Pitching for weak contact vs. strikeouts in 12u

[spleen1015]

I think you are thinking about it too much.

Just focus on making your DD a better pitcher and everything will be fine. If she goes out there and gets outs, he's not going to care what kind of outs they are.

 

[uncdrew]

The coach has a daughter who pitches in college. I trust he knows what he is talking about, I’m just not sure she will be able to throw pitches someone else tells her to do. I don’t really know if she has that ability yet. I don’t know if she’s ever been told what pitch to throw or if she just threw what she wanted in previous seasons. It will be a change...especially if he calls a,pitch and she doesn’t do it. Or throws something else by mistake or throws wild,because she didn’t set up properly. Or does this thing with her glove to change her grip that gets called by the ump as an out.

Hopefully she figures out this new style of pitching and helps win games I’ve noticed she pitches better when this new coach is working with her. It’s pretty amazing, I hope she does well this weekend. Will be fun to see how she does with being told what pitches to throw.

Wow. We call pitches for our 9 year olds.

 

[Softballmom2008]

So 12u is when they stat hitting spots? What about the catcher? Will she be prepared to catch in different locations? I’d assume catchers need a lot of help with this too.

 

[ang2bmd]

So 12u is when they stat hitting spots? What about the catcher? Will she be prepared to catch in different locations? I’d assume catchers need a lot of help with this too.

Your catcher will be relaying and or paying attention to the call as well so she will know what's coming and what to do. It's a lot to learn but they can do it

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[uncdrew]

So 12u is when they stat hitting spots? What about the catcher? Will she be prepared to catch in different locations? I’d assume catchers need a lot of help with this too.

Yes, they do. But it's not too hard (for the catcher).

We have 4 pitchers. The top two can hit their spots and we call inside, outside and fastball or change.

The other two pitchers we ask for down the middle and sometimes we get inside, sometimes we get outside. Sometimes we get down the middle.

 

[sluggers]

Telling a pitcher to hit a spot without letting her know the result she is trying to achieve is an excellent way to end up with a frustrated pitcher. My daughter is going to 12U and will be pitching for the first time since rec. I've explained that the goal is to get the hitters to hit the ball so we can get them out. In rec the goal was to strike out batters. If she went out there with expectations of striking out 11 per game, she'd be disappointed with a shutout with one K, averaging 10 pitches/inning. Of course it all begins with hitting spots, but the players must know what they are attempting to achieve.

So, your DD didn't know the pitcher's job was to get people out?

The pitcher is throwing the ball, she has to be completely focused on making the best pitch of her life. She shouldn't be thinking about the batter hitting the ball or missing the ball.

She has no control over the batter. She can make a great pitch, and sometimes batters will knock it out of the park. Other times, she will make a terrible pitch and the batter will miss it.

A pitcher/catcher/coach determines the location and type of a pitch bases upon a lot of different factors. Once the decision is made about the location and type of pitch, the pitcher throws the ball the best she can. For her to be thinking about anything else is counterproductive.

 

[sluggers]

"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

Just so, I understand this completely:

A guy that led the league in strikeouts per inning for six of the twelve years he played, and led the league in strikeouts for four of the twelve years he played was actually trying to "let the batters hit the ball"?

Oh, sure.

And, I've got this really great bridge I can sell you cheap...

 

[flogzilla]

Just so, I understand this completely:

A guy that led the league in strikeouts per inning for six of the twelve years he played, and led the league in strikeouts for four of the twelve years he played was actually trying to "let the batters hit the ball"?

Oh, sure.

And, I've got this really great bridge I can sell you cheap...

He never said he was trying to "let" them hit it. In an interview he stated that he use to try to throw every pitch harder than the one before. Once he started trying to be more in control, he was throwing pitches that were strikes.. he was just so good that they didn't hit very many of his strikes.

 

[badmonkey]

So, your DD didn't know the pitcher's job was to get people out?

The pitcher is throwing the ball, she has to be completely focused on making the best pitch of her life. She shouldn't be thinking about the batter hitting the ball or missing the ball.

She has no control over the batter. She can make a great pitch, and sometimes batters will knock it out of the park. Other times, she will make a terrible pitch and the batter will miss it.

A pitcher/catcher/coach determines the location and type of a pitch bases upon a lot of different factors. Once the decision is made about the location and type of pitch, the pitcher throws the ball the best she can. For her to be thinking about anything else is counterproductive.

Have you ever seen, talked to, coached, etc, a 10 year old girl?

 

[sluggers]

Have you ever seen, talked to, coached, etc, a 10 year old girl?

For softball? Probably coached 150 to 200. I had 3 DDs...so I would have coached about 8 or so seasons of rec ball. Then, add the 12U team, which had some 10YOA kids on it. And, there would be a sprinkling of camps and practices as well.

If you include basketball, baseball, soccer, softball and various camps, my guess is that I have coached 300 or so.