My DD started high school ball this year and pitches JV. The coaches refuse to call pitches and allows the catcher, who is a novice catcher to call pitches. I've talked to the coach before the season started about this and he still refuses to call pitches or allow a volunteer to call pitches. My DD pitches a fastball, change, and drop. Last night she pitched and threw all fastballs because that is what the catcher called. My DD is not over powering with her fastball. Throws about 52, but her flip change and drop ball have a lot of movement. Really don't know what should be done about this. Any suggestions??
What to do
- Thread starter vino1972
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Why can't pitcher and catcher work it out? There's nothing wrong with a catcher calling pitches, even a novice. But she has to be taught how. If she's calling 100 percent fastballs, she's not being taught. And if the pitcher isn't shaking off any pitches or having conversations with the catcher about gameplan, then there's something amiss there too.
Maybe the novice catcher can't catch the drop ball. So she never calls for it.
- Nov 18, 2013
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Bad idea. Let your DD talk to her. Woukd you want the catchers Dad telling your DD how to pitch?
Your DD is in high school. It is between her and her catcher. She needs to work with the catcher, shakes some pitch calls off if she doesn't like them and basically work with her catcher until they have a good understanding.
YOU don't do anything except tell your DD that she needs to handle it.
- Jun 12, 2015
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I love it when the players get to call pitches. It's part of the game, they should do it! JMO. Let them work it out.
softgabby
Gear Empress
I just got my first season of catching experience under my belt and my coaches trusted me to be able to call games about a week or two into the season. This confidence the coaches had in me really boosted the confidence I had in myself that my coaches could have me call a smart game. Also having pitched the last three seasons before being switched helped me too. I also talked a lot and practiced a lot with my battery mates too so that I knew what they threw, how they threw it and how I could best receive what they threw.
As far as what advice I'd give is have the pitcher and catcher talk. Have them practice with the different pitches. Start slowly and work your way up to game speed. This way the catcher is confident in what her pitcher is able to do and the pitcher is confident her catcher is able to get to what she's throwing...even if she's having a bad game. This also gives the catcher confidence in calling a game.
As far as what advice I'd give is have the pitcher and catcher talk. Have them practice with the different pitches. Start slowly and work your way up to game speed. This way the catcher is confident in what her pitcher is able to do and the pitcher is confident her catcher is able to get to what she's throwing...even if she's having a bad game. This also gives the catcher confidence in calling a game.
Pitchers are the ones that need to be responsible for pitch sequencing and knowing their own strengths. The pitcher is going to change teams multiple times in their career from travel, to hs, to college and can't 100% depend on new coaches or catchers who don't know them nearly as much as they know themselves. There should be a lot of conversations before games and between innings as the pitch caller is getting to know the pitcher. I don't reccomend shaking off every other pitch but its ok to shake every once in a while or call the catcher to the circle for a brief chat. The sooner the pitcher takes ownership of her own success the better.
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