Where Have All the Pitchers Gone?

[CoachCeetar]

don't forget fielding! That ball gets back to you fast and at this level many of the fielding outs are 1-3 putouts. It's often the difference between a good inning and a bad one. Hell, our last game we lined out to the pitcher twice. She doesn't make those plays, we might win. There's an extra "Ready position" factor to the follow through when you're in a live game.

 

[lostcreek1]

The truth is if you want your child to get enough circle time to matter, she needs to be top 3 on her team. If she wants to pitch get her on a team where she is one of the top 3 when she is learning to pitch. This may mean getting on a team that doesn’t win a lot of games.

 

[JustBenHere]

I know after a year of pitching lessons my daughter's pitching coach finally said she was ready to pitch in games. This was after numerous sessions of her coming in on her own time to pitch to batters for hitting practice. None of the local rec or travel teams would give her the time of day because she had never pitched in a game. We had to travel 65 miles to find a rec team that would allow her to pitch at least 2 innings a week and after the first practice they realized she could actually pitch and she ended up pitching nearly every inning which was only 6 innings a week. Pitching time is not something easy to come by unless you are a coach's daughter or donate your way into a pitching spot. I remember her trying out for a local travel team during this time only to have a girl who had never been in lessons or pitched before winning her spot because her family donated new helmets and uniforms for that season. They won 5 games all year, and those were in a rec league when that girl didn't pitch. She is now recruited by some travel team or another every weekend she pitches. They offer expenses, gear, etc., and fortunately for us her pitching coach started a travel team and they have had the same group of girls minus one for the past 3.5 years.

 

[cvsoftball]

Time with the pitching coach should be learning technique for both student and parents. When I teach my students, I make sure and include the parents. Aren't they the ones who are doing most of the work with their DD?

 

[Chris8]

Based on @WPACoach 's comment ...

I agree with that observation. Pitching is like another sport ... and I wish pitching coaches would teach that it is not a solo sport.

When DD was younger her hitting coach talked to her and said if you want to be a P you'll need to work on some aspect of your game beyond the team practice. Somewhere you'll miss fielding or hitting....to pitch. It will be you're responsibility.
He said pitching is a sport within a sport. Words that stuck. She had to put the extra work in elsewhere. This something aspiring pitcher parents don't understand as well.

 

[The Man In Blue]

The truth is if you want your child to get enough circle time to matter, she needs to be top 3 on her team. If she wants to pitch get her on a team where she is one of the top 3 when she is learning to pitch. This may mean getting on a team that doesn’t win a lot of games.

A pitcher can win by striking everybody out ... a winning pitcher does not.

I agree, to get that opportunity to grow you might have to go to a team that isn't going to be able to provide adequate defensive support. The key is not to change your game and think that you now have to do all the work. Get the experience and then go where you will get support ... game changer.

 

[lostcreek1]

Get the experience and then go where you will get support ... game changer.

This is absolutely what it takes sometimes. A lot of people just will not be willing to do it.