Parents of older pitchers, what do you know now that you wish you knew when it first started.

[Top_Notch]

DD currently plays 16U, but started pitching in travel at 8U. So we're down this road quite a ways.

We had no idea how much "more" being a pitcher means. Being a pitcher means it's more expensive, more time commitment, more practice, more pressure, and did I mention more expensive? I think pitchers (and their parents) should be subsidized.

 

[Tango]

IR, the amount of time someone other than our DD has to put in (catcher), always practice throwing hard, injury prevention, how to load equipment, that people think you are crazy, better team equals long weekends, and how much of a family commitment it has to be. 14U second year.

 

[Vertigo]

I wish I knew more about IR at the younger ages. From about ages 8-12 she was taught HE, embarrassingly by me from ages 8-10. I look back at photos of her pitching in the beginning and I can see IR but I felt it was wrong and had never heard of it before. Tried to force her to change. First PC also taught HE (DI head coach).

Luckily we found an extremely knowledgeable coach at age 13 who taught her IR and to really use her legs and core. Wish she had started with him at age 8!

She is 18U now.

 

[diamond14]

Echo Vertigo. DD started with an HE instructor. 2 yrs of bad habit formation ("push to open") that needed to be worked out. Found a great coach after that who supported ALL her goals, even now as softball is fading, coach takes active interest in her plans.
I have no regrets for extra time pitching required, but I think DD now may have made different choices for softball if she knew what the long game entailed.

 

[jsoftballcoach]

I wish I knew that all PCs are not the same. I didn't know what I was doing and thought any private lesson must be a good thing.

Made the change at 12u to a very well known PC who just happened to be pretty close by. Moved to the top tier of competition, now DD is a 2022 playing on a PGF premier level 18 Gold team.

Softball becomes a part of your life and while frustrating and expensive, I'm really going to miss it when it's over, so enjoy the ride.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[whiporee]

I wish she hadn't done it. In would have had a lot more fun at games if she'd played first or OF and just concentrated on hitting. But she loves it, so it's been a good thing.

Beyond that, like everyone, I wish we'd found a better coach early, one who stressed the fundamentals of release point and accuracy. DD has power, but she's never been consistent enough in the zone. So I wish I had been able to find someone who could really get her fundamentals down early, and then let her build from there.

And I wish I had found good drills to help her early instead of just bucket sitting. I wasn't nearly as much help to her as i could have been. Even stuff i learned late -- like underhand catch -- might have made a real difference if we'd started at 10 instead of 14. For the little amount of coaching she's had, she's probably much better than she ought to be.

 

[Hillhouse]

Reading threads like this are bitter sweet to me. Obviously it's a good thing that everyone found their way away from HE pitching and pitching coaches. But it's also sad that those coaches still exist.

When I started my instructional business about 20 years ago and got a website 2 years later, I used to have a monthly newsletter and web "blog" where I'd rant and rave of the "PCM" : Pitching Coach Mafia. I believe the PCM is a criminal organization and should be locked up under the federal RICO charges used against the Gambino family. They literally steal money from parents and rob children from their pitching dreams. Think of how many pitchers have ever played this game who were coached by HE people, don't you wonder how they'd have done without that crap? How many kids loved pitching and tried so hard but were crippled by a PCM coach who taught them things contrary to what most of know to be "right". I think it's incumbent of everyone to battle the PCM at every chance. Kind of like the slogan: If you see something, say something. As a parent, wouldn't you have wanted someone to put you on your path sooner?

Top_Notch, you're right about the commitment needed. But that can also be the best part. I consider my journey up into my career the most fun.

 

[ArmWhip]

It's shame, when you think of all the good, dedicated athletes who ended up having to play the field because they faithfully followed the directions of their clueless PC. In my area "the" pitching coach teaches HE. Her credentials, she pitched D1 15 years ago. But the word is getting around that there is a better way.

 

[MNDad]

DD currently plays 16U, but started pitching in travel at 8U. So we're down this road quite a ways.

We had no idea how much "more" being a pitcher means. Being a pitcher means it's more expensive, more time commitment, more practice, more pressure, and did I mention more expensive? I think pitchers (and their parents) should be subsidized.

Being a pitcher also means more rewards, more recognition, more credit for a team win and more scholarship money/opportunities.

I’m going to assume you’re kidding about being subsidized. If anything pitchers parents should reward the rest of the team every time they bail her out of a jam.

 

[Shiloh]

Best advice I ever got -

Find a pitching coach to teach you spin

Find another pitching coach to teach you speed

Each pitching coach has something to offer. Take it, build the relationship, have a great time, and then move on. No one will provide you with everything you need.

IR is a must but it is soooo hard to find someone who teaches it. We’ve attended PAC-12 camps where they encouraged HE

Use DFP liberally. The advice here is solid, and unlike the rest of your weekends, it’s free.

- #1 pitcher, 18U, super elite, inter-galactic, gold, all-universe team