Thoughts on a crazy idea?

[absdad]

When we were 10U, we lost a World Series ( championship game ) because their ace was out of gas. They put in a DD throwing about 35mph. We could not wait on the ball. We were hitting, but we were so far ahead every hit was off the end of the bat. Uggggg!!

Exactly! And the ones that stay in fair territory, your infield can easily play. Stop their offense, and keep them guessing.

 

[shockcoach]

We did that a few years ago at the 12U level. The #1 team in the state just murdered the ball when our top 3 pitchers were in the circle. So we took our #5 pitcher who was slow, but hit her spots. This team was accustomed to seeing fast pitching all the time. They had problems hitting off of this girl that game.

 

[bcasper10]

At the 10u and 12u level why should pitchers have numbers?? I coach a 12u travel team and we have 3 pitchers. They are A, B, and C. At the beginning of the year we threw 3 balls marked as so against the fence and all 3 game back with a ball with a letter. That is how the order has been since the start of the season. If it is your turn in the championship so be it. If your other pitchers don't face any adversity, how do they get better? You have to keep coaching at all times. Teach the kids to play the game.

 

[tojo]

The original question was Mad Hornets' game plan was" just plain stupid" or" crazy like a fox"? The game plan could have been "crazy like a fox" but revealing the game plan on a national fastpitch forum could be "just plain stupid" ,if the other coach is reading this thread.(Just a thought)

 

[mad hornet]

Could be. Plenty of time to decide what to do though. Maybe they'll practice hitting slow pitching all week for nothing (LOL). Thanks everyone for the insights! Plenty of good stuff here.

 

[Ken Krause]

My very first year coaching I tried that strategy against a team I knew to be one of the top ones in the area. I figured they'd beat up on my #1 pitcher (who wasn't all that fast herself, but was accurate). So I actually pulled in a player who wasn't a pitcher to try to throw them off. This was at 12U. It worked for about three hitters. We eventually went on to get run rules in about three innings.

If this strategy worked, the winning team in the HS state tournaments would all have a kid throwing 35-40 mph in the championship game. It doesn't, and they don't.

 

[Wookie]

Well, what did you decide to do? How did it turn out? I'm assuming the tournament was this past weekend (May 8-9). If not, sit on this for another week, and then answer.

 

[blatour]

if your pitchers can command fastballs and changeups then you have a chanced to beat anyone. keep your #1 off the mound and give your #2 the chance to prove to you she can pitch. if you are calling pitches and they are hitting their spots and you still get hammered then maybe you need to let someone else call pitches

 

[mad hornet]

Well, what did you decide to do? How did it turn out? I'm assuming the tournament was this past weekend (May 8-9). If not, sit on this for another week, and then answer.

Still got another week. Got bigger fish to fry however. Had a pitcher go down with a broken wrist sliding in to home Friday night. That's two pitcher's in casts (other tripped over a hockey stick in gym class two weeks ago) - how freaking unbelievable. #5 will definitely see some pitching now. Not sure what game however. I'm kicking around using 1 & 2 for both of the first two games, see what happens in game three.

Note to coaches: I teach my girls to slide on their bottom with hands up. In this case, and I don't know why, she threw her left hand (glove hand) down when she slid an fractured her wrist in two places. Out for a month according to the doc. At any rate, you might want to share that story with your kids so they understand we're not just trying to save them from scraping up their hands.

 

[alexander58]

I know my kids and parents very well and it isn't like that. The difference between our #1 and #4 is almost negligible. Negligible to the point where no one but I know who is the ace and who is #4 because I rotate through all four of them with regularity.

Even the one I consider #1 is apprehensive about this game. And all of them want the best chance at winning. The #5 girl I mention isn't like some scrub that never gets to pitch. She's just not as fast as the top four. Remember we're talking 10U, not college bound kids.

The point I was trying to ask is: For a team that is used to seeing 47-55 mph from 35', do we have a better chance showing them 36?

Your strategy has merit. You may throw the top of their order off. I would guess the bottom would have more success. It sounds like you do a nice job of getting all of your pitchers innings. If someone were to be insulted by this, I'd say they were looking for it.