Pitching Parent Hypothetical

[BT3100]

There is no question that more circle time is better for a younger pitcher. Even at 12U. We chose to be on a 12U "B" team as the #2 (that was the offer) as opposed to a spot as a #4 arm on the best 12U "A" in the area. That team is now 23-1. DD would not have pitched much at all on that team. She is clearly the #1 on her team now. "B" team so games are lost due to errors but in my opinion she has gained more this season by pitching inning after inning.

 

[Cannonball]

At 10U, my dd pitched for a local rec team turned TB. It was brutal at times if the other team hit her. I think the most errors in one inning behind her on defense was 8. That was hard to take. Still, to be honest, she sure threw a lot of innings in the circle. That team had "3 pitchers" and so, they rotated but, to be honest, my dd ended up pitching at some point in just about every game. She went from "wild thing" to someone who could sit back and blow it in there. When they became 12U, dd was then playing for that team and a 14U Team. She threw as the #1 on the 12U and #2 on the 14U. The 14U team was exceptionally good. It didn't take long for her to be #1 on the 14U and she left the 12U team.

 

[Classof2020]

We have tried both path ourselves. Started out as #2 on a 12u B/C team and was able to get a LOT of games as new pitcher right out of the chute. Then moved to an A for 2nd year of 12's for the solid coaching and better competition. Spent a year learning a ton and working her butt off but had very very little circle time and not much more time in the field or at the plate to put anything into practice. Moved back to a B team for first year 14U and is the #1. Has been so good to get to use all that she learned last year, and build her confidence after sitting so much. Hard to know how much better her pitching might be if she'd thrown all last year, but she really needed to learn all the other game skills that she was lacking (we did try to keep up on it on your own, but if you've played A ball you know that between 3 team practices a week and tourney's almost every weekend we didn't get nearly as much pitching in as we would have liked).

Here is what I would have you consider before you move down for more circle time though - The hardest part of being back in B ball is being the most committed/competitive/driven person on the team - more so then all the coaches even. When they cancel practice due to drizzle her and I head out of an hour and a half on our own. Her and I have been in a mostly dark gym throwing for pitcher/catcher practice when no one else shows up and we didn't have the keys to turn the lights on (this is true not an exaggeration). She will be on time standing there with her cleats on ball in hand with no one to throw with for practice when people finally show up and don't have their gear ready and are just yucking it up. She has had to throw 4 or 5 outs in an inning because we've had 18 errors in a game. She has had to throw to the coaches kid as catcher who is supposed to be calling her own pitches and basically just picks whichever pitch she thinks might be fun next and can't stop a simple drop ball that isn't even in the dirt. Having the extent of hitting practice be girls throwing soft toss to each other with no correction of their bad form. Watching girls get called out because they are princesses and won't get down and slide and nobody will tell them otherwise.

Don't get me wrong getting all the circle time you want to work on your pitches against live batters has been awesome and we are trying to be grateful for that piece of it. Not having a coach who knows nothing about pitching trying to micromanage your form has been refreshing. Batting second has been fun after batting once a game last year. Playing at second and SS has been cool when you're not in the circle. Playing the game can be fun. But if you take this path your girl better be self motivated or like going to good camps and working out with you a lot on her own or her overall skills and level of play may shrivel up and die.

 

[TMoney]

I wanted my DD to get as many innings as possible, against the best competition possible. This meant accepting a lot of losses along the way, but she is better for it today. There is nothing she hasn't seen or had to deal with.

 

[FastPitchCat]

DD's team isn't the best, but she does get the innings. Yes, the defense makes errors and my better half's response to that was? become a strike out pitcher.
Get the mound time.

 

[MightyMO]

Great responses from everyone.

One thing that was brought up here that wasn't a part of our original conversation was the level of competition the pitcher faces. I think it's a great point that facing better quality batters is very important. For instance dropping to a "C" level team just to get innings doesn't help if you are just throwing it by everyone.

My personal outlook has always been be on the best team you can and still be one of the top 3 pitchers. If a team is handled right there are more than enough innings for 3 pitchers every weekend.

 

[Top_Notch]

At a young age, it's all about circle time. I noticed my daughter progressed more than other players because for every pitch she had to catch a return throw too. That practice has really added up and now when DD is not pitching she will catch everything in her vicinity @ first base. I guess we are lucky because even though we play for a 'B' level organization, our one team has beat 'A' level and will play up, even though we take some good lickings. Once a year we will play up to a 'C' level and dominate...the girls have to have win something to keep a positive attitude. My daughter plays to win and luckily our coaches are the same way.

 

[MNDad]

Just out of curiosity, what did the "good coach" do to help your DD? My DD's pitching coach is the one who teaks her mechanics. The HC of her TB team has little to no influence on her other than deciding when to put her in the circle.

We found a program that offered pitching instruction and didn't have parent coaches. It cost a little more and was on the other side of town, but the experience and what she got out of it was priceless.