To the OP, you are not off base. It is annoying. However, parents of 9U to 11U athletes are the craziest among all of the parents I have ever dealt with. Add to that the parent of a pitcher, and you have to take everything with a grain of salt. Most of what a parent tells me about their kid goes in my left ear and out my right ear. What I see is how I determine how good a player is. Everything else is fluff. If they don't ask for my opinion, I don't offer it, and it is best just to smile and encourage the kid to keep practicing. Don't let the parents get to you.
10U Pitching Question/Frustration
- Thread starter Rmc1981
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I am a parent of a 10u pitcher and manage the travel team she is on. She has 3 pitches. A fastball with 2 different grips and a change up. That's it. She is the starting pitcher but not because I am the manager. She earned her spot as she was the number 4 last year with a different manager and 1-3 moved up to 12u.
A 50mph+ FB that a pitcher can spot well, along with a GOOD change, can get a pitcher pretty well through 14U, IMO.
That's not to say that a young pitcher shouldn't start experimenting with movement pitches after her mechanics are sound.
What I look at for developing movement pitches is the spin rate and axis.
Just because you throw it low-to-high does not make it a riseball, and outside doesn't make it a curve, etc.
If a girl thinks she "has" all these pitches, but in reality, they are all spinning about the same axis, just thrown in a bit different trajectory; then someone is doing her a disservice.
That's not to say that a young pitcher shouldn't start experimenting with movement pitches after her mechanics are sound.
What I look at for developing movement pitches is the spin rate and axis.
Just because you throw it low-to-high does not make it a riseball, and outside doesn't make it a curve, etc.
If a girl thinks she "has" all these pitches, but in reality, they are all spinning about the same axis, just thrown in a bit different trajectory; then someone is doing her a disservice.
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I understand the OP's concern that this sort of pressure can be too much for a kid. In fact, Dd #3's PC has been trying to get me to really reduce the pressure on DD #3, since PC has seen several promising young pitchers completely burn out and quit softball.
I remember once DD #3 was complaining that people seemed to expect her to be the next Jennie Finch. I told her she would never be Jennie Finch, since JF is 6' tall and blonde. I pointed out to DD #3 she will never be anywhere near 6' tall, and she would have to dye her hair if she ever wants to be blonde.
I think DD's reaction was something along the lines of "Gee, thanks, DAD!"
I remember once DD #3 was complaining that people seemed to expect her to be the next Jennie Finch. I told her she would never be Jennie Finch, since JF is 6' tall and blonde. I pointed out to DD #3 she will never be anywhere near 6' tall, and she would have to dye her hair if she ever wants to be blonde.
I think DD's reaction was something along the lines of "Gee, thanks, DAD!"
IMO, and in accordance with what DDs PC teaches her, it's probably best to master the fastball and change up before adding other pitches to the arsenal. If you can't spot those two, it's unlikely you can spot a screwball.
A good, former DI catcher/batter recently told me she thought it was harder for her and her opponents to hit the drop/riseball combo than the curve/screw combo because the former requires a longer vertical axis through the strike zone than the latter. She said generally as a batter, she felt that she and opponents could make the lateral adjustment better than the vertical.
A good, former DI catcher/batter recently told me she thought it was harder for her and her opponents to hit the drop/riseball combo than the curve/screw combo because the former requires a longer vertical axis through the strike zone than the latter. She said generally as a batter, she felt that she and opponents could make the lateral adjustment better than the vertical.
I don't understand the frustration of what other people think of or do with their own kid. If a guy tells you his dd is the most beautiful girl he has ever known, would you correct him? Would it frustrate you to know that he thinks that way? You might think to yourself that he is delusional, because my dd is the most beautiful. But you would probably let it slide because it really doesn't change what it true or the reality of life. This is no different.
I just nod my head and say, you must be proud and move on.
I just nod my head and say, you must be proud and move on.
Thanks to everyone for their thoughts. Considering them all and my stance.
