Had an interesting conversation about pitching with a parent last night. I was talking about a coach of a good team getting beat out in the semifinals on Sundays because he rides his #1 pitcher and she runs out of gas. The #1 pitches 2 games on Saturday and then pitches until they are eliminated on Sundays. Often they go 3 games on Sunday and she runs out of gas during 3rd game she is throwing on Sunday. This parent commented that the pitcher was a little weak cuz she couldn't go the distance and that a #1 pitcher should be able to pitch 3 games on a Sunday. All the other teams are doing it. I was shocked. I know she is 14u but my goodness. On this one particular Sunday she threw 3 games in a row and ran out of gas during 3rd game. The two previous games went into extra innings. Is this really what is expected?
How Many Games Pitching -14u
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- Mar 28, 2013
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If a parent called my DD weak after a 5 game weekend with extra innings while being ridden like a used circus pony I'd most likely punch em in the mouth.
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redhotcoach
Out on good behavior
- May 8, 2009
- 4,698
- 38
I would never say that a girl should be able to pitch more than one game, kind of would hope 2 games though. That said, I have seen teams win large tourneys, 4+ games in a day, with only one pitcher.
- Feb 5, 2010
- 222
- 16
And then they wonder why kids get hurt or get burnt out. I would never let my kid play for a clown like that. Can it be done, sure with some kids. Should this be done with any, NIMHO Any coach that talks like that should be tared and feathered.
halskinner
Banned
- May 7, 2008
- 2,637
- 0
It's all about 'Pitching stamina' and what you have built your stamina up to over some time. As I have said in other posts, when everything is right, it does not take alot of physical effort to throw fast or to throw multiple games.
This sounds completely opposite of what common sense would indicate.
I had a 10yo student throw 4 games on Satuirdat and all 5 games on Sunday, minus the 1st inning of the first game on Sunday. That was the NSA state championship tournament. She walked to the car, laid down in the back seat and slept the entire 1-hour drive home. Next day she was not even sore and no injuries. Now, she had been pitching since she was 5yo and had built herself up to throwing over 200 pitches a day not counting team practices or games. Not what I would recommend for every 10u pitcher but she was exceptional.
I also saw a 12u team where every player was a pitcher that played a 2nd position. The coach would start and stay with 1 pitcher for the entire tournament. That is, untill she came up hurt, then he replaced her and that pitcher kept pitching until she got hurt. I saw one of their pitchers come in one inning, got to the garbage can in the dugout and puke. The guy in the stands next to me said "Yeah, she has the flu but the coach doesnt care. She went back out that inning, threw 3 or 4 pitches, stopped, started walking towards the dugout and collapsed just as she got to the doorway.
As far as your question goes, yeah, it CAN happen but only if parents let it happen .
There is no generic kid and no generic formula anyopne can come up with that will be a good fit for every pitcher in a certain age group.
This sounds completely opposite of what common sense would indicate.
I had a 10yo student throw 4 games on Satuirdat and all 5 games on Sunday, minus the 1st inning of the first game on Sunday. That was the NSA state championship tournament. She walked to the car, laid down in the back seat and slept the entire 1-hour drive home. Next day she was not even sore and no injuries. Now, she had been pitching since she was 5yo and had built herself up to throwing over 200 pitches a day not counting team practices or games. Not what I would recommend for every 10u pitcher but she was exceptional.
I also saw a 12u team where every player was a pitcher that played a 2nd position. The coach would start and stay with 1 pitcher for the entire tournament. That is, untill she came up hurt, then he replaced her and that pitcher kept pitching until she got hurt. I saw one of their pitchers come in one inning, got to the garbage can in the dugout and puke. The guy in the stands next to me said "Yeah, she has the flu but the coach doesnt care. She went back out that inning, threw 3 or 4 pitches, stopped, started walking towards the dugout and collapsed just as she got to the doorway.
As far as your question goes, yeah, it CAN happen but only if parents let it happen .
There is no generic kid and no generic formula anyopne can come up with that will be a good fit for every pitcher in a certain age group.
