Earning circle time?

[Momo'sDad]

Parents thought it was better to have other teams hit the ball like it was batting practice for them.

They were right. Walks are a part of the game, but 60 completely unhittable pitches in a row is tough on teams. Watching 20 runs a game walked in does nothing to help develop the fielders. Young rec teams who don't have a true pitcher do need to have a lobber who can come in and toss and inning or 2 of BP to the other team.

Most parents and players have no idea how much time is required to develop a circle-ready 9yo pitcher.

Our #1 has been pitching about 18 months, since she was 7. Our #2 has been pitching for about 8 months, since just before her 9th bday. Our #2 is only a few months older than #1, but there's a clear difference in their respective experience levels.

Our first 2 backup pitchers also began pitching in the spring of this year. The younger one is really committed and practices often, while the older one practices off and on. The younger girl is a 2003. She should be playing 8u now, but her old coach pushed her to come to 10u. I've been able to get her into 2 league games, so she's seen a lot of batters this fall, but not nearly as many innings as if she was on the 8u team. If she continues her training this winter, she could be a pretty decent pitcher by spring. As for her old coach thinking she'll pitch on the all-star team next summer, though, I am not a fan of giving parents unrealistic expectations. Unless someone comes out of nowhere, we pretty much know who the 4 all-star pitchers will be.

The older backup got her first inning this past weekend and did very well, surrendering only 3 runs against a great hitting team in a 34-pitch inning, and 29% of her pitches were strikes. Those are numbers any rec coach around here could live with.

The next 2 in line after them got an inning each during the seeding tournament, but won't pitch anymore this season. One is 9, the other is 8, and hopefully both will continue working on it during the winter.

So, we've got 6 pitchers and all have seen the circle at least once this season. There are 2-3 others who want to pitch, but it's unlikely they'll get that opportunity with this team.

In our situation, it's the players and I who run the team. The players earn opportunities by demonstrating through their willingness to put in the work and by BEING GOOD TEAMMATES. The parents are welcome to voice their concerns to me or our assistant at the appropriate time, but their input about softball - while important - is less valuable than the kids' to me.

For me personally, the progression is fun to watch, regardless of where these young players go from here.

 

[rdbass]

Maybe I am missing something here I never said how many unhittable pitches were thrown.My point is I believe in developing a pitcher and to do that they need to pitch.They need to pitch correctly at a young age and at a young age they will be alot of walks.To have a pitcher just throw pitches underhand with no windmill motion is not correct.This will not develop that girl into a pitcher.I would rather have a pitcher that pitches with the correct motion and struggle pitching than I pitcher who just throws under hand like batting practice for the other team.From my experience that girl will not pitch in the future atleast around here she won't.Thats just my 2 cents.

 

[marriard]

rdbass

I do agree that more youngsters should get the chance to pitch.

However, at that age, most pitchers walk more batters than they strike out. And you don't teach them to just throw it over, that might work in baseball but it does not work underhanded. I spend a lot of time trying to get kids over this slow bowling technique, and the slow "controlled arm" technique can cause strains in the wrist especially.

Be patient. They're kids.

This is why our rec league does modified kid pitch/coach pitch in 10U so that the girls get a chance to pitch correctly and pitch a lot, but we avoid the walk-fests, batters get to swing every at bat even on a brand new pitcher, more balls get into play for fielders and the game keeps moving (we also do a 5 run limit per inning as well). We were careful to make it very limited coach pitch so that the batters can't just keep the bat on their shoulders and wait for the coach to come in (and the umpires are asked to call a generous strike zone).

Coaches only come in at 3-1 (2 coach pitches) or 3-0 (3 coach pitches). if you foul the last coach pitch off you get one additional pitch (out if you foul it again). All other counts the kid pitches including 3-2 (where a batter can walk if they throw a ball). This, plus a league wide emphasis on pitching (Sunday evening we had 1 hour pitching and catchers sessions) meant by mid-season the coaches were coming out only once or twice most games - some games not at all.

Our league was really pleased by the way this ended up working.

 

[BB875]

Ok, I gotta share this. My oldest DD is going to Chicago this weekend for a showcase tourney (18U gold- Homer Hawks Event) we leave in the morning. My #2 DD (team I coach but wife is taking over this weekend because I have to go to Chicago for DD#1) is playing in Des Moines at the 14U "A" level & DD#3 is playing as a pick up player for their league play at the 10U level for a Quad City team...DD#3 is a hoot to watch because she is so intense. The wife and I actually get to "watch" games and enjoy seeing her have fun. She got a chance to pitch last week in league and did great! However, she is 9yo, but has been taking pitching lessons for 2 years through a 3rd party coach that is great. If a kid wants to pitch it has to be taken serious and she needs to get good instruction. AS you can see we spend a fortune on softball & our DDs earn their spots on TB teams. DD#3 is getting opportunities to pitch because she practices and is able to perform on the field. If she walked 3-4 batters in a row, I would expect the coach to pull her. Why watch a train wreck? Pull her and give her an opportunity some other day!