Another rant

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Aug 21, 2008
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On Facebooks "The Fastpitch Zone" I started a massive argument just for fun. I innocently asked "Does the Riseball really rise? Asking for a friend, thanks" And the responses were just amazing to say the least. And yes, I did it to watch the replies from the experts who know everything about pitching. LOL. Comic relief on a Wednesday night and they're still arguing there. lol.

Today though I want to rant about one of the most difficult things I deal with in my instruction: believing success now means success later. It doesn't. Not even close. I'll site 2 examples of when it becomes the worst.

9/10 year old pitchers who can throw strikes 50% or more will probably strike out 12 or more per game. Why? Not because they are "so dominant" but because at that age a good number of girls at that age (and probably boys too, I'm not being sexist I just don't have experience with boy's baseball) are terrified of the ball and many are simply scared to swing. So, the pitcher racks up 12 or more K's per game and mom/dad are already booking flights to UCLA for a college visit. And lets be honest, a pitcher can do this, at this age, using hello elbow mechanics. H/E mechanics pretty much teach someone to throw the ball straight down the middle since the mechanics involved don't allow for proper movement. I'm not suggesting a 9 year old is throwing a riseball, but with practice it's not difficult for a kid to be able to throw strikes using any pitching form. And as I said, that's all it takes when so many young players don't want to swing, aren't even looking to swing the bat, and are afraid of being hit so they don't stay in the batters box. It's almost impossible to tell the parent of this pitcher that what they're seeing now is not how it will be in 2 short years. They won't believe you. And why would they? Their kid is dominant. Their pitching coach is a genius. Fast forward anywhere from 2-5 years later and the new pitching instructor has to get this kid to unlearn so much of what they've done in order to throw properly. Many of these pitchers don't overcome this and it's a shame. Some great athletes give up on pitching, after being a 9 year old phenom because too many H/E mechanics are too difficult for her to get rid of. It can also make the new coach look like a jerk when they have to explain to the pitcher and parents that we're going back to basics and starting from scratch. That's not what parents want to hear. Many are polite and they will thank you for your time, then never return. They'll look for a new H/E instructor that can save the day. And sadly that pitcher will never achieve her potential. But, as grandma would always say, "you can't save every puppy at the pound".

The second is the high schooler, already knowing where she's going for college. And lets use a great example of someone who's going to a Power 5 school. Lets even say this girl, just with natural ability can throw upper 60's. And by sheer velocity alone, she wins games. She's a High School superstar and pitches for a good travel team. How do you tell someone who's throwing 68 (legit 68, not the fabricated speed parents make up or the fabricated speed of ESPN radar guns) that she needs the ball to actually move at the next level? That's a hard sell. The best pitching coach in the world cannot teach someone to throw 70. A kid can either do it or they can't. As a coach you and insure that she's doing everything mechanically correct to get the most speed possible, but you can't teach 70 mph. Which is why so few actually throw that hard. But, trying to tell a kid and parent that throwing that hard without movement is great but, she could be even better with correct spins on the ball and actual ball movement. After all, they have legit arguments against that. They could point to Fouts, Garcia, or others who throw hard without correct spins that are at the height of college softball. And, the coach has to concede that point. Yes, those pitchers are at the top of the game without correct spin on the ball. But the LEGENDS of the game, such as Osterman takes a little less speed on her pitches but adds movement. Osterman could've probably thrown just as hard as Abbott, Garcia, Fouts, etc. but she figured out what all great pitchers do: speed is good, movement is better. She was the US team's #1 pitcher at 38 years old because of this pitching philosophy. But it's a nightmare, unwinnable fight to tell someone who's throwing 70 and winning at 17 yrs old that they could be even better.

For me it's the most frustrating thing I deal with as a coach: convincing a kid who's already winning that they still have things to improve on to be great.

Rant over.
 
Aug 21, 2008
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Feel better? I hope so because it ain't gonna change.
you're right. It won't change. I can only hope this message is shared with parents of young pitchers and this hits home with them. The pitching coaches out there, mostly no H/E coaches, know of what I speak. But, if this message can save just one pitcher from mediocrity instead of greatness, I'll feel good about it. Until then, no I don't feel better Tatonka. But thanks for asking.
 
Aug 24, 2021
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Bill, what are your thoughts then on a young pitcher (13 - first year 14U) that is struggling to get to mid 50's, but has had good results in generating weak hits and strikes w/ ball location and a great changeup? I'm asking cause it seems to be a challenge to keep my daughter from beating herself up due to lack of speed against taller/ bigger pitchers who seem to hit mid to upper 50's at will....but i started to see them get hit up against true A level bats in second year 12U....
 

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
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by the way, does the riseball really rise? Asking for a friend. Thanks.
Or this version
Does baseball have a pitch that ends up higher at the batter than the release point of the pitcher?

Quirky question deserves quirky response...
For your friend of course 🥳
 
Aug 21, 2008
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Bill, what are your thoughts then on a young pitcher (13 - first year 14U) that is struggling to get to mid 50's, but has had good results in generating weak hits and strikes w/ ball location and a great changeup? I'm asking cause it seems to be a challenge to keep my daughter from beating herself up due to lack of speed against taller/ bigger pitchers who seem to hit mid to upper 50's at will....but i started to see them get hit up against true A level bats in second year 12U....
That's a tough one. In many cases, the ones who can naturally throw 60 are the ones who have the least work ethic to get better. NOT ALL PEOPLE, spare me the messages about your daughter throwing 60 and works out like a fiend. I'm saying many don't practice like they should. And the ones who want it the most have to work twice as hard to just compete. Maybe her lack of speed is genetics? Maybe it's incorrect mechanics? I don't know. Most speed and power comes from the legs so she has to make sure her pitching as as much of that as possible. I'm sorry to hear she's driving herself mad about it. There is probably something she can do naturally that I, and others, cannot do but would love to. That's not "fair" either. But it's just the way it is. At the end of the day, if she's winning at the top level tournaments (not just the local and regional ones) then coaches will take notice of her effectiveness. I had a girl when I coached at a college that didn't throw 60mph, she was in the 50's. But her movement won her over 20 games that year. So, tell her not to panic and keep working hard. Maybe a coaching change would help, I have no idea who your coach is but if she's not getting what he or she is teaching, regardless of who or how great the coach is, then she has to go to one that can get through to her.
 
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