lack of control

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Feb 4, 2009
112
18
Believe me - I took her to a baseball academy and had her gunned with a real gun - its true!!!!!! Plus, everyone tells me she throws that hard, it must be true!!!!

Seriously though - it still doesn't matter if every good hitter 12U taps her up....

I was just messing with you. It seemed like the perfect response to your post for some reason.
 
Mar 19, 2009
56
0
Believe me - I took her to a baseball academy and had her gunned with a real gun - its true!!!!!! Plus, everyone tells me she throws that hard, it must be true!!!!

Seriously though - it still doesn't matter if every good hitter 12U taps her up....


Did you take her to planet fastpitch maybe?

Planet Fastpitch 60 & 70 MPH Speed Club

This shows 25 girls over 60mph for one facility in Massachusetts. I would guess that their gun was a little off.

It has been my experience that you can subtract about 5mph from what every pitchers dad tells you. 56-58 mph in 12u is REALLY bringing it, and there are very few good hitters going to get around on it, let alone tap her up. I hear dads all of the time say their DD is throwing over 60 with 5 pitches, but they set on their bucket at 40 feet and never flinch as they catch her.

Even if she is in low to mid 50's at this age, she has great possibility of reaching 60 by 16. As much as you hear 60, it is still the plateau to be strived for, the actual percentage of girls that consistantly throw their pitches above it are the exception instead of the norm.
 
Jun 2, 2008
62
0
Flamethrower ... I knew that, guess my sarcasm didn't come through. I was refering to a previous post about how some people always question the validity of speeds claimed on here. It's all relative and only serves to illustrate that the girl throws hard - 55, 59 - it doesn't matter - she obviously throws harder than most other pitchers her age. That's all.

I did pick up on your sarcasm though ......
 
Jun 2, 2008
62
0
60 by 16!!! ... if she isn't throwing 60 by 14, I'm firing the pitching coach, moving to Mass, and joining Planet Fastpitch...
 
Jul 17, 2008
488
0
Southern California
Personal experience tells me that 60 + is the exception not the norm.
My DD goes to a pitching coach in Orange County CA.
Been going there for over a year and there is radar mounted in the cage with a speed readout above the catcher facing the pitcher.
Everyone can see it.
We're at this pitching-hitting facility 2-4 days a week and I've observed many pitchers working in the cage with this pitching coach.
In a year and a half, I've seen maybe 3 girls hit above 59 mph at any age level. And only one girl hit above 60 consistently.
Most of the pitchers that are age 13-16 seem to cruise around 56 mph.
I have no idea how accurate this radar gun is but that's what I've observed.
 
Feb 8, 2009
272
18
Many girls are still experiencing control problems after a year and a half. Regarding a loss of speed :I've seen girls lose more than 5 mph from warmup to the game. We all handle stress differently. Keep working and find ways for her to relax. The more she is exposed to those stressful game situations, the more at ease she will become.
 
May 8, 2009
174
18
Florida
Interesting how speed issues always take over pitching discussions. In the OP, the pitcher had control problems. Yet in a 1 1/2 yrs of lessons the pitching coach is working on screwballs and curves. Doesn't sound like she has mastered the mechanics of the fastball yet. I would find a new coach. It doesn't make sense to learrn a new release until you have mastery of the prior ones.
 

Ken Krause

Administrator
Admin
May 7, 2008
3,911
113
Mundelein, IL
One other thing to keep in mind when looking at control issues: coordination develops from the core, and works its way out to the extremities. So if she had a big growth spurt, her coordination may not have caught up with her yet -- at least under stress.

When players are tired or stressed, they tend to revert back to the most comfortable mechanics. Those may not be the right ones.

I do agree that the drop curve and screwball don't seem to be the right pitches for her right now. Focus on fastball (or peel drop if you go that way) and change until they're more reliable in games.
 

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