Changing times for pitchers

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Aug 21, 2008
2,359
113
My daughter has taken pitching class for almost two years and all she has is fastball and changup. She had a coach briefly taught her rise ball spins. She also learned curve a little bit. But in games, there are only fastball and changup. She is at lower 40 now. First year 10U. But I don't think she will get 50 next year. Not possible with her size. I know spin and spot are important. But seriously, for 10U, travel ball coaches really want over 50 pitchers. Somehow, spin/spot pitching coaches don't understand it. If you talk to a spin/spot coach that her travel team coach want her to pitch faster, they will tell you that speed will come with time with correct mechanics. They are absolutely right but it is hard to watch your daughter got hit hard and her team got run ruled now. And even she could hit spot, she still need her team defense to work. When defense not work, a weak grounder or a fly ball is same as a hit. Not like pitching over 50 just strike out the batter.

Oh, another difference between speed coach and spin/spot coach is speed coach always has radar gun in class. Spin/spot coach seems never use their radar guns.

I think my question is to get her to pitch as fast as she could, also learning spin and spot, is two coaches approach better?

10u? A riseball? You are aware that in a year or 2, her life will change when she goes to the 12" ball, right? That's ALMOST like starting over for a young lady, especially with small hands. Her "riseball" with the 11" ball won't mean squat when she goes to the 12" ball. Try this yourself. Use a 12" ball, then try to do the same thing with a 14" or 16" ball. Good luck.

It's amazing that people need a license to catch a fish but not to teach pitching. A 10u throwing 50, there are mid major D1 pitchers throwing 55 at top speed!! But this clown won't let her on the team unless she breaks this barrier. Ever hear the old saying "marathon not a sprint"? This coach doesn't even want her to sprint, he wants her to race Jamaica's Mr. Bolt in the Olympics.

jadefish, run, don't walk from this a$$clown. Dollars to donuts 50% of his players and pitchers burn themselves out by 14U. It sounds like the pressure he/she is putting on these players is intense, and it's the wrong age for this. They aren't vying for scholarships, nobody remembers wins/losses at 10U (except this goof). And as Donnie Baker would say, "I'll say it right to his face!!!"
 
Jun 11, 2020
38
8
I am in the north east. So perhaps you have a very different situation. But around here 10U B/C doesn't see 50mph pitching. Further, any team that is so good that they won't look at pitchers less than 50mph have a team full of girls that can pick up slow grounders.
My daughter had the pleasure of facing a girl who threw 57/58 at 10u.
 
Feb 10, 2018
496
93
NoVA
If by 2nd year 12U and definitely by 14U your DD cannot consistently throw strikes and hit her spots much of the time, good luck finding circle time on a good team. It won’t matter how fast your DD can throw if she is walking a batter or two an inning. And if she is throwing them down the chute—even if she has above average speed for her age—better hitters are going to send the ball back hard where it came from.
 
Jul 5, 2016
652
63
We all agree that it's tough watching your daughter give up hits, especially the weak grounders and pop flys that are often the result of a good pitch. At least for defense, give it another year - by 2nd year 10U most teams will start making the routine plays. Of course, then comes 12U, and suddenly you realize that you really DO need outfielders after all...

Ain't that the truth. I can well remember the point when I realized that a great pitcher is backed by a great defensive team. My favorite games were always those where my daughter gave up fieldable hits and the fielders did their job.
 
Last edited:
Jul 16, 2019
67
18
10u? A riseball? You are aware that in a year or 2, her life will change when she goes to the 12" ball, right? That's ALMOST like starting over for a young lady, especially with small hands. Her "riseball" with the 11" ball won't mean squat when she goes to the 12" ball. Try this yourself. Use a 12" ball, then try to do the same thing with a 14" or 16" ball. Good luck.

It's amazing that people need a license to catch a fish but not to teach pitching. A 10u throwing 50, there are mid major D1 pitchers throwing 55 at top speed!! But this clown won't let her on the team unless she breaks this barrier. Ever hear the old saying "marathon not a sprint"? This coach doesn't even want her to sprint, he wants her to race Jamaica's Mr. Bolt in the Olympics.

jadefish, run, don't walk from this a$$clown. Dollars to donuts 50% of his players and pitchers burn themselves out by 14U. It sounds like the pressure he/she is putting on these players is intense, and it's the wrong age for this. They aren't vying for scholarships, nobody remembers wins/losses at 10U (except this goof). And as Donnie Baker would say, "I'll say it right to his face!!!"