I guess I don't really care what other pitchers from other teams are learning. Fact is, the more time they spend working on a 37 mph rise ball the better because it's less time they are working on being effective with their main pitches. The particular guy from last night is a unique case for me. We have a bit of a history. At one point I benched his daughter which lead to him trying to fight me on the field and me kicking him out of my dugout and off the team, etc. We are good now; however, he is forever trying to prove something to me and the other 4 coaches who've kicked them off their teams. I think that's where my frustration comes in.
As to other girls, I mostly just shake my head. With my pitchers, I want you to hit your spots consistently with FB/CU before we start on other things. I've not seen any 10U girls have consistent movement on their curve/screw/rise/drop/dropcurve, etc.
The idea of getting their hand used to the movement is intriguing to me. Also, the idea of keeping them interested is important at this age, so I get that. Will continue to think on these things.
I guess I don't really care what other pitchers from other teams are learning. Fact is, the more time they spend working on a 37 mph rise ball the better because it's less time they are working on being effective with their main pitches. The particular guy from last night is a unique case for me. We have a bit of a history. At one point I benched his daughter which lead to him trying to fight me on the field and me kicking him out of my dugout and off the team, etc. We are good now; however, he is forever trying to prove something to me and the other 4 coaches who've kicked them off their teams. I think that's where my frustration comes in.
As to other girls, I mostly just shake my head. With my pitchers, I want you to hit your spots consistently with FB/CU before we start on other things. I've not seen any 10U girls have consistent movement on their curve/screw/rise/drop/dropcurve, etc.
The idea of getting their hand used to the movement is intriguing to me. Also, the idea of keeping them interested is important at this age, so I get that. Will continue to think on these things.
I think the complaint is that some people believe a girl should master 1 or 2 really good pitches before learning her 7th pitch. I am not an expert, but my interpretation of what some pitching gurus have said leads me to believe that some pitching practices may be harmful to young girls. I could be wrong, and I could've misinterpreted what they said.
Besides, it is a well-known fact that MY DDs are the most beautiful girls around.
I cannot tell you how many times during tryouts a pitchers parent would brag about how many different pitches their DD threw or how fast she was throwing. Then when we set up and asked them to throw the different pitches and the balls DID NOT MOVE. Every pitch would hit a 12" pizza pan. And the radar gun was usually 4-6 MPH slower than the parent claimed too.
At 10U a pitcher needs to master her fastball mechanics - and be able to hit all 4 quadrants consistently and be able to throw a strike on demand. Then introduce a change up. Master both before you even think about learning movement pitches. Learning to pitch is a marathon, not a sprint, and too many psycho softball parents want their DD to "sprint" right out of the starting gate and they are burnt out 2 years later. A good pitching coach will help throttle an overly aggressive parent.
At 10U a pitcher needs to master her fastball mechanics - and be able to hit all 4 quadrants consistently and be able to throw a strike on demand. Then introduce a change up. Master both before you even think about learning movement pitches. Learning to pitch is a marathon, not a sprint, and too many psycho softball parents want their DD to "sprint" right out of the starting gate and they are burnt out 2 years later. A good pitching coach will help throttle an overly aggressive parent.
- Oct 22, 2009
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I find this a lot where I live. I lose a lot of 9-10yr old students because their friend goes to a coach so-in-so that will teach them all the pitches at 9yrs old.
They assume if the kid has "all the pitches" that makes them better than the kid that only has a fastball.
I hear it all the time, Suzy has 7 pitches! Yeah but Suzy can't throw a strike with any of them.
I share pitching area time with other instructors and I see their 9-10yr olds belting out all those pitches all over the backstop.
I have a general rule where I want my students to have good fastball form before we move on to change-ups. I want the time spent chunking pitches around on refining their mechanics for fastball.
When their mechanics are pretty much sound and around 50-50 strikes, we go on to change-ups and I add the drop when the change is around 50-50, and I add the rise spin right after the drop to get them used to it. After the drop is around 50-50, I'll decide on the curve or screwball depending on the pitcher and the way she is spinning already.
