14U.
What age do you have to commit/choose pitching or catching?
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14U.
You DD and mine seem like long lost twins. Both lefties and both pitch and catch/1B. But, my DD was the opposite in that she was primarily the main pitcher for her teams from 8u to 12u. She played catcher as well, but she didn't really stand out as a catcher until 2nd year 10u. Catching for her just seemed to be more "fun" and fits her temperament more than pitching did. She would get ticked off and let her emotions get to her if there was a bad call or things didn't go right on the mound. She just felt more "comfortable" at catcher.
So, when do they have to "choose"? I think the nature of the position usually eventually chooses the player or at least makes it clear which they are best suited for. If she enjoys doing both still...let it ride! Try to enjoy it...although we all know how stressful those positions are.
But, as others said and I agree. Working on being a top pitcher and top catcher at the same time is tough. The amount of work and reps the body has to do is a tall task to be great at both as they get older.
As a Dad/Coach..I'm A-OK with her choice to be catcher only. MUCH less stressful. I loved watching her pitch....but DAMN it stressed me and my wife out like no other!
Exactly! She enjoys developing as a pitcher but catching seems more fun. It’s more fun for the entire family considering the stress of pitching.
She plans to be a backup catcher for her team and continue to work on the pitching to see where it goes. Underlying I think she sense that being left handed limits her on the field and this pushes her towards the specific positions.
travel teams need 2+ catchers, the "backup " should expect to see at least 30% of the innings, they are not "if suzy gets hurt, sally can fill in", on tournaments with 5-7 games over the weekend, teams need to spread the innings out, especially in hot humid conditions.
She will be one of the backup catchers. The team currently has 1 primary, 2 backup catchers or players w secondary position as catcher.
She will be 1 of 3 backup catchers. Her proficiency is 1B,OF,P,C
She now says can I just learn to throw righty and play SS? Lol
with that scenario, it seems like she will really only be getting sporadic innings, no issue, but you will find as you progress age wise, teams will move from a one primary and X backups, to a 1A and 1B model, with another girl or two for emergencies and possibly to warm pitchers up during games. those non 1a/1B catchers will get very limited innings, mainly blowouts
Normally I would say she doesn't have to choose, she just has to put in more time. But P/C is the one combo that I just don't think works well. It's just too physically demanding during a tournament. By 14u she probably does need to make a call to focus on one or the other and develop another secondary position. If it were me, I'd work on pitching until it becomes apparent she isn't a pitcher. It will always be easier to go back and work on catching than it will to miss years of pitching.
14U.
I’ve always been in the camp that pitchers don’t catch, and catchers don’t pitch, pick one!
I’ve always been in the camp that pitchers don’t catch, and catchers don’t pitch, pick one!
- Jan 22, 2011
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I say by the end of fall 14u season.
My daughter is a lefty and did a little pitching and catching through fall ball 14u, then gave up both. First year 16u, her HC asks her if she is willing to come to catcher and pitcher workouts. I asked for which? He only had two pitchers at that point, so needed her to be an emergency P3. We picked up another pitcher as a P1 and 2 co-P4s, so she dropped down to P6. Now she is the P4 because she is still going to pitcher workouts and the co-P4s have given up on pitching again. She has only pitched 2 innings in a friendly.
In High School she caught bullpen and the HC originally wanted her to be the backup catcher. In games in HS this spring she played every position but Shortstop and Catcher in games.
4 or 5 years ago Stanford had a couple pitchers transfer and others get hurt, so an infielder who hadn't pitched since she was 14 or 15 had to get into the rotation.
My daughter is a lefty and did a little pitching and catching through fall ball 14u, then gave up both. First year 16u, her HC asks her if she is willing to come to catcher and pitcher workouts. I asked for which? He only had two pitchers at that point, so needed her to be an emergency P3. We picked up another pitcher as a P1 and 2 co-P4s, so she dropped down to P6. Now she is the P4 because she is still going to pitcher workouts and the co-P4s have given up on pitching again. She has only pitched 2 innings in a friendly.
In High School she caught bullpen and the HC originally wanted her to be the backup catcher. In games in HS this spring she played every position but Shortstop and Catcher in games.
4 or 5 years ago Stanford had a couple pitchers transfer and others get hurt, so an infielder who hadn't pitched since she was 14 or 15 had to get into the rotation.
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