How not to "Hide the pitch"

[sjsss]

Bill, obviously at your level the nuances of the game such as sign and pitch recognition are used to the maximum degree. At my pay grade and for many on this forum we are dealing with teenage and pre-teen girls. Of course they are capable of learning these things but it is not a priority for me either in a pitching lesson setting or while coaching my team. Why do I say that? After coaching girls at all levels for the past twenty five years, one thing that I can say for sure is that for girls, the basic understanding of the game is severely lacking. This was the topic of discussion I had with several college coaches at an exposure tournament last summer – the girls these coaches are getting by and large do not understand the game all that well. Sure, they have individual skill sets that have been honed from many hours of lessons and practice but they lack a feel and total grasp of the sport. They often do not understand what is happening around them and are unable to anticipate what is about to happen on the field.

Opposed to this is boy’s baseball, where at least when I was growing up playing we all were students of the game – we watched the big league games, talked about what happened in our games, had our own analysis…and understood things like picking signs and queing on repetitive motions of a pitcher. Girls, for the most part do not have this interest and basically come to practice, don’t think too much about softball, play a game, don’t really self evaluate, etc. Ever tried to replay the game and talk about it with your daughter ? Good luck unless she is one of the rare girls players who is really interested in the game.

So Mark, with all due respect, my point is that the next area ripe for improvement is not “reading the pitcher and discernment of repetitive pitch sequences and tendencies”, as important as those things are. Until girls are taught the game in it’s entirety to include strategy, anticipation of likely outcomes in a given circumstances, having a mental game so that you are prepared to come to bat, play the field or deliver a pitch, etc, these other things are just trick plays in a sense. I prefer to spend my time trying to explain the game and try to fan a flame of interest so that playing a softball game is more than just marching their skill set out onto the field and seeing what happens.

 

[Mark H]

I'm not saying all those things are not important. I'm saying I commonly see girls who are excellent defensively both in terms of mechanics and knowing the game. I commonly see excellent pitching. I don't commonly see that level of competence in swing mechanics and I don't commonly see that level of competence in reading a pitcher and pitch anticipation. So, to me, those are the areas of the game where there is an opportunity to separate your program, or kid, from the pack. Admittedly, my view of the game is older and higher level play. Certainly my point would not hold up at the 10u level.

 

[CoachFP]

SJSSS, your post is a great one. Girls are different than boys. Hillhouse's observations are one aspect of that difference. He is a pitcher and focuses on that area. In other areas of the game, they are generally just as oblivious. Baserunning in particular is something that they have a tough time with. No, they are not "stupider" they just don't have that down and dirty desire to win the same way we men do. They like to win and they work and try hard, but I believe they lacked the coaching at the younger levels that would turn them into thinkers as well as being more instinctive in the game. You need to have this to counter the obvious genetic difference between boys and girls.

 

[Hillhouse]

With all due respect sjsss, I somewhat disagree. I'm not talking about the sophistication of teaching a young girl how to read the forearm muscles flexing on a pitcher to see what pitch is coming (yes that does happen at the Open level). I"m talking about the most basic of basic by just simply paying attention to the game. The difference(s) in girls and boys is not that of gender, in my opinion. It's that in girls softball nearly EVERYTHING is done for the kid. EVERYTHING. Even something simple like teaching a girl how to use their instincts on the rubber for which pitch to throw is unthinkable by some. Instead, the coaches (or daddy) sit on a bucket and think they know better than she does, despite knowing NOTHING of the intangibles of actually pitching a softball... instead of teaching this infinite wisdom to the girl so she can make adjustments and learn along the way. How many girls will bunt unless they are told to? Not many that I see. They aren't taught. Girls look down to the 3rd basecoach with 2 outs, 0-2 count and nobody on in a 0-0 game, 3rd inning even though there cannot possibly be anykind of a play on. Why? Because they simply are not taught from day 1 to think for themselves. It's truly very sad to see. When I get a new student and ask her questions about her pitching background, they look to dad for answers to the questions instead of looking at me and answering... because most don't even know what they've been 'taught' they just do what they are told.

I just don't believe that it's because girls aren't as intersted. They just aren't taught to think for themselves. IMHO

Of course, I know nothing about female and anyone I've ever dated could attest to that!! LOL

Bill

 

[CoachFP]

Bill, you are right. Most girls I see don't know why they do what they do when pitching a softball. Most can't even tell you if the spin they are getting is the right one for the pitch that they are trying to throw. I think you hit the nail on the head. They are not taught or allowed to think for themselves.

 

[Jojo]

When I coached younger teams, while they were hitting I would yell out their # if there was a change-up coming. "Great job #12 you got it!" This was their tip off.

As they got older, at hitting practice we would hit the different pitches.
Every pitcher would rotate to the rubber showing the grip--say riseball, then throw several rise balls, the hitters got to see the grip, see the form of different pitchers throwing the rise and seeing what a rise looks like.

This developed pitch recognition and confidence.

As my DD reached 18U, she went to a new team and I became dugout coach.
during one game, in a highly competitive recruiting tournament, I watched the opposing pitcher constantly roll the grip into her hand on the side of her leg.

I asked each player one by one what pitch she was throwing during every one of her pitches. The only ones that knew were the pitchers!

Teach your hitters!