What I learned this weekend

[BT3100]

My DD is 11 playing on a 12U TB team. We had our second tournament this weekend and did fairly well. DD is a pitcher (#2 on the team) and pitched a lot this weekend. This is her first year on a real TB team. She played in the fall for a few tournaments but the competition was not that great. She is also pitching in REC but there's no comparison to the level of hitting in travel. On Saturday the teams we played against were okay... not the best hitters and she struck out several girls. She used her C/U and F/B along with a screw that works when it's thrown correctly.
She pitched two games on Saturday and only had one ball hit really hard off her. On Sunday she was finding the barrel of bats all day long
She would get girls buried in counts and go after them hard... and they would answer with line drive shot... Add to it our defense that made 4 errors (can't blame them as these balls were hit on ropes) and you have a game that we lost by only 1 run but felt a lot more lopsided than that.
Good news is that she only walked 1 batter in each of the 3 games she pitched (her control last year was poor). And went 8 for 11 from the plate with 2 (inside the park) HR's and 4 extra base hits.
My learnings:
* Competition on Saturday and Sunday looks very different. Pitchers need to have a strategy for each day (she didn't and it cost her).
* DD needs to move the ball around the plate more. The balls that were hard hit were finding corners but with little to no movement.
* DD also needs to learn more about the batters... I don't and won't speak to her during the game, but after the game I asked her if she remembered what each batter did the time before at the plate. She didn't remember what they did.
* Her coaches are doing a nice job from what I see in calling pitches and she is hitting her spots, just with not enough movement.
* She is a hard thrower and due to this her pitches get hit hard... outfielders need to beware, we had three balls go through OF's legs and a few over their heads
* DD throws IR and a coach from one of the teams we played shared with me that he saw that and they her motion looked great
* Softball is a BIG time commitment. All day Saturday and All day Sunday... my life is a mess...lawn is a mess, cars are loaded with trash from weekend meals on the road and this is just the beginning.
* The last thing I learned is that my DD has fallen in love with this game. She struck out twice this weekend and shared that she couldn't wait to get back to the plate again during those games. After our loss she said "I can't wait to play again to make this losing feeling go away". She's hooked

 

[Jquick823]

One thing I've learned this year at 14U which might help your DD is that girls still take the first pitch and then shake their head up and down like yep that was a strike and then chase the next pitch high. This should allow your DD to get up 0-2 a lot I know my hitters went down 0-2 a lot the first 2 tournaments.

Throw outside edge as much as possible, if she's really hitting her spots only accomplished hitters will hit that ball hard at 12U as many still can't touch it at 14. Develop the CU as it's nasty at every level and especially against aggressive teams.

Best of luck.

 

[smddad]

She would get girls buried in counts and go after them hard... and they would answer with line drive shot...


She's hooked

If she's getting ahead in the count, then is the time to pitch off the plate and get them to chase. Talk to her about HOW to pitch to batters and certain counts. 0-2, 1-2 it's time for something high, low, away, something out of the zone.

Have fun with the journey.

 

[RetiredCoach]

If she's getting ahead in the count, then is the time to pitch off the plate and get them to chase. Talk to her about HOW to pitch to batters and certain counts. 0-2, 1-2 it's time for something high, low, away, something out of the zone.

Have fun with the journey.

I agree. Anytime one of my DDs gives up a solid hit on an 0-2 or 1-2 count I consider it a mistake. In these situations I like to see them go with an up and in FB just out of the zone. A CU low and off the outside corner. Or a "chase pitch" like a drop curve. Even if they don't swing at these pitches it seems to make the follow up pitch more likely to result in a strike.

 

[#10]

This is an article I shared with my 14U catcher DD - there might be some info here that can be of use.

Amanda Freed: How to Set-up A Batter

I think the strategy of setting up a batter is becoming a lost art. There is a difference between mixing pitches and setting up a batter. When you set a batter up, you are actually setting the batter up to chase the pitch you want them to. If you set a batter up correctly, you can get them out on any pitch, even if it's their "favorite pitch."

If you are neither a pitcher or catcher, this may not seem like it applies to you, but I am going to tell you how I would analyze you before and during your at-bat.

Pitchers and catchers, what do you look for?

On Deck: What does her swing tell you?

1) Is it long and loopy? Slow hands?
-Think jam her inside and up. Chances are she cannot get her barrel around on time.
Be careful with change up and away pitches. It is easier for someone with slow hands to get her barrel on an outside pitch.

2) Does she swing on a high plane or a low plane (meaning, does her barrel stay level by her shoulders or drop down below her waist)?
-If it's on a high plane, keep the ball low, preferable low and in. Chances are she will have a difficult time dropping her barrel to hit the low inside hard.
You're goal is to get her to hit it off of her shin. Mean I know, but that's the game.

3) When she's getting ready to get into the box, does she look anxious and a little tense? Is she really fidgety?:
- If she is really high-strung getting into the box, she is probably pretty impatient. I would definitely try and throw her off balance with change ups. Either start her off with a change up or something tight in, make her pull it foul. Don't paint the black on this pitch, aim for her hands. She just may have enough adrenaline in her to take it over the fence if you hang it. A GOOD inside pitch thrown in the right situation is extremely difficult to hit hard and fair.

When she steps into the box, look for…

1) Foot positioning.
- Open stance: (front foot towards third if it's a righty, first for a lefty)
Chances are she is either having trouble keeping her front side in on the pitch, or she is protecting herself against the inside. Check to see if her body becomes closed at the time of the pitch. If she gets closed, JAM HER IN. If she gets the barrel on the ball she will most likely jam herself, or pull it foul.