I totally got it that majority of people here believe in spin and spot. But to be honest, if you are a 10U travel ball team coach, there are two pitchers, one can pitch 50 strike, the other can only pitch 42, whom you gonna pick. The answer is obvious. The coach just wanted to keep his team strong. His team is capable to run rule our team.

On the other hand, it might be the best interest for my DD to concentrate on spin and spot because of her size. Big girls are blessed with more options. Small girls just can't compete with big girls on pitching speed. And there are a lot small girls in softball. Because this is one of few team sports which are friendly to small girls, IMO.
 
Nov 20, 2020
995
93
SW Missouri
with all the talk of spin and speed i think what is being missed is great pitchers keep batters off balance. speed is good but if that is all a pitcher has they will get cranked in games 14U and up.

Agreed. But, not just changes in speed and movement. Also changes in rhythm. I think what often goes unseen is the ability of a pitcher to change her pitch rhythm to aid in keeping hitters off balance. All tools in the tool box need to be used.

Too much of the same thing usually gets solved.
 
Nov 20, 2020
995
93
SW Missouri
I totally got it that majority of people here believe in spin and spot. But to be honest, if you are a 10U travel ball team coach, there are two pitchers, one can pitch 50 strike, the other can only pitch 42, whom you gonna pick. The answer is obvious. The coach just wanted to keep his team strong. His team is capable to run rule our team.

On the other hand, it might be the best interest for my DD to concentrate on spin and spot because of her size. Big girls are blessed with more options. Small girls just can't compete with big girls on pitching speed. And there are a lot small girls in softball. Because this is one of few team sports which are friendly to small girls, IMO.

I would say the majority believe in spin and spot because the majority on here have gone through the whole process with their DD’s and/or coached it first hand. In some cases lived it.

In what I’ve seen and experienced the pitchers who can live on just burning it past hitters as a “career” is a very small percentage. Hitters are getting smarter and bats are getting better. I’d venture a guess that even half hit pitches come off hotter with today’s bats versus those from 15-20 years ago.

Your 10u pitcher will not be the same human by second year 12u. Definitely not by 14u. Add in a bigger ball and extra distance in 12u. It’s a new ballgame. Do some acclimate faster than others? Sure....but for the majority it’s a big change.

If your DD is throwing that fast at 10u and controlling it. That’s awesome and special. But at a certain age the playing field begins to level out. And a pitcher needs more than just speed. I’m not saying every pitcher needs to throw a hard breaking drop/curve/whatever (even though I’m a big fan of breaking balls). But movement and breaking planes is important. Pitchers need every advantage they can get. At some point a pitcher will top out. If they happen to top out early and can’t get the ball to move....good luck.
 
Apr 23, 2014
389
43
East Jabib
I totally got it that majority of people here believe in spin and spot. But to be honest, if you are a 10U travel ball team coach, there are two pitchers, one can pitch 50 strike, the other can only pitch 42, whom you gonna pick. The answer is obvious. The coach just wanted to keep his team strong. His team is capable to run rule our team.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Keep in mind that speed at 10U will be dominant for sure but as you move to 16U and 18U speed alone will not be sufficient to be successful, unless you’re playing B/C level ball. Speed, spin, spot. If you have 2 of the 3 you can be successful. You truly have all 3, you can be elite.
 
Aug 21, 2008
2,359
113
I totally got it that majority of people here believe in spin and spot. But to be honest, if you are a 10U travel ball team coach, there are two pitchers, one can pitch 50 strike, the other can only pitch 42, whom you gonna pick. The answer is obvious. The coach just wanted to keep his team strong. His team is capable to run rule our team.

On the other hand, it might be the best interest for my DD to concentrate on spin and spot because of her size. Big girls are blessed with more options. Small girls just can't compete with big girls on pitching speed. And there are a lot small girls in softball. Because this is one of few team sports which are friendly to small girls, IMO.

Fair point. I would say though, 50mph or 42mph, both are what I'd consider above average for 10U. And I'm talking REAL speeds, not when the radar gun malfunctions or when a family borrows a gun from ESPN who's speeds are higher than reality. LOL. I still don't think it can be overstated how much a pitcher "starts over" going from the 11" to 12" ball. Speed, spin, spots, that are developed with the 11" ball take a back seat for the MAJORITY when they go to the bigger ball. In fact, a good potion of young pitchers develop "bullet spin" when going to the 12" ball because they curl their wrist as a coping mechanism so it doesn't slip out of their hand. That extra inch in ball size feels like basketball to a young lady with small hands.
 

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