I need some guidance - HS coach wants to change daughter from pitcher to catcher

[JAD]

There is a reason good coaches will not allow their top pitchers to play catcher...

 

[BobInMadison]

Thing is, an athletic girl can learn to be a good pitcher or a good catcher, sometimes both. IF THEY WANT TO.

It is all in the head. A pitcher has a certain mind set. A catcher has a certain mind set. I have seen girls with the wrong mind set, but with athletic skills, pitch or catch, and it's not always pretty. If your DD doesn't have the right mind set to be a catcher, that will make her miserable, and also increase the risk of injury.

Makes the decision easy.

 

[CoogansBluff]

Thing is, an athletic girl can learn to be a good pitcher or a good catcher, sometimes both. IF THEY WANT TO.

That's a key point, IMO. I don't think it is outrageous for a HS coach to consider his/her best athlete for the position of catcher (even if it's a pitcher) if there are no other catchers. I've seen it happen before (not a pitcher, but an athletic player challenged with suddenly having to catch for the first time with a pitcher who legitimately could hit 64 mph). But the key was that she was eager to do it and really worked at it at every practice. I don't think anybody was really worried about her getting hurt. Understandably, a D-1 pitching prospect is not likely to have that same enthusiasm or incentive for the job. You've got to have desire and motivation to be a catcher on short notice like that or something bad could happen.

 

[djcarter1966]

Just say no...she has never caught and HS varsity is not the time to "learn".

If she is going to pitch 75% plus of the time anyway I can't see why coach would care, unless there is another pitcher ahead of her and she is the #2 pitcher...in which case if she wants to play she need to find another poistion.

 

[sbdad03]

FWIW...our HS team has 5 pitchers (2 seniors, 1 junior, 1 sophomore, 1 freshmen). 4 of them are considered "starters." They rotate until the coach finds the hottest one and rides them till their not so hot. The coach said he wants her to catch when she is not pitching. We also have 4 catchers. None of them are outstanding, but I think they would be much better than my daughter who has never caught.

 

[Sparky Guy]

FWIW...our HS team has 5 pitchers (2 seniors, 1 junior, 1 sophomore, 1 freshmen). 4 of them are considered "starters." They rotate until the coach finds the hottest one and rides them till their not so hot. The coach said he wants her to catch when she is not pitching. We also have 4 catchers. None of them are outstanding, but I think they would be much better than my daughter who has never caught.

The coach is using his butt cheeks for earmuffs. If this was a travel team you'd be flying out of there without a second thought. The team has 4 catchers and the coach wants to add a 5th. Ummmm... Not a chance pal. He better find another way to get your DD's bat in the lineup when she's not pitching.

I can see nothing good coming from it for both your DD and the team. I see the drama starting already if she catches in front of the other 4 catchers.

How big of a roster does the coach carry? Is the HS team competitive?

 

[Momo'sDad]

Yes, she will play after high school. She has had a couple mid-major D-1 offers to pitch so far this summer.

IMO, there's no conversation here. This is not 10u. If that means riding the HS team bench because she won't catch, oh well. Getting paid to play in college has tremendously more value.

NOTE: My baseline position is to let players do what they want with THEIR softball careers, but in this case, since she already has offers in hand, that changes the conversation she and I are having.

 

[WARRIORMIKE]

I would say "No Bueno!!"

Ok move along, nothing to see here......

 

[softgabby]

I'll give some advice from my own experience. I made my high school's varsity team as a freshman and as a pitcher. I wasn't nearly as good at the position as the girls in front of me. Sure, if I really worked hard, I could be really good...as a senior. I had three other girls that were in front of me and I wasn't having college recruiters knocking down my door or other teams for that matter. But an opportunity came my way. I was asking for more playing time and our, at the time senior catcher, blew out her knee. I was asked if I would move from pitcher to catcher. I immediately accepted because I wanted to play more and I knew this was my opportunity to learn a new position. Do I still pitch? Yeah, from time to time I do. I'm not a great pitcher by any means. I have a decent fastball, changeup and curve. I also have a okay rise ball and a okay drop ball.

As for what I'd do in your situation. I'd decline the offer. Your daughter has the opportunity to go to college and have a free ride. I wouldn't mess that up by learning such an injury prone position. I just caught 4 games last weekend and I got pretty beat up behind the plate. I have a nice raspberry on my left biceps and another on my right thigh. I just wouldn't do it.