is perfect.
