Pitching Rules Change

[BobInMadison]

Our team has only one bracket pitcher right now. We have no big name so we're going to have to look for talent and commitment and take some hits to develop her. I like it that way, to be honest. The ace pitchers often come with baggage (parental at our age level), and there's something really awesome about building something from the ground up. Last fall there was a first year 10U team with zero experienced pitching (this is the team my DD joined in the spring). They got killed all fall but they kept trucking and that same pitcher this fall is about a zillion times better. She was always fast but very wild. They took all those losses with her in the circle though, and all that experience plus her and her parents' commitment and she's gotten to be a great pitcher. I love it. I have a soft spot for developmental teams.

It is interesting to see what can happen with the developmental teams.

DD 3 was on a C level team for a few summers, and by the end they were beating some of the stronger B teams in the state on a good day. (On a bad day they were getting killed by errors).

When DD 3 started, she was the hardest throwing girl on the team, but there were about 3 or 4 other girls who were more consistent pitchers.

These days DD 3 is the only one of those girls who still pitches, and none of the original pitchers are still on the team. Instead they are developing some new pitchers.

 

[OK04dad]

First of all, for the OP I wouldn't be so quick to give up starting a team due to no pitchers. Who knows, there may be a #2 or #3 pitcher out there on another team who is wanting more circle time or wanting to play for a team with a change of pace?

I agree with the others have said regarding the underhand pitching. Also, if softball went to overhand, then more pitchers are required because of necessary pitching limits.

 

[JAD]

If you go to overhand pitching you are going to risk serious arm injury with the larger/heavier ball. They would also need to do pitch/inning limits similar to LLBB.

 

[nicelag]

Kind of like modern day society. If it's hard let's not work harder to get better, let's just change the rules to make it easier. I think we've done enough of that already.

The reason a lot of girls don't pitch is because it's hard and takes a lot of practice. We should however be thankful that all girls don't pitch because with the time it takes to become proficient, infield, outfield and hitting skills would diminish significantly as most girls would not want to put in the effort in these areas after pitching 4+ days per week. That's one reason why most players become pitchers only as they get older. By the time you put in pitching time then add fielding time, hitting, practice and games they would be on the field 7 days a week. My 2 cents

 

[grcsftbll]

Kind of like modern day society. If it's hard let's not work harder to get better, let's just change the rules to make it easier. I think we've done enough of that already.

The reason a lot of girls don't pitch is because it's hard and takes a lot of practice. We should however be thankful that all girls don't pitch because with the time it takes to become proficient, infield, outfield and hitting skills would diminish significantly as most girls would not want to put in the effort in these areas after pitching 4+ days per week. That's one reason why most players become pitchers only as they get older. By the time you put in pitching time then add fielding time, hitting, practice and games they would be on the field 7 days a week. My 2 cents

I think about this a lot. I love watching DD at short stop. She's a brick wall, it's awesome. I love watching her pitch, too. And I know that realistically, in another couple of years it's going to be one or the other. Kinda sad to think about.

 

[Greenmonsters]

I think about this a lot. I love watching DD at short stop. She's a brick wall, it's awesome. I love watching her pitch, too. And I know that realistically, in another couple of years it's going to be one or the other. Kinda sad to think about.

Realistically? Perhaps, if you're talking only D1 top 25 or 50 programs. But is that even realistic?

IMO a kid doesn't have to choose until their ability-earned playing time doesn't meet their personal goals. FWIW, many D3 pitchers also hit and/or play the field.

 

[JAD]

I think about this a lot. I love watching DD at short stop. She's a brick wall, it's awesome. I love watching her pitch, too. And I know that realistically, in another couple of years it's going to be one or the other. Kinda sad to think about.

Your DD does not necessarily have to be a pitch-n-sit, but as [MENTION=8357]nicelag[/MENTION] pointed out, pitching takes a lot of time and effort. Therefore, most players who do both are natural athletes who can field a position and hitting comes naturally. Also, if your DD becomes an ACE pitcher on a highly competitive team, most coaches want to protect their ACE from getting hurt playing the field or hitting, unless she is heads and shoulders better than other fielders and hitters on the team.

 

[grcsftbll]

At 10 she has no idea what D1 means or even if she wants to play in college. I mean, she thinks she does, but there's a whole lot of time between now and then. She wants to go to Kennesaw State because she can live at home, and because it's the first college game we ever went to. She was 7 then, and went with her 8U travel team. Our girls hung around outside the locker room after the game to get autographs. Apparently that doesn't happen a whole lot, the players seemed surprised, and mostly delighted. They hung out for like half an hour chatting with the girls and signing things. It made quite an impression on my DD who still says KSU is her favorite team even after getting to play on the GA State field (for a fundraiser) twice. And meeting Cat Osterman the second time.

Man. I wish I'd liked sports as a kid. She's got quite a cool life!

 

[mikfish711]

We were what you would call a "developmental travel team" in spring of 2016. What a learning experience that was! We also did not have any real experienced pitchers, just a couple of girls that were taking once a week lessons. Our starting pitcher changed multiple times throughout the season and yes, we got our tails handed to us a number of times. Here's the positive, we got better every week. By mid season we had figured out who our pitchers were and started to win some bracket games. I am truly grateful for that season and coaches and players that made it happen. Most of our girls are still playing together today and the bond they have is something special. I think its a great idea to have a developmental start up team, no real expectations from parents or coaches and the girls learn more just from the caliber of play than they would get otherwise.

 

[grcsftbll]

We were what you would call a "developmental travel team" in spring of 2016. What a learning experience that was! We also did not have any real experienced pitchers, just a couple of girls that were taking once a week lessons. Our starting pitcher changed multiple times throughout the season and yes, we got our tails handed to us a number of times. Here's the positive, we got better every week. By mid season we had figured out who our pitchers were and started to win some bracket games. I am truly grateful for that season and coaches and players that made it happen. Most of our girls are still playing together today and the bond they have is something special. I think its a great idea to have a developmental start up team, no real expectations from parents or coaches and the girls learn more just from the caliber of play than they would get otherwise.

I really think a developmental team can be an incredible bonding experience for the girls and the parents, when there's good coaching.