HS Ball question

[riseball]

I guess in a perfect world the coach would not be a dolt and think about the future. Give the kid time during practices to get the reps she needs and throw some pitching time her way during a blowout. Tell the kid that there are older more experienced players in front of her but let her know you are excited about the future and her time will come. Tell her that she would not be in RF unless she was really needed and you appreciate her being a team player. But that is just me.

 

[riseball]

Wow, Riseball. You're making me think a little hard for a Friday afternoon. If the information provided is accurate, then the player needs to be pitching. But is pitching practice more valuable than pitching to batters? I am not a PC, but I believe that too much time can be spent working on pitches and too little putting it into practice. If she quits the team to focus on pitching, then it's 2 more months of throwing to Dad on a bucket. If she sticks it out, #1 may get hurt, quit, flunk out; then she might be pitching in games. Yeah, I know. A lot of 'Ifs'.

The reason this is so hard is it is odds defying. A Sr throwing 60 with 5 pitches is probably All Conference and maybe even All State mention around here. So I struggle with the thought of what to do with an 8th grader doing that. Much like I struggle to plan what to do with my future lottery winnings.

It is easy to say that a pitcher can get reps at home after practice in the backyard with dad. Unfortunately that is not the reality. It is very hard to find an hour of quality time every day do get the job done. That is exactly why my DD who threw 60+ as a HS Freshman quit the team. We met with the coach and even though she was going to be the #1 the coach explained that she really did not have time for her to throw during practice. My DD knew what she needed to do so she sat out for a season. Next year, new coach she got the time and life was good.

 

[RAZORWEASEL]

It was not my intention to cause him any undue concern and apologize if that is the case. I also do not want to put words in his mouth but I am willing to bet that his daughters position on the HS team next season is probably not his top concern.

You are correct. If she isn't the #1 pitcher next year I'd be dumbfounded. But that will work itself out on its own. I don't want to lose 2 months of training.

 

[RAZORWEASEL]

I don't think we are going to PGF...the year ahead of us in our program is. I think we are going to ASA in San Diego. But the 1999 team went to PGF last year and finished in the top 10.

 

[RAZORWEASEL]

Reality is that NONE of our pitchers get time to throw during practice, the starting pitchers and catchers only worked together twice before our first game. Its kind of sad.

 

[RAZORWEASEL]

In the interest of an open and honest dialog let's not dismiss the information provided by the OP and for just a minute take the leap of faith that the OP has provided accurate information.

So we start with an 8th grade pitcher right at 60MPH for her fast and drop, decent screw, change and a very nice rise. Is this level of performance from an 8th grader beyond the realm of possibility? Granted it is not common but would be consistent with her playing for an elite TB organization. So for a minute let's assume that we have a gifted elite level athlete.

Those of you who have actually developed elite pitchers are painfully aware of the investment in time and money required to develop the skills described. Not to mention the gift of natural ability that is required. I am sure that even those removed from the art of pitching can appreciate this investment and what is at stake. So I have to ask why would anyone suggest that a gifted pitcher throw a month or so time to the wind to play a position that will not help them maintain and enhance the skills that they have worked so hard to develop? Is it too much to ask a High School program to provide an environment that permits an elite level player the opportunity to maintain the skills they have worked so hard to develop? It is one thing to ask a player to be flexible and play the position where they are needed for 3 months of HS ball. It is something totally different to ask an elite player to let their skills degrade and be thankful for the honor to participate. There is a reason that pitching and catching are referred to as skill positions. You simply do not take months at a time off.

Thank you...

 

[fastpitch]

Wow! A 99 team in top 10 at 14u PGF nationals last year? Pretty impressive. ASA should be fun in San Diego. Good luck!

 

[Country Boy]

Reality is that NONE of our pitchers get time to throw during practice, the starting pitchers and catchers only worked together twice before our first game. Its kind of sad.

Reality is that this is probably fairly normal wherever you are. I can't have 4 hr practices so I can't really give everything justice. My P's and C's are TB players so I expect them to do what they need to do to get in and stay in shape. We spend a lot of time on Team D and O during practice. Players are expected to work on Individual skills on their own. If they don't, well, no spot is guaranteed.

If anyone thinks they can be a top P without being internally driven to practice whenever and whereever they can, they're wrong. Rec Ball P's need time in Team practice to work on their craft. I have never met an elite P that didn't find/make all the time she needed to practice.

It would be easy for me to sit here and pass judgement on a coach that I don't know and say that he should have his P & C work together more than 2 times before the first game. That's why the internet is so popular. Anonymous bashing of people we don't know. But I don't know what challenges he faces, so why should I feel like I can criticize his decisions?

 

[riseball]

Reality is that this is probably fairly normal wherever you are. I can't have 4 hr practices so I can't really give everything justice. My P's and C's are TB players so I expect them to do what they need to do to get in and stay in shape. We spend a lot of time on Team D and O during practice. Players are expected to work on Individual skills on their own. If they don't, well, no spot is guaranteed.

If anyone thinks they can be a top P without being internally driven to practice whenever and whereever they can, they're wrong. Rec Ball P's need time in Team practice to work on their craft. I have never met an elite P that didn't find/make all the time she needed to practice.

It would be easy for me to sit here and pass judgement on a coach that I don't know and say that he should have his P & C work together more than 2 times before the first game. That's why the internet is so popular. Anonymous bashing of people we don't know. But I don't know what challenges he faces, so why should I feel like I can criticize his decisions?

I just have to ask. As a coach what is a higher priority than the ensuring the highest level of performance of your battery? I would think that would be first and foremost.

 

[Country Boy]

The simplest answer is the one you are looking for. But if I devote an inordinate amount of time to the battery, team fielding suffers. If I devote too much time to that, hitting suffers. Too much time to that and we're out of sync on the bases. Again, without 4 hr practices, I can't cover everything I would like to cover.

I have been blessed to have P's that don't need large amounts of Team Practice so that they can throw. They realize that if they want to be the best, they are going to have to work outside of Team Practice. It's no different than their school work. If they want to excel, they have to work outside the classroom. Probably not a bad life lesson. Plus, they find time for Pitching the rest of the year without my help. They work it around Basketball, Volleyball, Cheerleading, homework, FFA, etc. So why is it any harder to find the time during the season?

As far as not working much before the first game, I don't care much about the first game/ week. Nobody in the history of softball has won a championship during the first week of the season. The end of our season is the important time. In normal years, I only have about 12 practices before the first game. Half of that may be inside. That's roughly 24 hours. In that 24 hours, I have to figure out who is on the V roster, who can play IF or OF, who can bunt, who can't hit, can I teach a big stick to catch a ball at 1B?, etc. You may think it's sacrilege, but I don't work on rundowns till we are about a month into the year. It's a situation that doesn't happen very often. If it does in the first few games, well, either we'll look real bad or the players will figure it out based on experience. But I can't prioritize the time for rundowns during my first month of the season. But that's just me. I'm willing to hear the experts in the stand tell me everything I'm doing wrong. Notice I said hear, not listen.