Pitching for weak contact vs. strikeouts in 12u

[coach james]

stay low in the zone... throw at least 1 or 2 change ups to every single batter!

 

[uncdrew]

I think the coach is on the right track, but used the wrong words.

"Girls, let's make quality pitches and get outs. Go have fun!"

 

[Silver 2200]

Sounds like the Coach is doing a great job managing parental expectations. You're moving from a lower weight 11 inch ball pitched from 35' to a heavier 12 inch ball pitched from 40'. That means lots more time for hitters to watch the ball coming and make contact which means lots less strikeouts.

Parents used to pitchers striking out 9-10 girls per game throwing fast balls will suddenly see those pitches hit to the fence. Pitchers throwing lots of speed changes and differing locations will generate lots of crappy contact hits which turn into weak grounders and easy pop ups. That's what happens when switching from 10U to 12U.

I like what the Coach is saying. It's all about managing expectations. The defense knows they will have to play harder to get all the grounders and the pitchers know they don't have to do everything themselves. Also, the season has barely begun so give it all some time before jumping to any conclusions.

Great post with good advice. ^^^^^^

To the OP. This is a first year 12u team, you need to understand that it will be a rough season for 90% of the 11u teams if they are playing 12u tournaments.

Your post make you seem like you are that parent that is going to second guess every decision made by the coach. My advice is; don't be that parent. Relax.

If your daughter is not throwing at least 54 + mph with a great change, plan on a lot of balls being put in play in quality A level tournaments?

 

[MadBandit22]

My Daughter is first season 12u and was recruited to pitch on a new team, the HC told the parents his strategy was for the pitchers to pitch for weak contact vs. Ks. From what I’ve seen of the defense, I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. They are an A level team but 1st year 12u. I’m concerned if DD following this instruction she will walk players or errors will be made in the field and she will be come frustrated.

Why not let her decide if she should try to strike out the batter vs. trying to get them to hit the ball? I’m wondering if he is trying to get the defense more opportunities to field outs? Or keep pitch counts lower assuming they hit the ball sooner rather than later since sometimes it take 6-8 pitches to strike out a good batter,

I also think if this is the strategy, they should do a lot of situational stuff with live pitching to batters in practice to figure this out.

Thoughts on this strategy?

I can’t find any info about it.

A pitchers goal should always be to get swing and misses. Soft contact is secondary goal. Hard contact is what your trying to avoid.
The idea is to keep hitters off balance/guessing and to have the ball avoid the bat.
The pitcher has a distinct advantage especially when ahead in counts because she knows what pitch she is throwing and where she wants to throw it. The hitter has no idea what is coming especially early in counts.
Now when the pitcher falls behind in counts all bets are off because they have to come to the hitter with something good or risk a walk if they don’t.
There is definitely an element of luck and guessing for a batter. Good pitchers make hitters look silly when they are on their game. Should have many swing and misses and soft contact to be successful pitching at any level.

 

[badmonkey]

"I became a good pitcher when I stopped trying to make them miss the ball and started trying to make them hit it."

Sandy Koufax

 

[MadBandit22]

My Daughter is first season 12u and was recruited to pitch on a new team, the HC told the parents his strategy was for the pitchers to pitch for weak contact vs. Ks. From what I’ve seen of the defense, I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. They are an A level team but 1st year 12u. I’m concerned if DD following this instruction she will walk players or errors will be made in the field and she will be come frustrated.

Why not let her decide if she should try to strike out the batter vs. trying to get them to hit the ball? I’m wondering if he is trying to get the defense more opportunities to field outs? Or keep pitch counts lower assuming they hit the ball sooner rather than later since sometimes it take 6-8 pitches to strike out a good batter,

I also think if this is the strategy, they should do a lot of situational stuff with live pitching to batters in practice to figure this out.

Thoughts on this strategy?

I can’t find any info about it.

At younger ages a term that is used often is pitch to contact. With young pitchers who struggle to throw strikes you want them to keep the ball around the plate.
Theory being contact gives your fielders a chance to make a play and get outs. The alternative is a walk fest that doesn’t benefit anybody but the other team. You always want to make the other team earn everything they get don’t give them anything. Walks are a gift in most cases.

 

[MadBandit22]

"I became a good pitcher when I stopped trying to make them miss the ball and started trying to make them hit it."

Sandy Koufax

This means he was trying to get them to chase pitches. Easy to do when your ahead in the count.

 

[justAdad2]

My DD is a pitcher for 14u A tournement team 1st year and played 12U A for 2 years, her approach to batters hasn't changed throw pitches batters swing at and throw strikes when she has too. some of her best innings is when she threw 3 to 4 pitches.

 

[badmonkey]

This means he was trying to get them to chase pitches. Easy to do when your ahead in the count.

"The only time I really try for a strikeout is when I'm in a jam. If the bases are loaded with none out, for example, then I'll go for a strikeout. But most of the time I try to throw to spots. I try to get them to pop up or ground out. On a strikeout I might have to throw five or six pitches, sometimes more if there are foul-offs. That tires me. So I just try to get outs. That's what counts - outs. You win with outs, not strikeouts."

Sandy Koufax

 

[uncdrew]

At younger ages a term that is used often is pitch to contact. With young pitchers who struggle to throw strikes you want them to keep the ball around the plate.
Theory being contact gives your fielders a chance to make a play and get outs. The alternative is a walk fest that doesn’t benefit anybody but the other team. You always want to make the other team earn everything they get don’t give them anything. Walks are a gift in most cases.

Amen to this.

With our 10U pitchers, our team has 2 kinds. First, hit your corners, change speeds, rack up the Ks.

Second group: just try to throw it over the plate.