How many HBP is too many? 10U

[stickpile39]

I was hoping to gather some perspective for my little DD with regards to her pitching in "town league". To be frank it is NOT a very competitive league, even as far as town leagues go. She has now hit 4 batters in 6 innings, including 2 girls out of 3 batters last night. Each time tears have been shed and parents are not digging it. Quite a few comments have been made (to say the least). Now until last night I have not found her to be wild at all. For perspective, she has 1 HBP in 16 innings of tourney ball so far on the season. Also, the HBP last night were borderline strikes. The biggest issue here is girls are crowding the plate and most do not know how to get out of the way. We also DO NOT have a chalked batters box at every field. Now AFTER she hit two batters, she threw a couple of pitches behind batters and up to the backstop, and I saw her form break down. She eventually got it together and struck out the side but velocity was way down.

What do I do?

If I shut her down in town ball she is going to be very upset.
If I keep pitching her someone may end up getting hurt. I also worry about her developing bad habits.
How many HBP is too many?
Anyone every go through this before?

 

[YoungBuck]

That's a great question... my DD hit three in a row a few nights back.

 

[SBmom8992]

Sounds like we are living in parallel universes. My 10YO DD had an awful inning last weekend (see Tears on the Mound thread). I'm not seeing parents getting upset about the HBP situation. I do see that young girls in rec tend to freeze up when they're facing a pitcher that throws with some heat in comparison to the lob ball BP they see from coaches. It's either a walk, HBP, or K. Also like you, I see crowding of the plate and no chalked batters boxes to give the teen umps some cause to move the girls off the plate.

I've seen some great perspective from DFP re: the pitcher owning the plate and it being the battery's responsibility to make an attempt to avoid a HBP. I don't have an answer regarding how many is too many. I suspect there is no black or white answer to that. What I do know is that it's not the end of the world. I think it's more understandable at the 10U age rather than 14U and up.

 

[Softball scholar]

Sounds like she's just going through a tough phase and the problem is compounded by the inexperienced girls not knowing how to react and surprisingly crowding the plate. No way do you shut her down. HBP is part of the game. If she has had success in tourney ball, then she can pitch. Its really just a matter of finding her confidence. Confidence is fragile and can be destroyed just as fast as it can be built. I think you need to let her know that youre behind her all the way and believe in her.

My DD is just getting through a two month phase where she would get in a game and loose control. Instead of pitching inside, her pitches where mostly in the dirt. Her mechanics were great in practice, but she would tighten up in the game. We changed our approach and didnt focus on mechanics, but focused on mental strategies to help her. She's really improved in the last tournament.
Also look up the Softball Smarts website by John Micheal Kelly. His materials are excellent for approaching the mental game.


One thing we did is focused on steady breathing while pitching. That really helped. We also worked on some positve mental cues, " I can do this". Also put in her mind that to expect bad things are going to happen, like teammates making errors, umpire is going to have a tight strike zone or you're going to hit somebody with the ball. Its ok and anticipate it. Dont let that change everything.


Also, when she practices try to have something or somebody stand in the box. Have her get used to having something there and try to simulate the uncomfortableness of a game. We practice in our back yard, and I came up with a creative solution. We have an inflatable Christmas penguin that you put out at Christmas. I brought the extension cord and put it in the batters box.

Just keep it postive with her especially on bad outings and she'll be alright, and dont worry what the parents say in the stands.

 

[James Smith]

DD hits a lot of batters, she had to set the League record in 10U so I am a little bias.

3 in a row, which DD has done, or 5 in 2 innings or something like that. A little bit depends on how fast your DD is throwing. If she is throwing it in the high 40s in 10U and hitting a lot of batters in rec I am not sure how happy I would be either with my DD facing her.

I think 1 an inning is OK and your DD is well under that. It is an instructional league players need to learn to protect themselves in the batter’s box. So says the dad who’s DD only trip to the emergency room is when she got hit by a pitch, fractured her hand.

 

[stickpile39]

James, I have not had her clocked in quite some time, my guess is mid to high 40's, certainly not 50 mph. Can this be accurately determined by video? I tried but got a little buried in the numbers. I am actually curious. But...should how fast she pitches matter if she is age appropriate? I guess it depends on which side of the fence you are sitting on. I actually see both sides of things which is why I am posting. I am truly unsure of what we should do.

Also, how far away from the plate would the chalk be in the batters box?, I intend to at the very least draw a line

 

[James Smith]

6 inches. High 40's from 35 feet is pretty quick, batters might not have a chance to get out of the way.

I still think 1 an inning is OK and your DD is well under that.

 

[RetiredCoach]

I would (and have) let about one HBP go. However, when a pitcher throws fast and is hitting and hurting girls I pull her out of respect for the other team. We're here to have fun, not get hurt!

 

[crystlemc]

Keep in mind, even the big girls hit batters. Nunley from KY hit 9 batters in one game. My opinion is that they have to learn to work through it. The minute they realize they will be pulled for HBP, that is all they focus on and it becomes self fulfilling prophecy. They will start plunking batters like it's a carnival game. We joked in 10u that my DD hit more batters than she hit the strike zone. Now, at 14u, an HBP is rare, obut still happens.

 

[Sting Ray]

#1 rule in pitching is: "If you're gonna hit 'em, hit 'em hard!"