My daughter got the reputation for being the fast girl on her team this year playing 12u rec ball and she really prides herself on it. I am not sure if she really is faster than any of the other kids or not. Does anyone have any base to base or sprint distance times for a 11 or 12 year old? One thing she did do a good job with was being a smart base runner this year, I wonder if she is just a little quicker to react than the other girls.
Speed. How fast is fast?
- Thread starter John 800
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That is an excellent question. A lot of running in softball is concerned with specific techniques, but speed helps. Technique and aggressiveness help, but speed is speed.
The general rule of thumb is that anything under 3.0 seconds from home to first is considered "fast".
The best place to go for this type of information is AAU sports under "Junior Olympics". (Yes, there is Travel Teams for track and field.)
For 2019, the Junior Olympic National Championship prelims in the 100M dash for 12YOA and 11YOA girls had times ranging from 12.7 seconds to 15.4 seconds.
This would be the "cream of the crop"...so the girls in the Junior Olympics no doubt had specific training in sprinting technique. But, you should be able to get an idea as to how fast your DD really is.
Here is a link to all the results:
The general rule of thumb is that anything under 3.0 seconds from home to first is considered "fast".
The best place to go for this type of information is AAU sports under "Junior Olympics". (Yes, there is Travel Teams for track and field.)
For 2019, the Junior Olympic National Championship prelims in the 100M dash for 12YOA and 11YOA girls had times ranging from 12.7 seconds to 15.4 seconds.
This would be the "cream of the crop"...so the girls in the Junior Olympics no doubt had specific training in sprinting technique. But, you should be able to get an idea as to how fast your DD really is.
Here is a link to all the results:
- Feb 3, 2016
- 502
- 43
If you're getting to the bag at or under 3 seconds at 11 or 12 you'll be ok. I know an 11 year old in my neck of the woods that can fly around 2.76 or 2.78 routinely (20 yd.,). She's turning 12 in a couple weeks.
If you can run the 40 around 5.7X's that's also getting it done.
Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
If you can run the 40 around 5.7X's that's also getting it done.
Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
ez_softball
Life at the diamond...
- Apr 14, 2017
- 158
- 28
My daughter is fast but not blazing fast. The thing is she is way faster running the bases than other girls because of technique, decisiveness and aggressiveness. She rarely makes a base running error and her game speed looks faster than girls that would blow her away in a straight away sprint. This sounds like who your daughter is.
My daughter played with a girl that had "DI speed" and she has committed to a DI school. We'll see but I think that her collegiate career may end up being a pinch runner because the "D1 speed" doesn't align with the rest of her game set.
My daughter played with a girl that had "DI speed" and she has committed to a DI school. We'll see but I think that her collegiate career may end up being a pinch runner because the "D1 speed" doesn't align with the rest of her game set.
- Jun 7, 2020
- 221
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We currently have 3 girls on my dd 12u travel team that can run 2.9 to 3.1 seconds home to first. They are fast
- Jul 31, 2019
- 495
- 43
I posted National averages last year on this site. I will see if I can find them
- Jul 31, 2019
- 495
- 43
Here is what I have on National average for measurables.
| Measure | 10U | 12U | 14U | 16U | 18U | D3 | D2 | D1 |
| 20-Yard Sprint (Hm to 1st) | 3.37 | 3.15 | 3.08 | 3.05 | 3.01 | 3.01 | 2.96 | 2.84 |
| Pro Shuttle (5-10-5) | 5.48 | 5.31 | 5.19 | 5.18 | 5.13 | 5.11 | 4.95 | 4.79 |
| Broad Jump | 54 | 68 | 74 | 78 | 81 | 82 | 84 | 88 |
| Vertical Jump | 12.2 | 13.3 | 15.7 | 18.2 | 19.5 | 22.1 | 23.4 | 25.1 |
| Bat Speed | 56 | 62 | 64 | 67 | 69 | 72 | 74 | 77 |
| Ball Exit Speed (from bat) | 48-52 | 56-59 | 56-62 | 57-65 | 58-67 | 61-68 | 63-71 | 63-74 |
| Grip Strength | 40/37 | 56/50 | 68/64 | 73/71 | 74/71 | 79/77 | 81/78 | 81/79 |
| Overhand Throw Velocity | 42 | 49 | 53 | 55 | 57 | 56-60 | 58-62 | 62-64 |
| Fastest Pitch Velocity | 38-42 | 44-50 | 49-54 | 51-56 | 53-57 | 54-58 | 57-61 | 59-70 |
| Fastest Pitch Spin | 12.1 | 13.5 | 15.4 | 15.9 | 16.4 | 18.2 | 20.8 | 22.7 |
| Change-Up Velocity | 25-36 | 35-42 | 38-44 | 42-47 | 42-45 | 42-46 | 44-50 | 47-56 |
| Pop Time | 2.65 | 2.40 | 2.30 | 2.24 | 2.20 | 2.10 | 1.93 | 1.84 |
| Catch/Release Time | 1.30 | 1.10 | 1.00 | 0.80 | 0.80 | 0.70 |
I had a kid like that. She was pretty fast, but she stole bases like crazy. In baseball, they say, "You steal off the pitcher"....well, she would steal off the umpire. She would leave as soon as the ump stopped looking at her. (I didn't teach her.)
Times depend on how it's measured. If it's an electronically timed 20 yd dash, that's different than starting the timer on the first step out of the box. Curious what the standard is when reporting. Both my 14U DDs are 2.9s with the latter measurement. They're sorta fast, but I'd never say they are really fast.