- May 17, 2012
- 2,805
- 113
Those $5.00 trophys don't win themselves. Suck it up and pitch.
The ability to brush your hair when you are 30 is optional.
The ability to brush your hair when you are 30 is optional.
ConorMacleod
Practice Like You Play
- Jul 30, 2012
- 188
- 0
And I'm concerned I'm pitching my daughter too much by having her pitch 1 game Saturday and 2 on Sunday...
- Jul 26, 2010
- 3,553
- 0
It really is too much. One of my daughters played 16u this summer before moving up to 18u in the fall. On the 16u team she ended up pitching about 2 games on Saturday and all of the games on Sunday unless we were ahead by 6 runs or so. With 3-6 games pitched on Sunday, it was way too much. That said, she does not regret the experience, and it's probably what helped her become good enough to play 18g at 14.
Now on the 18's team she is no longer the "ace" and typically gets 1 game on Saturday and spends as much time in the bull pen as she does in the outfield on Sunday. She much prefers overpitching, although I do not.
The problem is finding a happy medium. In all honesty, for one pitcher (or any position player) to be marked as the "starter", she has to be twice as good as the kid she supplants. Being just a little better or as good is not nearly enough. Coaches get very comfortable with what they know, and they're not going to supplant their ace until everyone under the sun (besides the player in question and their parents) is demanding that they do so. That means that when the pitcher truly is good enough to be the bona fide ace, she's so far beyond the #2 that the coaches, for the most part, will end up riding #1.
Luckily, there still are plenty of teams out there, especially showcase teams, that will use a more democratic process for their pitchers and simply rotate. This is fair, but it is not necessarily better in a competitive environment.
As always, you will have to find the team that works for you. If you like the team you are on, your best bet is to help recruit a pitcher that is as good or better then your own daughter. I'm a firm believer that players get better faster and more efficiently if they are motivated by internal competition.
-W
Now on the 18's team she is no longer the "ace" and typically gets 1 game on Saturday and spends as much time in the bull pen as she does in the outfield on Sunday. She much prefers overpitching, although I do not.
The problem is finding a happy medium. In all honesty, for one pitcher (or any position player) to be marked as the "starter", she has to be twice as good as the kid she supplants. Being just a little better or as good is not nearly enough. Coaches get very comfortable with what they know, and they're not going to supplant their ace until everyone under the sun (besides the player in question and their parents) is demanding that they do so. That means that when the pitcher truly is good enough to be the bona fide ace, she's so far beyond the #2 that the coaches, for the most part, will end up riding #1.
Luckily, there still are plenty of teams out there, especially showcase teams, that will use a more democratic process for their pitchers and simply rotate. This is fair, but it is not necessarily better in a competitive environment.
As always, you will have to find the team that works for you. If you like the team you are on, your best bet is to help recruit a pitcher that is as good or better then your own daughter. I'm a firm believer that players get better faster and more efficiently if they are motivated by internal competition.
-W
halskinner
Banned
- May 7, 2008
- 2,637
- 0
On the other end of that scale, I knew a 16yo student of another instructor that had been pitching sinc 11, if I remember right. She virtually never practiced, too many other sports and 'things' going on. She would start the game with TREMENDOUS speed, nobody touched her. 2nd inning, obvious drop off in speed and they were making some contact. 3rd, again an obvious drop in speed from the 2nd inning. She got pounded hard and yanked after some runs scored. Talked with her Mom in the stands and she gave me the skinny on the pitcher. She said her instructor told her she had to practice more but no time.
Ton of potential there but, social life and other sports took the practice time.
Ton of potential there but, social life and other sports took the practice time.
- Mar 28, 2013
- 769
- 18
Both my DDs coaches try to ride the 2's 3's and 4's as long as possible so rarely do they see any Saturday pitching.They get warm but for the most part they are in the incase of emergency break glass status. but on sunday, they put in the work. I see lots of coaches riding the aces during pool play and that never made any sense to me. get a big lead and leave them in. seems to me that with some good pitching management grinding up your ace is not necessary.
