Diffrent pitches 12u pitchers should know

[Traps71]

At 12U my DD just had a fastball and an okay change up. I would recommend just focusing on mechanics and how to command those two pitches. It will pay dividends later. I used to laugh at other dads who said their DD had a curve ball at 11 or were working “on a rise.” I caught bullpens for all these girls. They had fastballs. Almost none had a change up.

Later, my DD added a drop ball (same mechanics as fastball) and just to make @Hillhouse’s head explode, a screwball. My DD is not a hard thrower, but has got a lot of circle time—including now in HS as a Freshman on varsity—because she can hit her spots and move the ball. If you don’t know where the ball is going when you throw it—no matter what the pitch is—you are ultimately not of much use.

 

[bmakj]

high and outside fast ball that catches corner, low inside fastball that catches corner. those two, if she can consistently hit the spots, will be fine at 12u. learn to hit spots.

think coaches get enamored with pitchers who have "multiple" pitches because it lets them try to be cute and look knowledgable calling pitches. honestly, if given a couple of weeks of doing it live, DD could probably call a better game for each of her pitchers than HC can. she knows when they have a pitch on a given day and when it has gone to hell.

 

[KrisHur]

Second year 14U DD up to this last summer had a fastball and change up. Over the winter she started playing with the drop and rise, they are coming along nicely. After 6 months or so the drop looks pretty good and the rise is still a work in progress.

 

[Orange Socks]

I had a kid on my all star teams for 5 years that had a devastating change up starting in 10U and even though the kids knew it was coming they couldn't do a damn thing about it. Unfortuanately, she peaked out at 14U and ended up on a crappy TB team with a charlatan of coach (the parents put up with it) who never gave her circle time and didn't do anything to help guide her to get recruited. She also didn't do the work to get recruited either.

 

[texasck1]

DD, 2nd yr 12U, has 3 pitches: Fastball/Drop Ball, Change, and Screwball that she started 2 months ago. She gets more innings in big games than the other pitchers on the team who supposedly throw 4, 5, 6 pitches.

As a pitchers dad, it's frustrating when coaches question how many pitches your DD has. How many of the coaches who ask that, have actually sat on a bucket and caught all of his pitchers so that they can see what each of his pitchers actually have? How many actually know what each pitch is supposed to do.

 

[schwabach]

As a team coach, wouldn't you worry primarily about a pitcher's WHIP and just call the pitches your pitcher can throw? And be honest enough with yourself to know when your pitcher did her job but you lost because of fielding.

 

[Orange Socks]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's the one!!

 

[Orange Socks]

As a team coach, wouldn't you worry primarily about a pitcher's WHIP and just call the pitches your pitcher can throw? And be honest enough with yourself to know when your pitcher did her job but you lost because of fielding.

When I was calling pitches for DD's 14U team, I had to intimately know what pitch each pitcher could throw. Some days the fast ball wasn't hitting her spots but for some reason her curveball acted like a rise ball. So I just started calling the curve when I wanted a rise ball.

One game the pitcher was off on her drop ball and I turned to the dad on the other side of the fence and I genuinely asked if there are some cues that I could tell her to get back on track. He bluntly said, Well, don't call that pitch! I got kind of pissed. I wanted to help her and not abandon the pitch. But he's right, if it's not working, stop calling that pitch. She's pitching for a Southland Conference team now.

I learned something new in my golf game that makes total sense which comes down to being able to adapt. If I have a yardage that requires a 7 iron, but I am not hitting my 7 iron worth a darn with no confidence, why in the world would I pull that club? Use the club that you have more confidence with instead of trying to force it. Be smart, not stupid! For those golfers out there, I recommend following https://www.youtube.com/c/GolfSidekick/videos if you want to improve your game and also be entertained. If you normally hit a draw, but for some reason everything is going right, stop trying to hit the draw and go with the girl that you brought to the dance. Same goes with pitching!!!

 

[Cornbread]

Is she getting barreled up or is she getting weak contact? Too many coaches want to strike batters out. I want my pitchers to miss the hitters barrel. Weak contact early in the count is our goal. If shes getting barreled up a bunch it may be necessary to start working on some different spins.

 

[Strike2]

Looks like there's a coach trying to send a pitcher to another team. Is he really "complaining" or just suggesting that she add a pitch?

As others mention, there are lots of good pitchers who only have 2-3 that are distinguishable and effective. A good fastball than hits a designated spot along with a change-up that is hard to pick up at delivery can get the job done well past 12U. I watched a pretty good Div I pitcher this season who only appeared to have one pitch, a fastball, that she could put wherever she wanted.