How fast for a good riseball?

[FastPitchCat]

I think the sleeve is a good idea. I bought one a while back and DD stopped using it at some point but after pitching games 4 days out of five since Saturday she was bruised last night. She pitched with one today and she said it felt a lot better. She also said she understands now why Balls with bullet spin mightbe a bad idea. She noticed a direct correlation to balls that came off with bullet spon "ouch that hurt" and balls that came off with nice slightly off axis 12-6 spin "ahh that fleshy part of the forearm is much more comfy that the point off elbow".

She hadn't had any bruising for a while but now that she is throwing a lot more riseballs, her natural FB has become more bullety so she is releasing more inside the ball more often than she used to when all she threw were drops.

On that note....To all you future Fathers of riseball throwers, the year of work to get it to begin to work is well worth it. Standing in the stands watching with an 0-2 count and muttering "throw the rise, throw the rise" and then seeing it work for a K is sooooo much fun. DD is falling in love with that pitch this week. and for the two seam fastball doubters, DD said it was working so well at getting misses and late foul offs that she just abandoned the regular fastball on anything but a 3 ball count.

did I just turn this into a shameless brag post? Oh well, then I guess I should add that in addition to the 12 Ks in two games she is also 3-7 with two rbis batting 4th and the three outs were on well hit balls. This is at the 14u TCS World Series here in San Diego. She's an 02 BTW. Hehehehe.

well and good JJS. just curious, how fast is your DD's Riseball? the reason i ask is that my DD's team coach said, ideally, the RB should be at 58 mph or higher. my DD can barely manage 55 so the coach doesn't call that pitch very much.

thoughts?

 

[riseball]

well and good JJS. just curious, how fast is your DD's Riseball? the reason i ask is that my DD's team coach said, ideally, the RB should be at 58 mph or higher. my DD can barely manage 55 so the coach doesn't call that pitch very much.

thoughts?

He is 100% incorrect. That is a myth. If you spin it properly it will be effective at much lower speeds.

 

[sluggers]

The effectiveness of a pitch is primarily a function of control (placing the pitch at a specified location) and timing (i.e., when to throw the pitch) than of speed.

Specific examples:

Lindsay Veselsky, an Illinois HS player, struck out 499 batters over 264 innings with great control and a 55MPH riseball.
Taylor Petereson, D3 All american, had great control and a 55MPH riseball.

I saw both of these kids pitch, and they both had good backspin on the ball. The pitch would look like a belt high fastball and it would end up at the batter's shoulders.

 

[RetiredCoach]

This isn't based on scientific research or anything, but I've always thought that at about 50 mph it might be time to start thinking about throwing a rise ball, if one were so inclined.

 

[JJsqueeze]

She throws it 51-52 ish. Just fast enough to get the beginning of a float and get them missing under and chasing high. My new advice is just to learn it early in 12 u and let the speed catch up. By second year 14s it is a second nature type pitch. She did leave one belt high today that is still in orbit... So just be prepared for painful misses.

 

[JJsqueeze]

As for coach calling it. Just have her substitute it for a FB or curve and if she ever gets asked she just missed on that one. My kids TB coach has yet to call a RB. I don't even think he knows she has one (don't ask). When she guests they call it all day, when she plays for her team she just substitutes it on FB calls on 0-2 and 1-2 counts.

 

[MNDad]

He is 100% incorrect. That is a myth. If you spin it properly it will be effective at much lower speeds.

When DD was 14U her riseball averaged 49 mph and had so much back spin that it moved all over the place. She changed it after she went to a few camps and coaches told her it was too slow and college hitters would eat it up. Now she throws a traditional riseball, but does use "the floaty thing" as an off speed pitch occasionally.

 

[Little Angels Softball]

She throws it 51-52 ish. Just fast enough to get the beginning of a float and get them missing under and chasing high. My new advice is just to learn it early in 12 u and let the speed catch up. By second year 14s it is a second nature type pitch. She did leave one belt high today that is still in orbit... So just be prepared for painful misses.

^^^^^^^ This. ^^^^^^^

 

[Rocketech1]

This isn't based on scientific research or anything, but I've always thought that at about 50 mph it might be time to start thinking about throwing a rise ball, if one were so inclined.

Agreed, DD didn't start experimenting with the riseball until she was 12U and could throw around 50mph. Lots of 12U batters have a hard time hitting high pitches so there is no reason to not experiment with it and throw it in games. It takes years to "master' the pitch, so throw it often.

JJ nailed it when he said some coaches don't call it. My pet peeve is the coaches that are calling the pitches don't discuss pitch strategy with their pitchers nearly enough. It's a very important part of the game, but for some reason they never catch the pitchers in practice for whom they are calling the pitches. This is really the only way to see and feel the speed, spin, and movement of the pitches. But I guess these coaches volunteer their time, so you get what you pay for...

 

[mothgirl]

My dd is 14 and no where near ready for a riseball. When I read all these 12u kids with riseballs I get manic and I start asking dd to practice 3x's a day,


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