Closed stance: (front foot towards the plate) I would live inside on her. She is most likely looking for the outside pitch and protecting herself from getting beat on it. Go down and in, up and in, and make her fist herself out to the shortstop. Just watch to make sure that she doesn't step in the bucket when she strides. But again, in this case, a good inside pitch will still be difficult for her to hit hard and fair.

2) Hand positioning:
- Low hands: Probably swings fairly level, but again, check on deck or warm-up swings.
Be careful with the flat plane pitches (screw and curve) unless they have some up and down movement. Will probably have better success on the rise ball as well.
- High hands: I'm guessing she's pretty loopy so I'm going to jam her tight to start off and find out what the plane of her swing looks like because it could really go either way. She may have a straight rise ball swing, or a long, looping drop ball swing.

3) Box positioning:
- Front of the box: If she's in the front, I think that means she anxious. She is trying to bring more pitches into her strike zone. I'd go with jamming her and working in the change up.
- Back of the box: She is either not seeing the ball well, or she is very patient and wants you to bring the ball into the strike zone. Work ahead of the batter (first pitch strike) and go with your best moving pitches.

There are so many other tips that you learn from watching and studying batters.
As I go through the pitches that I would likely throw in certain situations, it is important to remember that this doesn't mean that you abandon every other pitch and just stick to one or two. It just means that we've identified a "weakness" and we've got to expose it.

There are many situations where you learn to throw to the batter and not the plate. What I mean by this is if the batter is standing a fairly good distance off the plate, of course you automatically assume that she will have a difficult time reaching the outside pitch and is probably looking inside. What I am going to do is start her off outside and get a strike (hopefully?) Let's say she swings but looks pretty bad. The next pitch I am going to go right back at it, just a little further out and see if she'll bite. She leans in, but takes the ball off the outside corner. Now I've got her leaning to the outside. I know she doesn't like that pitch but I've got her thinking that I'm living on the out. She moves just a little closer to the plate, not much, and now I am throwing to her hands. Not to hit her obviously, but I'm throwing just below her hands through her belly button. I know she's off the plate and looking to protect the inside but I'm throwing to her, not the strike zone. She will do one of three things. She'll turn on it hard and pull it foul, she'll jam herself into an out, or I'll force her back off the plate a little more. Remember a good inside pitch is difficult to hit hard and fair. Good inside does not necessarily mean a good strike. Now, I go back out to finish her off. Sounds like fun, huh?

On the other hand. There are situations where you don't even need to waste time or pitches. You start a girl off low and in and she fouls it between her legs. Clearly she had a difficult time with that pitch so now you go with the same pitch, just a little further in and a little lower. This is not a waste pitch. You want her to see it as the same pitch. She takes a not so pretty cut over the top, again. Now she's frustrated and thinking, "gotta protect," so you go right back at it, a little lower and a little farther in, maybe almost in the dirt. If she doesn't go for it, you've definitely got her thinking, and have set her up for the out, or change up.

We joke out here that there is a 90/10 rule when it comes to listening. 10% of everything you hear is actually heard and processed. The other 90% just goes in one ear and out the other. So if you remember anything from this article, I want this to be your 10%. Every pitch you throw must serve a purpose. For example, if I know absolutely nothing about a batter as she steps into the box, I've got to use that first pitch to gather as much information about her as possible. I like to start with a good inside pitch or a change up. Remember how we define that good inside pitch, and I like to keep the change up low and away. That is how I am able to gather the most information. If you throw a pitch right down the middle, or even on the inside part of the black and the batter does nothing but watches it, what have you learned?
Throw every pitch with a purpose.

Set the batter up to hit, or miss, what you want. Guess what, sometimes it slips or you make a bad decision. Big deal. Learn from it but keep plugging along. Remember, these are all just suggestions. I know not everyone has "all the tools" but you can make the best possible situation out of what you have! Take control of your own game and you'll be more confident.

Amanda

 

[Rocketech1]

Every pitch you throw must serve a purpose.

Great advice from Amanda! I have been trying to get my DD to better understand this concept so that she can become a "pitcher" not just a "thrower" to spots. My DD has a bad habit of giving up hits on 0-2 counts, especially to good hitters. Her PC and I have been working with her on understanding that when her coaches call for a "outside curve" on an 0-2 count that is not the same as calling it on 3-1 and she needs to adjust her location accordingly. Understanding the count and setting up batter are some of the things that separate the average pitchers from the very successful ones.

 

[BT3100]

Thanks everyone for your advice and the awesome article above! Can't wait to share it with DD. Everyone's points make perfect sense. It's a funny sport in that for the last few years coaches have been saying to my DD "Throw strikes" now they don't want her to
I remember reading a post by Sluggers that was perfect. I shared it with DD last year. He said "we don't teach kids to throw strikes, we teach them how to throw it where they want to". That makes more sense to me as we get further along on her journey.
Appreciate all of the responses!

 

[Greenmonsters]

Thanks everyone for your advice and the awesome article above! Can't wait to share it with DD. Everyone's points make perfect sense. It's a funny sport in that for the last few years coaches have been saying to my DD "Throw strikes" now they don't want her to
I remember reading a post by Sluggers that was perfect. I shared it with DD last year. He said "we don't teach kids to throw strikes, we teach them how to throw it where they want to". That makes more sense to me as we get further along on her journey.
Appreciate all of the responses!

Excellent advice! Why would you ever throw the ball over the plate if you didn't have to???