Training frequency

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

Jul 14, 2018
982
93
Summer can be a great time to put in some work and get better at softball, but it can also be an important time to rest. The OP has a daughter who is just beginning to pitch, so lessons twice a week is a great way to get an accelerated start.

As they get older, however, rest and recovery time becomes super-important. DD (rising 14U) pitched 130 innings this past spring and is currently in the middle of a six-week stretch where she won't throw a pitch. The only other recovery time she gets is the month of December.

Her team is having tryouts, and she does participate in hitting and fielding. But I told her coach about her downtime and she was gracious enough to say that DD did not have to tryout with the other pitchers. Her summer has been mostly strength and conditioning work.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
Summer can be a great time to put in some work and get better at softball, but it can also be an important time to rest. The OP has a daughter who is just beginning to pitch, so lessons twice a week is a great way to get an accelerated start.

As they get older, however, rest and recovery time becomes super-important. DD (rising 14U) pitched 130 innings this past spring and is currently in the middle of a six-week stretch where she won't throw a pitch. The only other recovery time she gets is the month of December.

Her team is having tryouts, and she does participate in hitting and fielding. But I told her coach about her downtime and she was gracious enough to say that DD did not have to tryout with the other pitchers. Her summer has been mostly strength and conditioning work.
Throwing, both overhand and pitching, is one area which must be closely monitored. When I field with my daughter I only have her throw 15 to 20 balls to 1st (ok the L-screen but same thing) making sure I have hit all types of balls to her. After that she just rolls them in to me. Hitting and fielding can take a lot more reps before any sort of overuse issues can arise.
 
Dec 6, 2016
70
18
Please make sure your kid has time to be a kid! All this practice and lessons is doing is putting money in instructors pockets and taking it out of mine. If your kid is a spectacular athlete, they will rise to the top no matter what. Also, the most important thing to remember...your kid has to want it more than you do.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
All this practice and lessons is doing is putting money in instructors pockets and taking it out of mine.
Well I don't pay for instructors but do practice with my kid and now kind of feel bad that doing so is making you
poorer. Is there anything I can do to compensate you for your losses??
 
Dec 6, 2016
70
18
I'll PM you with my address. Feel free to send me a check :)

Also, my post was directed to the whole audience, not directed to the OP.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
Also, my post was directed to the whole audience, not directed to the OP.
Gotcha. No kid should be forced to play ball. That said, for me (and again remember this was just me..but I am sure others had similar experiences) being a kid was about playing ball.
 
Mar 8, 2016
313
63
DD is entering her last fall of TB. DD started down the softball track at 6 years old. At that time I thought tb was a silly thing. She wanted to practice all the time. When at 9 her all star coach would cancel a practice she would want me to still practice. When she was 10-12 we where lucky enough to have an indoor facility that we could use. She wanted to go at least 3 nights a week. I never turned her down no matter how tired I was. The funny thing is I was always less tiredafter going with her. I was never a good hitter but I did know fielding. I made so many mistakes helping her hit. We spent one whole winter using a pitching machine and trying to see how fast a speed she could hit. It took 2 years to fix the problems that caused. DD is now considered a very good hitter. Multiple times she has had a college coach who was there to look at the opposing pitcher come and talk to her after the game.
She has had the opportunity to take some hitting lessons but most of her skill has been her own hard work and my time pitching to her. I would not trade those memories for anything. I am getting a little teary eyed thinking that the time is almost over. Looking back at where my dd was at 10 and where she is now makes me chuckle a little on the inside. DD hit about 0.100 her 11u travel year. Have fun with them and make memories. They have plenty of time to improve.
 
May 20, 2016
433
63
My DD is a pitcher as well. Her season recently ended so we are on hiatus for 3 weeks currently(don't pick up a softball, talk about it, nothing). During the season though we tend to pitch 3 days a week and she has pitching lessons one day a week. So generally 4 days a week on pitching. Spend roughly 45-60 minutes.
 
Apr 20, 2018
4,581
113
SoCal
My DD is a pitcher as well. Her season recently ended so we are on hiatus for 3 weeks currently(don't pick up a softball, talk about it, nothing). During the season though we tend to pitch 3 days a week and she has pitching lessons one day a week. So generally 4 days a week on pitching. Spend roughly 45-60 minutes.

PITCHING IS HARD

This is a little heavy (45 -60) but close to what it requires to pitch effectively. Nothing worse than being on a team that has a pitcher(s) that don't realize what it takes. Taking a lesson on tuesday night and thinking somehow you can be successful on Saturday is ludicrous.
 
Jul 28, 2019
21
3
Steubenville, OH
Please make sure your kid has time to be a kid! All this practice and lessons is doing is putting money in instructors pockets and taking it out of mine. If your kid is a spectacular athlete, they will rise to the top no matter what. Also, the most important thing to remember...your kid has to want it more than you do.
I know this wasn’t specifically directed at me, but I will say the only reason I pay for pitching lessons is she said she wanted to learn to pitch and I have zero knowledge on how to teach her. I’ve learned enough from her pitching coach to help her when she wants to throw an extra day during the week.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,472
Members
21,443
Latest member
sstop28
Top