How important is knowing spin speed?

[4Martini]

My daughter has been pitching for about a year and a half. She’s 13 and is doing well on a second year 14B team that’s now entering A tournaments.

She’s curious about her spin rate etc. is it worth signing her up for a camp that measures it - or go to a facility that has Rapsodo - or is there another way? Her current coach doesn’t do it- but we love her and she is making a ton of progress.

What do you suggest? I know a few facilities within a reasonable drive have Rapsodo pitching module. One upcoming camp is offering Diamond metrics.

She throws consistently in the low 50s if that is relevant. She’s very science/ math oriented so I think learning more about her pitches will make her want to explore more on how they can improve.

Thanks!

 

[El Oso]

It's enormously important for someone throwing low 50's. You better be moving that ball because you're not going to be blowing anyone away with it. Get her on a Rapsodo asap and take her back bi-monthly to see her progress.

 

[ArmWhip]

Spin direction is the most important metric, then spin rate. Although if the spin axis is marginal you can make up for it with higher RPM's.

 

[4Martini]

It's enormously important for someone throwing low 50's. You better be moving that ball because you're not going to be blowing anyone away with it. Get her on a Rapsodo asap and take her back bi-monthly to see her progress.

Thanks! We’re new to this. She seems to get hit off a lot less than a lot of other pitchers- so we’re curious why. She definitely can move the ball. Her coach has qualitative views- but I think we’re curious on quantifying it. She did a camp this summer- but said the machine kept shutting down and the data was a little suspect. It classified some of her pitches as ones she doesn’t know how to throw.

ETA - there are a lot of weak grounders that come right back to her and she fields.

 

[ArmWhip]

She might find this informative and enjoyable.

 

[cnardone]

If your pitching coach is not using the data, then it is not very useful. If you think it will drive her to work harder, great. Anything that gives them a little kick in the butt to work harder is worth it.

 

[4Martini]

Spin direction is the most important metric, then spin rate. Although if the spin axis is marginal you can make up for it with higher RPM's.

Is there somewhere that explains Rapsodo spin direction for softball? Everything I can find on google is baseball related. Are the numbers locations on a clock?

Or what would be a good range for a fastball and change up.

 

[El Oso]

Is there somewhere that explains Rapsodo spin direction for softball? Everything I can find on google is baseball related. Are the numbers locations on a clock?

Or what would be a good range for a fastball and change up.

Search the pitching forum here. There is a lot of good info from years past. Most of the really good pitching guys have moved on but you can still find their posts.

 

[uncdrew]

Interesting question.

My DD has pitched for 4-5 years and is on a 14A team. Throws high 50s and moves the ball well. As you've observed, location and spin result in a pitcher getting hit less than other pitchers, even if those pitchers throw faster. People ask me which I think is most important, speed, spin or location. Personally I think all three are important, but if pressed I go with location. Hit the corners for called strikes, get them to chase balls just off the plate, create weak hits if they make contact.

That said, my DD's curve ball moves a ton. It's really impressive. I'm sometimes stunned by it. But we've never measured her spin rate. And not really tempted to. If me, as a semi-knowledgable bucket dad can compare it to other pitchers then I know for sure her pitching instructor can tell what spin is working and what needs fixing.

But I'm also a believer in measuring, bench-marking, etc. Tracking improvement is good. Would I change pitching instructors to get to a rapsodo machine? Nope. Would I like to see her numbers from a Rapsodo machine? Sure, definitely. Would I do anything with those numbers other than brag about them to y'all? Probably not.

It's kind of like tracking speed. We know she's getting faster via observation. Does clocking her make her pitch faster? No. And we don't do it very often at all.

 

[RADcatcher]

Interesting question.

My DD has pitched for 4-5 years and is on a 14A team. Throws high 50s and moves the ball well. As you've observed, location and spin result in a pitcher getting hit less than other pitchers, even if those pitchers throw faster. People ask me which I think is most important, speed, spin or location. Personally I think all three are important, but if pressed I go with location. Hit the corners for called strikes, get them to chase balls just off the plate, create weak hits if they make contact.

That said, my DD's curve ball moves a ton. It's really impressive. I'm sometimes stunned by it. But we've never measured her spin rate. And not really tempted to. If me, as a semi-knowledgable bucket dad can compare it to other pitchers then I know for sure her pitching instructor can tell what spin is working and what needs fixing.

But I'm also a believer in measuring, bench-marking, etc. Tracking improvement is good. Would I change pitching instructors to get to a rapsodo machine? Nope. Would I like to see her numbers from a Rapsodo machine? Sure, definitely. Would I do anything with those numbers other than brag about them to y'all? Probably not.

It's kind of like tracking speed. We know she's getting faster via observation. Does clocking her make her pitch faster? No. And we don't do it very often at all.

Video?