What to expect?

[Twenty20ticker]

I have an 10u daughter who is 9 yrs. old and will be 10 in March. Started pitching about a year and a half ago and is going to be playing here first year of tourney ball. I am having difficulty determining how accurate I should expect her to be at this age. I am sure there is probably a sliding scale of opinions out there so let me hear them.

 

[RubberBiscuit]

What I learned over the years in the case for national level TB:

You should be expecting no walks by 12U.
Then after that it's about making sure there are no walks and no hard-hit balls. This should be in good shape by 14U.

So for 10U, since soooooo much can & will happen to young pitchers in the next 6 yrs, you shouldn't tell a potential pitcher "your not acccurate enough - you shouldnt pitch" (not saying you are saying this). Get them pitch coaching and watch their progress. In my little world the "best" pitchers at 10U-12U ended up almost all disappearing......

My 2 cents.

 

[CoogansBluff]

Hard to answer because you might see anything at 10U. I've had pitchers who averaged fewer than 1 walk per game (4-5 innings). I've had others that couldn't go a whole game before hitting a wall and walking every batter until she was pulled.

I'm going to take a wild guess and say that there are 1.2-1.5 walks per every half inning in 10U travel ball across this county. Not at the highest levels, but all levels of travel ball. There are a lot of 10U pitchers who are better than that, but a lot worse, too.

 

[Twenty20ticker]

She has a pitching coach who seems to be good with her, and by no means am I trying to rush her. I guess I am asking if at this age is normal to look lights out for a couple of innings then lose it for a bit then be lights out again in comparison. And when I say lights out I mean throwing a lot more strikes then balls.

 

[CoogansBluff]

So for 10U, since soooooo much can & will happen to young pitchers in the next 6 yrs, you shouldn't tell a potential pitcher "your not acccurate enough - you shouldnt pitch" (not saying you are saying this).

Great point. ... And RB knows more about pitching than I do, so listen to him. But the importance of control at 10U in terms of future development is that it gives you opportunities to pitch. 10U pitchers with control are always in demand. Control is a great predictor of 10U success, but not a great predictor where you could be in 5-6 years. So I wouldn't worry much about control unless it means no travel team will let you pitch.

 

[Twenty20ticker]

Great point. ... And RB knows more about pitching than I do, so listen to him. But the importance of control at 10U in terms of future development is that it gives you opportunities to pitch. 10U pitchers with control are always in demand. Control is a great predictor of 10U success, but not a great predictor where you could be in 5-6 years. So I wouldn't worry much about control unless it means no travel team will let you pitch.

I am afraid of being to hard on her I guess...if she is not throwing strikes and I guess I do not want to do that to her.

 

[RubberBiscuit]

I guess I am asking if at this age is normal to look lights out for a couple of innings then lose it for a bit then be lights out again in comparison. And when I say lights out I mean throwing a lot more strikes then balls.

Absolutely!

Looking into the way-back machine => As a 10U-14U coach for my DD and the rest of the team's pitchers the magic was to get a pitcher through those "tough" innings. They WILL happen on a regular basis. Sometimes they needed to be pulled for a stint when it goes really bad though.

As a coach I needed to find out what would break the "stinkin-thinkin" to get them back to their potential.

LONG STORY ALERT:
I'll always remember in 12U local tourney where our #2 pitcher started to get rocked. Her dad was calling all her pitches (whole nutha topic we could get into) and it was not working. I went to the mound and calmly asked her how she felt. I remember her looking at me in desperation and saying "anything I pitch anywhere near the plate is getting hammered". I again calmly told her - "Hey, I trust you & your skills. You have a great drop ball. If they are making contact with that it will most likely just be a ground ball. Just throw most all drops and leave it to our defense." I told her to blame the pitch calling redirection on me after the game. She started doing this and outs started to ring up and low & behold she started pitching more confidently and put the "W" in the books. BTW - the dad never brought it up to me. Folks like the "W's"......

 

[USC 4]

Nine year old pitchers are inconsistent by their very nature. Some days they are "on" others they are not. She going to be throwing mostly fastballs and needs to be using correct mechanics. If she is missing but throwing correctly it is fine. If she is throwing strikes, but not throwing correctly that is a problem. Generally balls and strikes are a function of pratice. Early in the year she is going to walk the bases loaded. That is also okay in 10U--she will start to learn how to get out of it. Later in the season her control will improve. At 9 and even a 10 they improve with every start.

 

[halskinner]

She has a pitching coach who seems to be good with her, and by no means am I trying to rush her. I guess I am asking if at this age is normal to look lights out for a couple of innings then lose it for a bit then be lights out again in comparison. And when I say lights out I mean throwing a lot more strikes then balls.

You need to elaborate on what you mean by 'Losing it' Accuracy disappears? Confidence disappears? Alot of pitches start hitting in the dirt in front of the plate? She gets wild and throws to the left, right or both of the plate??

Need more data.

 

[Twenty20ticker]

You need to elaborate on what you mean by 'Losing it' Accuracy disappears? Confidence disappears? Alot of pitches start hitting in the dirt in front of the plate? She gets wild and throws to the left, right or both of the plate??

Need more data.

She goes through periods of inaccuracy.... Which I am guessing is normal at this age.