I have been working with a girl on pitching for about 9 months now. She was 7 when I got her and couldn't catch or throw, but her Daddy wanted her to pitch. She has some natural ability and seemed to pick up everything fairly quick. But she was 7 just turning 8. Some practices would be me fetching the ball all night long. She got better slowly and mechanically I could tell she was close. Well two weeks ago, she had that practice where it just clicked. She took that big step we all dream about. She is now throwing the ball very consistently with some pop. She is throwing strikes, hitting corners...... practice is awesome. So her Dad is pretty excited right now. I mean way excited. So I try and explain that she is still 8 years old and there will be days she just can't figure anything out. But she has made huge strides of late. I can already see the look in his eyes. His DD has a total of about 5 innings pitched in her life and he is ready to sign the D1 scholarship. How do I keep him grounded, so when she lays an egg in the circle (and she will), he doesnt flip out on her? Any suggestions?
What to say to a Daddy to keep him grounded?
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- Jun 24, 2013
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Find a good tournament in your area and ask him to take his DD to one of the games.
Great idea.
If you happen to be in ear range if and when he goes off on his daughter....just walk over and tell him You Can Get Anything You Want At Alice's Restaurant. But you need to make sure the daughter can (yes) hear you say this to him.
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- Dec 7, 2011
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My 2 cents -
Ya have to let that dad figure it out on his own. The emotions of a pitching DD dad is a very uncontrollable beast at times (been there - done that).
The most blunt I would be is saying something like "There are some good signs and if she works very very hard,...ya never know. But roads to Elite pitcher status is a long long road with countless peaks & valleys. Enjoy your peaks (as the high he is experiencing right now) but be ready for the valleys (and they will probably have a flesh-eating dinosaur or two in them).
In saying something like this you are not challenging his conclusions on his DD BUT you are potentially opening his eyes up to the reality of the journey.
Ya have to let that dad figure it out on his own. The emotions of a pitching DD dad is a very uncontrollable beast at times (been there - done that).
The most blunt I would be is saying something like "There are some good signs and if she works very very hard,...ya never know. But roads to Elite pitcher status is a long long road with countless peaks & valleys. Enjoy your peaks (as the high he is experiencing right now) but be ready for the valleys (and they will probably have a flesh-eating dinosaur or two in them).
In saying something like this you are not challenging his conclusions on his DD BUT you are potentially opening his eyes up to the reality of the journey.
I agree. He is living in the excitement of his daughter becoming a pitcher. Hopefully SHE loves it as much as he does since "he" wanted her to be a pitcher. As far as keeping him grounded I second the motion about taking him to a tournament and letting him see other pitchers. I would watch the games too where a pitcher might be struggling a little so he can witness it.
There is nothing that can prepare a parent of a pitcher for the rollercoaster ride except experience. I think it was Sluggers who said it, "2 steps forward, 3 steps back".
I'd tell him... You are ready to find her, her own catcher, and get them both taking hitting lessons together too.
- Jun 24, 2013
- 1,057
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We were lucky in that we had a TB pitcher a few years older than DD living next door.
Latest news is she was the starting pitcher on her HS as a freshmen, got her varsity letter and is probably done with SB. She wants a life and to spend more time on school.
Latest news is she was the starting pitcher on her HS as a freshmen, got her varsity letter and is probably done with SB. She wants a life and to spend more time on school.
Don't get too worried, he will ground himself eventually. Just keep on doing what you are doing. Unless he is asking about skills videos to send off to D1 schools.
Oh, no. He has a long, hard road ahead of him. (cue A Long and Winding Road) A guy that I knew, like him, bought a house one weekend - just to move his DD to a different school district. She was in school X on Friday and on the team. Didn't get to pitch - and she was in school Z, Monday morning. It was funny at the time.
