Frustrated mom , discouraged daughter please help

[BrianMonk]

Your DD may throw 65MPH, but if she cannot throw a strike the coach is going to have to pull her. I am always amazed at parents who complain about the coaching their DD is receiving at the rec level. If you want your DD to be a pitcher you need to take responsibility for making it happen. 99% of rec coaches and 90% of TB coaches are NOT qualified to give pitching lessons or instruction. You need to get her into lessons and if that is not an option, buy an instructional DVD or watch videos on YouTube, then work with her at home.

This is good advice, at least for the rec. programs I’m familiar with. Yours may vary.

You seem to be on the right track. Keep working at finding a good pitching coach.

I’m amazed that some people (typically the parent of the pitcher) expect everyone else at a fastpitch game to be held hostage by 1 player. Every other kid in the game, in the dugout and every spectator has to find something to do to pass time while Susie works on her worm and birdie killing skills. The vast majority of “learning how to pitch” needs to take place away from ANY game. If that’s all Suzie is doing is throwing balls in a rec game and then nothing else (I know you’re not) she has no business holding everyone hostage. The coach should find her another position.

 

[dropball1]

Yes I'll had a great camp that's where she went last year but was unable to attend this year due to conflicting schedules with her current team ( if they miss a game they are not allstar eligible ) . That is also where we had found a coach but ULL has a very extensive practice schedule for their players so we couldn't meet often and she has since transfer to another college.

Take a look down at NSU in Thibodaux. New Coaches, Jessica Seamon the new AC puts on a number of clinics through the year. She's had some great success as a pitching instructor and AC.

 

[sluggers]

A pitcher learns how to pitch working on their own with the help of a pitching coach. Facing hitters is where they learn how to be a pitcher. Two very distinct and different actions.

From the sound of it this girl is strong enough to play travel. It's better she learns how to pitch against better hitting. It will make her a better pitcher in the long run.

Agree...

At 13YOA, my DD was better pitching at 16U TB than rec league. In rec league, the umpires were 15 YOA kids who ducked every time my DD threw the ball. (One guy would ump the game with just a mask--no shin guards and no chest protector. So, he wouldn't even see the pitch.)

In TB, the umpires were better, the kids were bigger, and the batters weren't looking for a walk.

 

[Jamie Touchet]

I just received a message saying there is a tb team in lafayette area. Louisiana pride, not sure what level but hopefully something good comes of finding them. Anyone ever hear of them?

 

[inde53546]

Rec should be for the betterment of all the girls. Girls who have never pitched should be allowed to try it. How will you ever know if your never given a chance. TB is not the place to devleop a pitcher Rec is. This parent should consider asking to have her daughter play up in 12U for rec. but just because of her larger size and overpowering pitching does not really mean that she can throw accurately, field properly, swing a bat, catch a fly ball, run the bases or has the softball "IQ" to play anywhere other than where she is? One of the better pitchers in our 10U rec can't catch the ball after it's thrown back to her from the pitcher and couldn't field a grounder if you rolled it into her glove. If this girl is advanced in all areas of the game than she should play up.

 

[Jamie Touchet]

The rec team she is on is 12u. As for fielding like i said she plays really well at 1st and 2nd (which is were she normally plays since she doesn't get circle time. As for batting when she is pitched to and not intentionally walked she normally hits a pretty hard line drive (not sure if that's good) but does haave some trouble with inside pitchs. As for running the bases its an ongoing joke that good thing she hits hard cause she is not a very fast runner.

 

[Momo'sDad]

I know softball is different wherever you go, but we're in a reasonably strong softball area and I've seen over 40 different 12u TB teams play in tournaments this spring and have not seen a single instance where a project pitcher got substantial circle time.

7th inning, 5-run lead, project pitcher comes in - walk, walk, K, 2-run single. Time out. Pitching change, even though player and parents were confident she would have gotten the final 2 outs without any further damage.

As I always say, though, everywhere is different. In our area, the projects can play TB, but they pitch in rec instead of moonlighting with other teams on tourney weekends.

 

[sanchosj]

Frustrated mom

Well my daughter is 11 and pretty big for her age (5'6" 165lbs) and has a great love for pitching . She has played rec ball since 5 and we have had some horrible experiences with coaches . Every coach has a different way they want things done but the one thing they have all told her is she had too much speed and needed to slow down and throw strikes (really??) I have never played softball so I'm no expert but everything i have read says her accuracy will come with experience . Needless to say in 2 years of fast pitch she was only allowed to pitch to a handful of batters , she would always be pulled after 1 or 2 and replaced with the other pitchers who threw the same ratio of strikes and balls but at a much lower speed (pretty much a windmill slowpitch) I found a local college player to coach her we got around 10 lessons in then she transfered to another school . She went to a camp at the college last summer also and they praised her even moved her up to the 13-14 yr group (she was 10 ) . When they used the radar to check her she was averaging 47mph. I have no idea what she is throwing now but it seems alot faster . I am currently looking for a pitching coach and possibly a select team in our area but have had no luck . We are in the Lafayette,la area . If you have any suggestions or input thanks in advance .

She needs to practice with a catcher then add a batter or a football dummy.They do sell inflatable batters.Do not sit the catchers on a 5 gallon bucket like most coaches do.It is way to high.A 6 inch bucket or bench is good .

 

[curiousgeorge]

Jamie, I see Bill Hillhouse has a Louisiana clinic listed on his website for September. You may want to check into that.

CG

 

[Jamie Touchet]

Thank you so much to everyone who suggested Bill Hillhouse! I've been able to find a few clips and he is amazing at explaing the" why" part which make it a lot easier for me to understand and hopefully help my dd. His videos are not for sale right now does anyone have a copy they are not using anymore and would be willing to sale to me?