When is it time to retire from pitching?

[Mrek]

With all of the comments on this forum regarding 10U players throwing 60MPH, here's a change up...

I am looking for thoughts regarding when to end a pitching career.

My DD is 16 (sophomore) and is the #2 on her HS varsity team and a #3 on a decent 18U B travel team. She has had formal PC training for 5yrs, has topped out on the gun at 60, generally cruises around 56-57. Her issue has been command for her entire career. It seemed like she made good progress last summer with a different travel team but we switched teams after the travel season, primarily due to playing time issues. She played in the fall with her new team and went 5-1, generally pitching well but issued 4-5 walks per game. She pitched in 5 HS varsity games last year and went 1-2. This year she is 2-1 in 5 games and will likely start 2-3 more games as the team has made the state tournament. In HS ball she is still at 4 walks per 7 (a little over 6K's/7, not overpowering). She pitched against a HS arch rival earlier in the year and walked 6 in route to a 6-3 loss (her single loss this year). She led that game 3-0 after 3 and was basically cruising. Yesterday, she played her first scrimmage DH for travel this year. Hit three batters in the first inning, another later in the game and walked 5 losing 8-7. Needless to say she is frustrated and has made the statement for the first time that she should give up pitching after this season. After this year, her HS team will be comprised of mostly underclassmen and even with her command issues she should be the #1 for her remaining two years (There are no underclass pitchers pushing at this time). While we are not fanatical about her training, she throws about 200 pitches per week in the off-season (we are in the NE) and 300 p/week during the season between games and side sessions. Her PC claims repetition will address the command issue, however I have lost faith in that assessment. She has broken out somewhat as an offensive player this year hitting .460 in HS ball and cranked a legit HR in the Travel scrimmage yesterday. Her secondary position is OF and has extremely good foot speed (sub 3 sec H-1st times). So she could probably still play but not pitch.

It is clear to me she does not know what to do, and she nor I can come up with a way to fix her issues. I would like to steer her in the right direction but feel conflicted about all of the work put in to date.
Any thoughts on when to stop pitching would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I would drive her to the best pitching coach within a 4 hour drive. I bet she is fixable.

If you have game video, I would be interested in seeing it. If not, practice video is OK.

 

[sluggers]

While we are not fanatical about her training, she throws about 200 pitches per week in the off-season (we are in the NE) and 300 p/week during the season between games and side sessions

The performance of your DD mirrors EXACTLY the amount of effort she is putting into it. Your DD is a marginal pitcher, which is what you would expect from someone putting in a 50% effort.

Her PC claims repetition will address the command issue, however I have lost faith in that assessment

No doubt, you want to hear, "There is a simple, easy fix." There isn't. Either she works her a** off or she stays exactly where she is.

If she is going to improve, she needs to be practicing about 90 minutes (the 90 minutes includes warm ups and cool down) 3 to 4 times a week in the off-season from September on. We lived in Chicagoland, and the weather there is as bad, or perhaps worse, than that in NE. It was expensive and difficult to find a place to throw, but we did it. My DD during HS was probably throwing in total (including warmups) about 1500 pitches a week. And (surprise), my DD went 50+ innings without walking a batter.

I'm not criticizing her or you if you don't want to put in the time. The amount of time and energy that my DD and I put into pitching is staggering. Many good, intelligent people would say, "No, it is not worth it." (My DD#3 said just that.) But, just don't expect her to be a great pitcher if you are just playing around with this.

At her age, she has to go "all in" with pitching. She has to make pitching the center of her universe, or she needs to give it up.

Control is not about "throwing a strike." Control is about consistently putting the ball within 1 or 2 *INCHES* of a target that changes every pitch. Your DD can't do that, so she walks people or she gives up big hits.

AMY: How in the world is she going to improve if she isn't working at it? She can go see the best pitching coach in the universe and it won't help.

 

[Lozza]

I'm not understanding the problem.

Your daughter from the sounds of it enjoys pitching, puts a lot of effort in it and has a talent. She's currently experiencing a problem and you're debating whether to have her stop pitching? What kind of life lesson is that? 'If its gets too hard quit'

I would try another pitching coach. I would stop putting so much pressure on her. I would let her enjoy the game, win or lose.

 

[Goobie]

I agree that she is probably fixable. I also agree that repetition (if her form is good) will help with the control. IMO 200/300 pitches per week is a little on the light side for a HS player. My 8th grader practices 3-4 times a week for at LEAST an hour a session (plus games on the weekends). If I had to calculate, she pitches 180-200 pitches per hour (roughly four pitches a minute minus breaks and time to pick up the balls, etc.).

If your DD starts out well but "loses" it during the game, you may also want to look at the length of your DD's practice sessions. We have another pitcher on the team that pitches for exactly 30 minutes each practice (Dad sets up a timer!). During games you can see exactly when she passes that 30 minute mark. She suddenly loses her control and speed. She runs out of gas. She is good for 2-3 innings and that is it. I would recommend working in a longer session into the routine to build endurance.

If your DD starts out slow (e.g. hit 3 batters first inning), I would definitely review her pre-game warm-up routine with her PC. She may not be warming up properly. My DD had a nasty habit of "warming up in the first inning" which drove me crazy. When she was markedly better than the other pitchers on her team she could get away with it as the coaches would let her work through it. With a full stable of pitchers the last few years, it didn't take but a few times of getting pulled in the first inning to get her to focus on her warm-up.

Lastly my DD practices like she does because it is very fun for her. It is a lot of work but she enjoys it. (working hard at this moment to correct a re-plant issue before she gets to high-school). If you ask your DD to go practice and she grabs the bat instead of the glove perhaps she is having more fun hitting than pitching. There is nothing wrong with focusing on hitting and fielding and giving up pitching if she isn't enjoying it. It is supposed to be fun. However, she might have more fun pitching if she was more successful which might come with more repetition and practice. If she were my daughter I would talk to her about the practice schedule and increasing it for a period of time. At the end of that time, evaluate if any progress was made and if she was enjoying it more and then base the decision on those results. Just my opinions... Good luck!

 

[Mrek]

Maybe I didn't express the situation clearly enough. The command issue has not cropped up recently, but has been there since she got the ability or the opportunity to actually stay in games. The competition has not ratcheted up; the travel competition she plays at is slightly above school ball. The won/loss records I gave are not against A teams, just marginal or even poor teams. So things are not getting too hard, she is beating herself. And her recent comments about quitting pitching indicate she is not enjoying herself. I would have to lean toward Sluggers on this one, although I do not expect her to be "great" just reasonably competitive. In regard to some of Sluggers other comments, I am not looking for a quick fix, I was interested in getting some opinions on if we should press on and "work harder" and when and why some people may have decided not to.

 

[Jojo]

I have to agree with sluggers on this one.
During the first 5 years of her pitching she never learned the term "Work Ethics".
Her PC is correct--It's called "muscle memory".

I tell my younger students if you don't have good work ethics by the time you reach high school, someone else will, and that is the one that is going to pitch.
Do you think college students with poor work ethics get recruited?

 

[sluggers]

A player cannot approach a sport trying to be "good enough to get by". A player either goes "b***s to the wall" and gives it everything she has, or she is mediocre. (And, again, I'm not saying she or you has a problem because you don't want to put in the time. Geez...softball is just a game.)

There is no guarantee she'll get better. I do guarantee that if she doesn't do more, she will *NOT* get better.

 

[tojo]

I also agree with Sluggers on the time she puts into her practices, but I believe some of the control problems are probably from some mechanical issues. A video would be the best route to get feedback if there is some fixes to her control problems.