I have a DD that is the number 1 pitcher on her 12U team. The coaches daughter is the catcher. I am my daughters pitching coach, I have been calling her pitches since shes been pitching at 10u. My daughter has been very successful pitching this season. The coach now wants his daughter the catcher to call the pitches i would not have a problem with this but my DD the pitcher is not happy with this, She feels more at ease and trust me to call her pitches she says that her catcher does not know when to call a change etc. I told my daughter that she has the option to shake her off and throw what she thinks would work best. I tried to explain to the coach that his daughte the catcher would probley never have a chance to call the pitcher pitches beacuse the coach in the local high school calls all the pitchers pitches and at the college level the coach or the pitching coach would probley call them. Am i right or wrong to think this way? need direction.
Who should call the pitches the coach, dad, or catcher?????
- Thread starter eddie35
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- Jul 3, 2009
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Not sure how it works on your team, but typically the coach sends the calls in to the pitcher through the catcher. The catcher only relays the calls to the pitcher.
By 12U, only the catcher should be calling the pitches.
This thread reminds me of my days of calling my dd's pitches from behind the backstop when she played rec. I told myself I wasn't going to do that anymore when she joined a 12u travel team last year and oddly enough I've only felt the urge to call her pitches when the coach is calling them not the catcher. The coach lets his catchers call pitches during pool play games but likes to take over during elimination and to me it seems like he always goes for heat and never calls a change while his catchers do a better job of reading the batter and mixing up speeds.
- Oct 19, 2009
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I think the catcher should call the game, a catcher can pick-up on adjustments a batter makes where a coach or dad cannot tell from the side. The pitcher and catcher need a good understanding of each other and the pitcher needs to shake off a pitch she doesn’t believe it will work. The P & C need to talk in between innings; this pitch is moving good and this pitch is not working this game and etc.
My daughter's travel team coach and and HS coach call the games and she complains all the time on the pitch calling.
My daughter's travel team coach and and HS coach call the games and she complains all the time on the pitch calling.
Catchers should be able to call their pitcher's games.
Heaven forbid a 12 YOA girl would be unhappy.
If we want her to be happy, then why stop with Daddy helping her call pitches? Shouldn't Daddy pick her spot in the lineup for her? Shouldn't Daddy pick which games she will pitch? Shouldn't Daddy pick out the umpires for her? And the batters?
Last edited:
- Apr 2, 2010
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I know it's hard, but the catcher needs to learn to call pitches. The question is, "When do you stop calling pitches?" Are you still going to call her pitches at 14U, H.S., 18U Gold? I'm not even crazy about Coach calling pitches, but when Daddy calls them you give your daughter a lot of baggage to carry around from team to team and coach to coach. Many coaches have enough ego that they want to hold the reins and would not look kindly upon a dad interfering. I understand your frustration. It's tough to know that your dd could be more successful with better pitch calling. However, when we're parents, we just need to back off, cheer, and pace up and down the left field fence.
