Frustrated Lefty

[mrslug01]

If she can throw equaly as well either way and is equaly comfortable doing so, I would let her throw right and bat both. If she throws left, she will be limited to 1st base or out field more and more as she gets older. Being able to hit from both sides of the plate is a definate advantage, with left being most desireable. If she pitches then left can be good, but not so much as to make up for the other potential limitations. JMO though, others may disagree.

Exactly! If you throw lefty, you essentially play 1B or OF (unless you pitch). There is essentially no advantage to throwing left handed. It's not baseball where you hold a runner. So the right hand tag is meaningless. And I've watched this game for a long time and can't yet recall any team making a 3-6-3 double play. So throwing lefty isn't that big and advantage from 1B either.

 

[Mr.Ed]

Exactly! If you throw lefty, you essentially play 1B or OF (unless you pitch). There is essentially no advantage to throwing left handed. It's not baseball where you hold a runner. So the right hand tag is meaningless. And I've watched this game for a long time and can't yet recall any team making a 3-6-3 double play. So throwing lefty isn't that big and advantage from 1B either.

Some interesting takes on the throwing LH... and those make sense. I come from a baseball background so really didn't see the disadvantages. Thanks for the input.

Edit... and by "disadvantages" I meant limiting position play.

 

[mad hornet]

Some interesting takes on the throwing LH... and those make sense. I come from a baseball background so really didn't see the disadvantages. Thanks for the input.

Edit... and by "disadvantages" I meant limiting position play.

I was a lefty in baseball and until I was 9 I was always a shortstop. I'll never forget the heartbreak I felt when I got drafted to a good team when I was ten and my coach told me point blank "lefties can't play SS or 2B".

Well eventually I got over it and became a good pitcher, 1B, and OF. I think being a lefty pitcher got me extra attention from college scouts and if I had a choice I wouldn't change it.

 

[FPMark]

You have to remember we're talking softball here. Can you name one position that lefties have a distinct advantage? Even pitching, with no pick off plays at first, the only advantage is a different breaking direction than hitters may be used to. That may be a slight advantage, but does it make up for the difficulties fielding bunts (very common in softball), especially if they need to cover the 1st base line?

I personally have nothing against lefties, some of the best athletes I've coached have thrown left handed, but if given a choice, I would think throwing right and batting left would provide the most opportunities in the future.

 

[Catching Coach]

I have college coaches contacting me asking if I have any left handed catchers in the next graduating class. In softball a left handed catcher is sought after by informed coaches. With all of the throws a catcher has to make to 1st on bunts and short slaps the lefty has a significant advantage over a right handed catcher. There are no real disadvantages behind the plate for being a lefty. Have her give catching a try!!!!

 

[dbias]

I am left handed in some things. I write,throw and eat with my left hand, but that is about it. When i was in second grade i injured my left hand and had to use my right for quite a while. So now i shoot a bow and rifle right handed... i qualify with a pistol with both hands, i kick a football right footed, i golf and hit a softball right handed, and can bowl equally well either handed. So yeah im pretty screwed up. I can hit a softball left handed pretty well and can actuallly throw a ball right handed pretty well, so much so that most people dont even notice when im in a situation where i pick up one of the girls rht gloves and use it. In looking back on things i dont feel i was inhibited very much by being left handed. I pitched...of course... every lefty ive ever talked too was marched straight to the mound to see if we could throw..lol.. played first, ss, and lf. pretty much the usual positions.
One thing you may want to consider is which eye is dominant with your dd. My being left handed but hitting right... in know thats not the desired combination.... put my dominant eye, my left, toward the pitcher.. and i was always complimented on my hitting and knowledge of the strike zone. Now i dont know if having the dominant eye toward the pitcher helped me for sure but i think i did.

 

[Mr.Ed]

Thanks for all the informative replies.

I ran home last night and got my youngest girl outside... the ambidextrous lefty. I had her throw and field RH. From an arm strength and accuracy and fielding stand point there is no let down from left to right (here again... we're talking about an 8yo). From a "feel" standpoint she said it now felt odd... because she's been playing LH lately. This same girls said it "felt weird" when I first put a LH glove on her two weeks ago. I'm going to screw this kid up! We're going to work on it some more. I may have the only kid around that has a LH and RH glove in her bag on game day.

I'm definitely having her hit left. She hits well from the L side.

Interesting take on LH catchers. I was a BB catcher from little league through high school. Never would have thought being LH would be an advantage in that position.

Thanks again!

 

[chinamigarden]

My advice, as a dad with a lefty. Let her play with the glove hand she is most comfortable. If you keep switching her about you are going to end up with a soccer player or a volleyball player. She is 8, let her be. All this talk about positions is crazy, she is 8. My girl at 12u played shortstop and catcher, on top of pitching and 1st base. But if you want to look down the road, there was a lefty playing 2nd base in the College World Series a couple of years ago, recently the catcher for the National team was a lefty. An umpire I know tells me about all the lefty shortstops he sees in HS and in the 18U groups. All this talk about advantage and disadvantage seems to leave out the fact that, this is a kid.

And if she is a lefty but you tell her to play like a right handed person is better. What do you think that sounds like in her subconscious. I am inferior, I won't be good until I am different.

 

[CoachScott]

I have 2 lefties on my team. Both happen to pitch but when not pitching both are very good at 2nd. I personally love my lefties, wish I had more. I have seen no disadvantage to any position from my lefties. Now I'm talking 14U and younger girls. I've coached 10U, 12U and 14U. I'm a right handed coach. I do show them from their side but another approach I use is the "mirror" approach. I tell them they are my mirror, follow my movements. Normally start by looking at each other and waving hands out and in, so they get the concept, then we move onto throws or whatever we happen to be working on. The girls love it, at least my lefties did. I get them laughing doing stupid stuff in the mirror pose. Mirroring really worked for me. Hope this helps.

 

[Mr.Ed]

Thanks for all the input everyone.

After working with my ambidextrous lefty I have decided to keep her as a lefty. There is basically no let down throwing and fielding wise when she switched left to right but she did say she's feels more comfortable fielding as a lefty (rh). That was enough for me... we'll just see how she pans out. Funny thing though... I had her taking some BP (LH) and she's shag balls and whip them back to me right handed... bat in LH. I don't know what to do with this kid but she's enjoying it and that's the main thing.

Special thanks to CoachScott. We worked on the "mirroring" and withing like 20 seconds she say's "I GET IT!". That should help with the drills which started us down this whole rode of L vs R.

Thanks again all!