Switching back and forth - 11" to 12" balls

[WiZ]

My daughter will play travel ball in 10u this upcoming summer. She is a pitcher. Her house league she has to play 12u (due to them using a cut off date not birthdates).

Im ok with the changes in pitching distance. She has thrown all winter from 40ft with a 12" ball. My question is, do you think she'll be ok pitching on weekends with the 11" and then 12" during the week? Is it easy for the girls to adapt to that change? House ball I really dont care much about. Its just a chance for her to play with her friends.

 

[Ravenstown]

Wiz, I am in the same boat so thanks for bringing up the question. My daughter also plays U-10 for travel but will have to play U-12 for Rec. We make all of our the travel players play up in Rec because based on talent they can compete with most of the older girls. The one issue is the ball size and this only really matters to the pitchers. This is how I am going to handle it for my DD. Since she just turned 10 at the end of February, she will be playing U-10 this season and next. Since she has 2 years of U-10 eligibility left, I am not going to let her pitch with the 12 inch ball this year during Rec. She has little hands and she hasn't been pitching for very long. I feel that switching back and forth with the ball size for this age would not be good for her. Some players develop bad mechanics due to the 1 inch size difference (ie.. they will cup the ball since their hand feels to small to hold the ball securely) If this was her last year of U-10 travel and she had another year under her belt as a pitcher, then I may have let her experiment with the 12 inch ball. I just don't see the benefits from switching back and forth. I guess it is a personal choice and each pitcher is different in terms of experience and physical size. This is probably something that you are going to have to evaluate for yourself before deciding which path to choose.

 

[Madsdad]

Hey Wiz,
I'm pretty much in the same boat. What I make sure to do is switch at the end of every workout. 12" at 40 and 11" at 35 After a couple throws she is able to pull it right down. The spin and speed quite a bit higher but that is all I have noticed. I'm not going to tell you that she has 4 or 5 different junk pitches to worry about either. A FB and CU she loves going back to little ball and thinks its fun. I can't wait till the season starts.

 

[Carty]

I think you guys are on the right track. My DD's never had this issue because of their birthdates. I'll put a smaller ball in if someone has trouble with the 12" to get the used to creating the spacing needed. This is kind of working backwards though. If their hands aren't bg enough to proerly grip the 12", I agree with Ravenstown on just not pitching the rec league. Don't let them build bad habits because they have to make some kind of adjustment to handle the larger ball. Stay with what you know is right.

 

[Madsdad]

I do have to admit that my DD has a pretty good size paw for her age. As I only work with her, I have not had to deal with the smaller size hands. I was just looking at it from the stand point of the distance and weight of the ball. I think it is only fair to mention that we started switching about 6 months ago just too be ready for the transition.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

The girls will have no problem switching back on forth. I regularly use different sized balls in my lessons. I have some 14 inch softballs and a 16 inch. I introduce them for fun, ball control, and strengthening.

I often have the 10 YOs throw a 12 inch ball as a drill.

After 1 minute, they adjust to the size.

 

[WiZ]

The girls will have no problem switching back on forth.

After 1 minute, they adjust to the size.

Thank you.

My DD's hands are big enough so the size difference of the ball isn't an issue. I was just concerned about her "control" and "change-up" going crazy due to the bouncing back and forth.

 

[Madsdad]

Wiz, Just stick with it. They adapt pretty quick. The more they do it, the easier it gets for them. I started my DD with the 12" at forty before she even had too. It just made it seem so much easier. This past winter I added 1/2 oz. to one of her balls for resistance training. I'm not suggesting that you do that, I'm just sharing. I saw the difference from 6 to 7 and didn't think it could hurt to add a bit. She can feel the change but has not shown any short term ill effects.