Looking for opinions and guidance:
My dd just turned 13 in December 2021.
She’s pitched since she was 10. We never put too much emphasis on developing her in this area as she was simply thrown out there as relief because she could get the ball across the plate. She gained some decent momentum in first year 12u and we opened up to the idea of investing in some formal training. Enter Covid. Ugh!
Once the game got up and running again she was second year 12u. Her main position is 2nd base and excels there, and once again, ended up fulfilling the team’s need of relieving the #1 pitcher for the season. She was pretty consistent and reliable, but pretty much winging it out there.
We are now embarking on her first year 14u. We opted to stick with our rec league for the circle time and to really give pitching a go. I reached out to a softball training organization to get the ball rolling on some formal pitching instruction. The advice I received has my head spinning.
I spoke with the owner who said it’s too late for her to seriously jump into pitching as other girls at her level are already pitching FAST and developing/perfecting their 3rd pitch. It was also stated that her birthday puts her at a disadvantage coupled with being a grade lower (currently 7th grade) than 14u competitors. She said she’ll never pitch in travel so what’s the point of doing lessons for 1 season of rec?
I need some opinions on the advice I received. I don’t want my girl to invest her time/energy in an area that is slated for dead-end. She is extremely self motivated and disciplined and willing to work toward her goals. Ultimately her short term goal is to play in high school.
Do we scrap the pitching development at this point? Is it really too late to give this a shot?
My dd just turned 13 in December 2021.
She’s pitched since she was 10. We never put too much emphasis on developing her in this area as she was simply thrown out there as relief because she could get the ball across the plate. She gained some decent momentum in first year 12u and we opened up to the idea of investing in some formal training. Enter Covid. Ugh!
Once the game got up and running again she was second year 12u. Her main position is 2nd base and excels there, and once again, ended up fulfilling the team’s need of relieving the #1 pitcher for the season. She was pretty consistent and reliable, but pretty much winging it out there.
We are now embarking on her first year 14u. We opted to stick with our rec league for the circle time and to really give pitching a go. I reached out to a softball training organization to get the ball rolling on some formal pitching instruction. The advice I received has my head spinning.
I spoke with the owner who said it’s too late for her to seriously jump into pitching as other girls at her level are already pitching FAST and developing/perfecting their 3rd pitch. It was also stated that her birthday puts her at a disadvantage coupled with being a grade lower (currently 7th grade) than 14u competitors. She said she’ll never pitch in travel so what’s the point of doing lessons for 1 season of rec?
I need some opinions on the advice I received. I don’t want my girl to invest her time/energy in an area that is slated for dead-end. She is extremely self motivated and disciplined and willing to work toward her goals. Ultimately her short term goal is to play in high school.
Do we scrap the pitching development at this point? Is it really too late to give this a shot?