Youngest daughter and pitching

[NVfishing]

My youngest daughter is starting to pitch. She's age six. Do you guys think it's ok to start this age? I don't want any injuries. She's having a blast and loves having coaches explain "how to". She's been wanting to play since she was two. She started a pitching motion at age two while watching big sis play.

It's very fun to watch. She's getting good rotation on the ball and starting to get some over the plate. Mid twenties on speed. Pitching from 35 feet.

 

[Sparky Guy]

Keep the "practice" times short. Let her dictate when she wants to pitch. Keep it fun. Make games out of it. At that age I would think a couple of times a week for 30 minutes or so should be good. One thing you may want to do is have her work with a league ball instead of a 10" ball at that age. It'll fit her hand better and it won't be too much weight for her shoulder to handle. A 10" ball is quite heavy for a girl that age.

Once she hits 8 or so would most likely be a good time to start her with a pitching coach.

You are the best judge as to the mental side of it with her. If you feels she's ready then start her sooner. If she wants to stop for a while that's OK too. IF she really wants to pitch she'll ask to start again.

 

[SoftSocDad]

It's pretty much the same as letting a 6yo go out and try any skill, like swinging a golf club or tennis racquet.

Pitching distance at 8u is 30' and most programs use the 10" ball for 8u.

Don't overthink it, just let her do her thing.

 

[Jojo]

I started a 6yr old. Very athletic with older softball sisters.
kept the lesson at 30 minutes, and sometimes just every other week.
I told her she only had to practice if she wanted to.
We didn't have 8U pitching so she pitched 10U as a 7yr old.

I have some older pitchers that play around with their 4yr old little sisters. They keep it fun, and just give them basics. They love to show me their new "skills".

 

[quincy]

Girl’s develop a lot of bad habits try to pitch a distance longer then they are capable off. Do not be afraid to move her mound position to a distance she is comfortable with. From your post that would probably be 30, or maybe, 25 feet. As her timing gets better slowly move her to the correct distance, if it looks like she is ”muscling” the ball move her up a little bit. You will both enjoy practice more.

 

[NVfishing]

We worked tonight. Made one little adjustment on grip and she started throwing strikes. About 40% over the plate in the strike zone from 35 ft after the adjustment. It was a huge improvement. After the adjustment even the misses were close. Some close enough that young girls would swing. It's very neat to see her improve so quickly. I've learned a lot from reading this forum the last couple of years. I almost feel like a pitching coach. It was also nice having older DD catch. That's how I found the bad grip.