Phantasmagorical

[Amy in AZ.]

OK. He's a blogger. Google his name.

 

[sluggers]

A "troll" on discussion boards means a person who is fishing (i.e., "trolling") for people to respond to his/her post. The bait consists of some inflammatory statement or controversial statement.

 

[SoftSocDad]

sorry I don't call throwing as hard as you can a pitcher,if you hit every thing but the catchers glove you are a thrower,not a pitcher,my dd at 10yro threw her first no hitter and shut out,was she as fast as other girls? No,but she had control,at the time went to states in LL.I will take control over speed anyday,seen those fireballs to much,walk in runs ,throw it over the backstop hit the icecream truck in the parking lot,at least with a control pitcher you have a chance to use your fielders.She has already been successful in TB at u-12,the other girl on are team is a thrower and we lose alot with her pitching,and by the way now dd has speed and control.

That's good to hear, and it's possible that your DD is one of the exceptions to the general rule. In 8u and 10u rec, there are plenty of parents and coaches who want someone simply to get the ball across the plate, but over time, those same players end up fading away during the 12u and 14u years, because they don't have any speed. It's not true in every case and as you have described, some can go in the opposite direction. But most of the players who end up playing at a very high level usually start out with more physical gifts than those who do not. That's the reason why most of your better TB coaches will say they'd rather have a wild fireballer to develop than an accurate soft-tosser who records 10 K's in every 10u rec game.

 

[nanotech14]

But most of the players who end up playing at a very high level usually start out with more physical gifts than those who do not. That's the reason why most of your better TB coaches will say they'd rather have a wild fireballer to develop than an accurate soft-tosser who records 10 K's in every 10u rec game.

I have to ask this?What are the physical gifts that you are talking about,I guess this is a thing that bothers me the most,I have dealt with people that think that way.My dd has played against girls that have been put on this throne that they are better than her by the local TB team.These girls play rec. and TB,just like my dd.Now for 4 years dd has just out played these so called superstars,my dd now plays on another TB team in a different town and to this day she just keeps destroying these little gifted atheletes.My dd is a slow runner,and doesn't pitch as fast as some of them and yet she keeps beating them,she would probably to you have no physical gifts.It just p*ss me off about people that think that way,by the way dd is batting like a 850 avg. in TB and rec. of all these physically gifted,don't judge a book by its cover is what I go by.

 

[CoachKevin]

nanotech, I somewhat agree with you. I have 3 pitchers, two of them are in the slow category and one that can throw heat. The two slow pitchers are actually more successful because they can hit their spots at will, whereas the "flamethrower" averages at least 2 walks per inning.

The thing is, you can't teach 60. They either have that ability, or they don't. Does that make the slower pitchers any less successful? No, just different. Can I have my slower pitchers throw inside? Not often because it gets crushed. The thing that drives me crazy, and in fact, I had a talk with the hard thrower last night about it, is her lack of work ethic. She has the "gift" of being able to throw in the high 50's/low 60's, but she doesn't throw on her own outside of practice. I told her about the phrase "hard work beats talent, when talent doesn't work hard", and said that was her in a nutshell.

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

The thing is, you can't teach 60. They either have that ability, or they don't.

I don't know why its not possible to teach 60 with proper instruction, mechanics, and work ethic. Ueno is not the largest pitcher in the world (5' 8"?) and yet she is able to generate a tremendous amount of speed on her pitch (70+) because she uses her body in an efficient and explosive manner.

I agree with nanotech that the whole idea of a "gifted" athlete is largely a myth because the game is so complex no one factor (hard work, purposeful practice, top notch instruction, level of competition, drive, technique, game smarts, etc.) accounts for the "success" of the player.

 

[CoachKevin]

Yeah, and my DD is 5'5 / 98 lbs (Freshman/so), and no amount of instruction will make her throw 60, but she has a great gravity ball... you know, the "movement" pitches that are not produced by spin, but by gravity..... lol

 

[3sDad]

Come on gang...Theyre 10...My DD grew from about 4ft 10 to 5ft 8 from 10yrs-14yrs old...let them learn, learn correct technique, FUNDAMENTALS and let'em have fun!!!!...and dont be in a hurry to see them grow up...it's coming way to fast as it is...bet anybody could hit Cat Osterman when she was 10;-)

 

[PEPPERS]

I was at a talk given by Lisa Fernandez, few years ago she advised the first game she pitched she walked 18 batters and hit number of them. On the way home her mother told her next game you will walk 17, next game 16 until you don’t walk any. You will work hard to get better and become a better pitcher. She told us when she practiced she looked for the worst mound conditions and worst ball to throw, harder in practice easier in a game. She said, she never forgot this little talk and remembered it often during her softball career.

If pitching was easy every kid would be lining up to pitch, but it isn’t it takes work and dedication. Strikes will come with experience and hard work.

 

[sluggers]

People who achieve great things must be willing to fail.