Good hitter or good pitcher?

[sticknstring]

Thanks for the responses so far. As I originally mentioned, we will continue to work on both, it's not an either or situation. I want her to be as good as she can be at both. I just don't want to look back in a few years when she is older and wish we would have focused more on one thing instead of trying to do it all. The old "Jack of all trades, master of none" thing. Obviously she will be more attractive to colleges the more skills she has. I guess Im just curious whether lefty hitting or lefty pitching is valued more by colleges coaches.

We will see how things go and work on what seems to need more attention at the time.

 

[CoogansBluff]

... I also know she may never achieve her maximum potential at either while trying to do both. My question is should we be focusing more on one instead of trying to do both at a high level? ... She really wants to do do both, I just worry she could really be limiting herself by not focusing more on one or the other. ... We may be hurting her future by not striving to be very good at one thing as opposed to pretty good at two things.

I don't think about the ''future'' and ''reaching potential'' the same way that many seem to. The way I see it, they're not going to play for the rest of their lives, and they're not going to make a living out of it. It's not like schoolwork and education, which lasts a lifetime. Therefore, my attitude with softball is ''seize the day.'' If she loves to pitch, then I'd recommend she follow her heart. So what if she doesn't reach her potential? She might not want to play in college once she gets there anyway. She might enjoy 4 years of pitching in travel ball and high school more than playing outfield for 4 years in college. This is a good topic. These are things your daughter should think about. But I'd just remember that life in fastpitch softball is short.

 

[nanotech14]

I read coogansbluff's post it is true, I can't say that it is wrong, nor can I say it is right. I know the OP is looking for ideas or even to validate what they know all ready. But here is the deal, it is a lifetime question, "what if" life is full of them. None of us here can answer your question. We all have are "what ifs". The life in fastpitch softball is short, I do not disagree with that statement. But life in general also can be short. I would rather live 50 years with no regret, then 100 years with "what if".

 

[sluggers]

She could be a good pitcher and a good hitter. The problem for me is her age. I don't know if she has the time to become "good" at pitching. And, after she becomes "good", how she is going to get to pitch? She'll have to take out one of the pitchers on the team, and that could be a problem.

Kids start dropping softball around 14YOA, meaning that the players left in the game are more dedicated and talented. There is a huge leap from 14U to 16U. In order for her to get pitching time, she is going to have take someone else's slot on the team. She is going to have to beat out the other pitchers to get a chance to throw. I'm not doubting her talent, but it is pretty long haul to get to the top of the heap.

 

[Greenmonsters]

There are 9 starting positions on a SB team (not including DP/Flex, EH, etc), them being 1 pitcher/hitter and 8 non-pitchers/HITTERS. A coach can only have 1 pitcher in the circle at a time yet they have 8 times the options to fit in a hitter. IMO, there's always a way to get a strong bat into the line up, the same can't be said for pitchers. That said, she shouldn't stop pitching if its something she enjoys and wants to continue working at.

 

[RubberBiscuit]

I'll keep it to a more simple answer:

I feel really good pitchers are that for a reason - they have special talents. I feel that these special talents allow a really good pitcher to more easily become a good batter. In conclusion if you feel your DD can be a truly special pitcher then go after that harder. The batting will come along with all the good batting training she will get from the better club teams that will pick her up for her pitching skills.

my .02 cents.

 

[undergroundga]

We spend about 70% of our time working on pitching. Dd takes weekly lessons, plus pitches prolly 2 more days a week(sometimes more. Of course I like to think her pitching with me at home is like a lesson). Occasionally, Dw steps in to catch. I am the dad, but I think her development is coming along well. She made her team last year as an outfielder, but by end of season was #1 pitcher, which has carried over to this year(she tried out for team as a catcher this year and really wanted to play that position, but it's not gonna happen). Understand that we are not an "A" team nor do we play that type of schedule. She does well at the lefel we play but I wouldn't say she is dominant,..........yet!
We spend about 20% of our time working on catching. She takes a lesson occasionally with a local senior that is going to a Div.1 school. Then she catches for another pitcher about once a week, but other than that we really don't work on it much. In typical dad fasion, I think she has potential at this position too, especially if she put the amount of work into pitching.
We also spend about 2% on fielding.
So that only leaves about 8% of our time on hitting. She goes to a weekly lesson, that we rarely miss. But that is about it. Occasionally(yesterday) we do some stuff at home, but not very often. As expected she is not the best hitter. Don't get me wrong, she's alright and has a beautifull swing(I think timing is her main issue), but again if we spent more time on it........
I don't think it has to be an either or thing. There are some really good pitchers that are also excellent hitter. I think it's about what your dd enjoys. Mine doesn't really care about hitting. She would way rather pitch, catch or field grounders than hit. In fact, I think she would be fine if she didn't even go to hitting lessons. But get her pitching or fielding...... she would spend all day doing those if you let her. Running too, she's not the fastest but loves to run and work on running. For some reason, I think I have the only kid that doesn't care about hitting.

 

[Scl1991]

We were in this same type of situation. My DD started pitching at 11, though. She played other positions as well, and could hit. Not an overwhelming pitcher, but very very effective. Did lessons in both. At 15 she sprained her elbow, which forced a 3 month hiatus from softball. When it was time to jump back in, she said: I love to hit and can play other positions. Pitching is a lot of work. I'm 5'5 and will always have a disadvantage in pitching at the DI level (which she'd always wanted to play). I'd rather focus on other positions ---- and she quit pitching. I think her heart was not in it anymore or she would have kept it all up. Pitching takes many many hours of hard work. So does hitting. That's why the two sometimes don't go together. But, there are many many players who are successful at both. And a lefty pitcher can be a hot commodity. If she's athletic, a late start into pitching might not matter. Some people are naturals. If she enjoys it, let her keep going. It'll play itself out, one way or the other.

 

[PEPPERS]

Seems like I recall Monica Abbott one time saying it was later for her to start pitching maybe 11-12 or something like that.

Usually pitchers are good hitters, IMO they know what to look for in spins and how a certain spin affects the movement of the ball.

DD is a pitcher and a hitter and a freshman in college, she led her college team in BA at 533 in the fall schedule. She has to work hard on both to keep pace with the other pitcher and hitters, while she is pitching in practice the team is hitting and she misses much of the batting practice. She shows up to practice early and on weekends to practice hitting on her own.

IMO kids can be successful at both, you have to be dedicated to both to make it work JMO.

 

[CoogansBluff]

Usually pitchers are good hitters, IMO they know what to look for in spins and how a certain spin affects the movement of the ball.

I don't have enough information to dispute that, but I'd be curious to see if that theory is true.

On my last team, our 1-2 pitchers ranked about #6 and #10 in hitting. On the team before that, they ranked #9 and #11. That was 12U. Where does the ace pitcher bat on college teams on average? I don't know. Just curious.