What do I tell her

[redhack]

My 11yr DD has been pitching a year and a half with a PC. He has done great and stresses mechanics. She is throwing in the upper 40's consistently, and the CU is coming along. PC preaches to throw full speed or not at all. She is about at full control and have introduced her to the concepts of the command needed as she progresses (control = strikes, command=inside corner). This year she has joined a travel team. The have 2 other pitchers, that are good but far slower than her. Control for all of them is about the same. Problem is that they brag about the number of pitches that they have (or claim to know) 5 for one 6 for the other. None of them are very good at all. My DD is now upset the me and her PC have not and will not let her have her third pitch yet. I have tried to explain that this is for her benefit and she is faster than them (even though I think they may be more athletic). But at 11 she does not see this. Her PC is great and I am worried she now thinks he is not.

 

[D.G. OutLaws 16u]

I love her PC!! An upset DD sucks....hopefully as her season gets rolling her stats will speak loud and proud! Praise to her the achievements of low walks and lots of K's. That should turn the frown upside down.

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

Tell her that she is in it for the long haul and she needs to have patience. I know the type of 11YO pitcher that you talk about that "have" 6 pitches but do not have command of any of the them. I would emphasize with her that pitching is so much more than throwing a ball with a particular grip but has a lot to do with strategic game of pitching when someone has command of even just two pitches like the fastball and CU. Tell her that some of the top pitchers in college only throw a couple of different pitches. Ex. UCLA's Meg Langenfeld (80% screwball in the WCWS).

With that said, I see no reason why you cannot introduce a movement pitch into the mix (either a drop ball or curve). It's not like she won't continue to work on her fastball and CU each practice, she will. It also brings something new and fresh to her workouts. Keeps your DD happy but also she stays on track with her pitching progression. Its a marathon not a sprint to see who can have the most pitches the fastest.

 

[Hillhouse]

For what this is worth redhack, tell your DD this: I am an ok pitcher.. I throw 3 pitches. Rise, drop and change. I don't know how to throw 5-6 pitches, and neither do your DD's friends. Those other girl's pitching coach should be arrested for theft, stealing their parents money. Sounds like their coach is part of the pitching coach mafia. You know the type... if they throw it high, it's a rise. Throw it low, it's a drop. Outside, it's a curve. Inside, a screwball.

Bill

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

For what this is worth redhack, tell your DD this: I am an ok pitcher.. I throw 3 pitches. Rise, drop and change. I don't know how to throw 5-6 pitches, and neither do your DD's friends. Those other girl's pitching coach should be arrested for theft, stealing their parents money. Sounds like their coach is part of the pitching coach mafia. You know the type... if they throw it high, it's a rise. Throw it low, it's a drop. Outside, it's a curve. Inside, a screwball.

Bill

Excellent post Bill! My only question is how does a pitcher know what her best pitch is unless she at some point in her pitching "career" she experiments with different pitches? To use my earlier example, Meg's best pitch in college was her screwball. At some point her PC, I assume, introduced her to that pitch and it worked for her as her "go to" pitch as she practiced it more. My DDs PC's best pitch in college was her "riseball" and that was her best pitch and she used it often. Donna Kerr has an excellent curve and uses it all the time, etc...

 

[Coach-n-Dad]

There are many schools of thought on when to teach a young pitcher a breaking pitch. My personal opinion is that speed is taught first (by teaching great mechanics), control is taught second and movement is taught third. An 11 year old throwing 40 is not there yet. That being said, I am good with introducing spins as long as the pitcher understands that a pitch will not break until speed is 55+ and won't work well until upper 50's+. A pitcher does not have a drop just because the ball spins correctly.

 

[redhack]

PC said he will show her a new spin after her season started (just to keep her spirit up ). The last two months have been all about self correction. He is no longer telling her what she did wrong, he makes her say it. He did not want her trying to practice anything other than the FB and CU. She was really embarrassed the other day and was very mad at me. I really felt bad.

 

[Hillhouse]

Red.... why was she embarrassed or mad at you?

Coach n Dad... I'm not entirely sold on the 55mph thing. I'm sure there is a magic amount of speed necessary but, 55? Where did that come from? And I've heard that before, I'm not saying that you've made it up. But I still wanna know where that started.

 

[redhack]

Her PC told her she would do well on this team, she was ready. Then the other girls asked what she threw, she told them 2. And I think they kind of snickered at her.

Really I do know why she got mad. I do not understand the mind of my DD. Heck if you can help me with that, it worth more than the pitching tips.

 

[Coach-n-Dad]

Hillhouse, I also heard it a couple of years ago so I started paying attention. Watching my own DD learning speed, control and movement (and catching for her at lessons), there was no real movement until she broke the 55 mark. I also check speed of other HS and TB pitchers (usually at request of parent or coach) and none that are around 50 or so have ANY movement other than an arch, some at or above 55 have movement.

55 may or may not be the magic number, but it is in my personal experience.