Should I say anything?

[LostinNJ]

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[Eric F]

Do you want the catcher going to the coach and telling them that your DD, the pitcher, is missing all her spots or not throwing what's called or whatever. Players should police themselves amongst each other to hustle more or get their head in the game don't go tattle to the coach.

Yes! If the pitcher is struggling to hit spots, not able to effectively throw the pitches that are called, or throwing something different than what's been called, the coaches - especially the one calling pitches - should know about it so adjustments can be made. If a drop isn't dropping, or a curve isn't curving, continuing to call that pitch can make a mess of things pretty quickly. Keeping that a secret doesn't help the team.

 

[Eric F]

I'm thinking this is the approach I am going to take. Coach talks to me frequently to check in since I've played and been around the game for a long time (30+ years). I was thinking of asking whether he thinks DD is doing a good job of hitting her spots and observing that maybe we can gain an extra few strikes a game on borderline pitches if our catchers (not pointing one out) would pause for a second prior to bringing the glove back to her hand to throw the ball back to the pitcher. I'm not going to bring up anything about hustle or effort because that should be blatantly obvious but I think he's missing the "framing" aspect since his DD isn't a catcher and he's not tremendously focused on this area.

If you have a line of communication with the coach, that's great. Your approach sounds reasonable.

Keep in mind that there are (unfortunately) a LOT of coaches who don't understand the details of what it takes to be a good catcher, and even fewer know how to teach it.

 

[1bucketmom]

Keep in mind that there are (unfortunately) a LOT of coaches who don't understand the details of what it takes to be a good catcher, and even fewer know how to teach it.

This.....is beyond true.

 

[djcarter1966]

Yes! If the pitcher is struggling to hit spots, not able to effectively throw the pitches that are called, or throwing something different than what's been called, the coaches - especially the one calling pitches - should know about it so adjustments can be made. If a drop isn't dropping, or a curve isn't curving, continuing to call that pitch can make a mess of things pretty quickly. Keeping that a secret doesn't help the team.

Agreed but that is constructive, not whining. The OP seemed focused on how the catcher was not hustling, if you are the pitcher or the catcher the coach can see whether you are hustling or not.

 

[csuttonthompson]

and [MENTION=13096]csuttonthompson[/MENTION]

Do you want the catcher going to the coach and telling them that your DD, the pitcher, is missing all her spots or not throwing what's called or whatever. Players should police themselves amongst each other to hustle more or get their head in the game don't go tattle to the coach.

I don't know -maybe our team works differently. The coach regularly asks the catcher if my kid is hitting her spots, what pitch is on most of the time he is not watching the pitching warmup. If she is then the catcher says so, if she isn't the catcher also says that. It is info that the coach needs - If DD felt like the catcher was "out to get her" or trying to "tell on her" I am sure she would not take any criticism very well.










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[WARRIORMIKE]

 

[cvsoftball]

I have seen catchers exhibit this kind of behavior because they are tired of chasing down errant pitches. I have seen catchers, who clearly were not capable of catching, behind the plate because of behind the scene politics. As a coach, I have no trouble with a parent approaching me in private and discussing things and I have no problem with explaining why we do what we do. I am not infelxible but, after all is said and done, the coach is the coach and the parent is the parent and good coaches do what's right for the team while parents often are focused on what's right for their DDs. We only have one side of the story here.

 

[SoftballMom2]

If your DD (11 YO) was a pitcher and had to deal with a catcher who shows a complete lack of effort to frame pitches, errant throws back to the pitcher (2 of which almost scored runs from third base on overthrows), and there being no sense of urgency when there is a passed ball with runners on base, would you say anything to the coach? I'd prefer to limit my conversations with the coaches to my own daughter's performance / effort, but it's really frustrating my daughter. The catcher has a great arm but not a great attitude. I realize we are stuck for the remainder of the season so I'm torn between just riding it out and hoping the coaches address it on their own and saying that DD would prefer to throw to the other catcher if she had a choice (along with why).

I would NOT say anything...DD is pitcher and has had her share of lazy and disinterested catchers through the years BUT I never felt it was my or DD place to complain about another kid...Honestly they all are developing at that age.I mean at 11 they were just happy when the catcher held onto the ball (we lost some no hitter games at 11 yrs old due to passed balls and overthrows) .No one was too concerned about framing. In the grand scheme of things at 11 years old it's all good..DD is 15 now and the growth she has shown is tremendous.. so cut some slack to less developed kids and try to enjoy these years they go fast.(ps-DD just accepted full athletic offer from D1 school so to keep it in perspective I think those lazy catchers didn't affect her goals and probably forced my DD to get better.

 

[Andy S]

I would NOT say anything...DD is pitcher and has had her share of lazy and disinterested catchers through the years BUT I never felt it was my or DD place to complain about another kid...Honestly they all are developing at that age.I mean at 11 they were just happy when the catcher held onto the ball (we lost some no hitter games at 11 yrs old due to passed balls and overthrows) .No one was too concerned about framing. In the grand scheme of things at 11 years old it's all good..DD is 15 now and the growth she has shown is tremendous.. so cut some slack to less developed kids and try to enjoy these years ��they go fast.(ps-DD just accepted full athletic offer from D1 school so to keep it in perspective I think those lazy catchers didn't affect her goals and probably forced my DD to get better.

I was thinking similar. My kid only really started playing fastpitch at 11, and was a immediately a catcher (had played slow pitch and coach pitch). It was rec, and pitching was kind of all over the place as well. It was a bit painful to watch the passed balls and bad throws to the pitcher. It wasn't for lack of effort, it was more for learning how to work those growing limbs and hands properly. And she's always super competitive, so she'd just feed on her frustration with herself. She's always looked so intense that if you didn't know her, you might have thought it was a bad attitude when she was younger and didn't hide things as well.

That said, you can tell when a kid isn't putting forth effort. But I can't see questioning a coach about a kid that's not mine on effort. I'm sure I'd grumble inside the family, hopefully not too much in front of our daughter to not rub off on her, but I'd try my best to not say anything to the other parents or coaches I'd hope.