Sharing this because I'm proud of my daughter and because some of you may be experiencing the same thing....
My DD was a beast in in the circle at 10U- when most hitters lack the eye/hand coordination to make good (or any) contact... but then she grew 4 inches, lost her coordination, control and confidence so when we moved up to 12U (early, in the fall), she felt she had to slow down to get her control back and if she wasn't walking everyone, she was hit like a punching bag... things started to come around toward the end of fall and she was regaining her confidence. We went to a few clinics over the winter and got a pitching coach for her (a student/athlete at a local DIII school who was paid only because I insisted she take my money for her time).
Now, in our first spring season of 12U, she is a coordinated, confident 11 year old pitcher throwing more strikes than balls; she isn't extraordinary (yet
) - consistently throwing 40-43 Mph, her change is 30-ish Mph (and most of the time, it doesn't hit in front of the plate) ... but she loves working at this and it shows in her results.
I share this because "Dad, you think I can try to pitch?" when she was 7 years old...
Became "Can we stay after practice so I can pitch some more?" when she was 9 -
And at 11, I know she has found her passion-
I don't know what life will be like in two more years but I have a feeling she's not giving this up any time soon. I'm just along for the ride and if she were to call it quits tomorrow, we already have some great memories.
Incidentally- her pitching coach is 17-0 on a nationally ranked team in her senior season of DIII.
My DD was a beast in in the circle at 10U- when most hitters lack the eye/hand coordination to make good (or any) contact... but then she grew 4 inches, lost her coordination, control and confidence so when we moved up to 12U (early, in the fall), she felt she had to slow down to get her control back and if she wasn't walking everyone, she was hit like a punching bag... things started to come around toward the end of fall and she was regaining her confidence. We went to a few clinics over the winter and got a pitching coach for her (a student/athlete at a local DIII school who was paid only because I insisted she take my money for her time).
Now, in our first spring season of 12U, she is a coordinated, confident 11 year old pitcher throwing more strikes than balls; she isn't extraordinary (yet
) - consistently throwing 40-43 Mph, her change is 30-ish Mph (and most of the time, it doesn't hit in front of the plate) ... but she loves working at this and it shows in her results. I share this because "Dad, you think I can try to pitch?" when she was 7 years old...
Became "Can we stay after practice so I can pitch some more?" when she was 9 -
And at 11, I know she has found her passion-
I don't know what life will be like in two more years but I have a feeling she's not giving this up any time soon. I'm just along for the ride and if she were to call it quits tomorrow, we already have some great memories.
Incidentally- her pitching coach is 17-0 on a nationally ranked team in her senior season of DIII.
