# of pitches

[littlereddeer1]

I am new to this so please try not to slam me too much.

My daughter is a 10u pitcher. She is very good at locating her spots with the fastball. She just changed pitching coaches and he changed the way she throws her change-up, so she is still struggling with location, speed and disguising it. The previous pitching coach taught her the screwball and the new one is in the process of teaching her the curve and the drop. I am not saying that she can throw any of these on a consistent basis. I understand that even if she throws them correctly they don't move much becuse she doesn't have the speed. But is there any harm in teaching her the mechanics of these pitches?

She is not the fastest pitcher, but she averages 1 walk every 2 games and has only hit 4 batters this year. She does not have the most k's. She has picked up speed with the new coach.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I don't know why pitching coaches want to push a 10 yo, so quickly. There is SO much to teach about the fast ball, that I don't even consider teaching them anything else, besides a good CU. 10 yo batters can't hit anyway. Why the rush on adding pitches?

A 10yo has a lot to deal with and I would be waiting until I can move her to 40 feet and a 12 inch ball, before I worry about additional pitches.

 

[EP Dad]

I don't think there's anything wrong with it. But, it's going to depend. Some coaches want you to master everything before you learn something new so they only let you throw fastballs and change-ups. Some think that age or even 12U can't throw any of that other stuff anyway so what's the point? Some think their DD's can throw 60 at 12 and have 7 different pieces.


It's a mosaic.

My DD has some of the same issues with the change-up. I think it's probably the hardest pitch to learn. There are a lot of different potential grips and methods. So, she did start to learn some "other stuff" since she had pretty much mastered the new pitching motion and could throw strikes with her eyes closed.

I personally think that even if those pitches don't move much if you can throw them for strikes and it changes the speed at all they can be quite effective but I feel I'm in the minority on that one. Also, I seem to be finding out that the team coaches don't really like the girls that go to pitching coaches very much. I suppose they appreciate that they can pitch but they want control when the team starts practice.

 

[Jojo]

At 10u, I'd have her just working on her mechanics and getting that change-up good and confident with it.
She's not going to need a screwball, curve and drop.
Why waste time learning these pitches when she needs to spend that time working on her change-up.

If it's a rainy day and she cannot go practice she could play around a little with the drop spin.

 

[littlereddeer1]

I think My DD problem is she doesn't understand what it is. We tell her it is to set up the fastball and that she needs to disguise it. She has gotten alot better at disguising it but he has to have her take fingers off to slow it down. Someday I will pound it in to her enough that she will finally figure it out.

 

[shockcoach]

I have a difficult time wrapping my head around a 10U throwing a screwball. I was pleased as all getout when I had a 10U with a change up. When they do learn movement, vertical is the way to go. Forget the horizontal movement.

 

[BB875]

I don't know why pitching coaches want to push a 10 yo, so quickly. There is SO much to teach about the fast ball, that I don't even consider teaching them anything else, besides a good CU. 10 yo batters can't hit anyway. Why the rush on adding pitches?

A 10yo has a lot to deal with and I would be waiting until I can move her to 40 feet and a 12 inch ball, before I worry about additional pitches.

Amen, Amy.

IMHO, the best 10U pitchers throw a nice fastball, hit spots pretty well (not great) & work the change in a lot. I think those 3 things are plenty to keep a pitcher that age busy in practice. Also, with success comes confidence and fun. If the kid is having fun, she will work harder. If she walks 15 batters a game, the "fun meter" drops off and so does the desire to pitch.

Plus, I agree with Amy 10U hitters are not that good anyway.

 

[EP Dad]

I have a difficult time wrapping my head around a 10U throwing a screwball. I was pleased as all getout when I had a 10U with a change up. When they do learn movement, vertical is the way to go. Forget the horizontal movement.

My DD didn't learn any of that stuff until now, 12U. But, it was used to do two things, 1. Spice up pitching practice, 2. Give her something else to think about. Throwing Fastballs and Change-Ups all the time for an hour with a 12-year old it can get boring for them. You give them something else to work on that's a little exciting and their interest peaks and they work that much harder.

A drop spin is really in many ways just a different wrist snap then a fastball. The screwball is easy to learn as well with the right coach. I just wish she had an easy time with the flip change, but that one there's some sort of mental block going on.