Discouraging advice for new pitcher (13yo in 14u)

[HunterMO]

She loves to pitch and that makes me happy too! It is not a national team for sure but it is the right fit for us now.

She wants to play travel, MS and LL if she can. I told my friend this and he said I was a lucky man.
I will just keep feeding the fire and enjoy the ride. Not everyone can be a P5 player either.

As long as your DD wants to pitch I say make path for her.

Pitchers are in demand everywhere at all levels. The more you subscribe to local Facebook groups the more you see it. There is a ton of high level program talk on DFP and for good reason. But there’s nothing wrong with rec, school ball, LL, local travel, whatever.

If your DD wants to pitch and can get circle time in a way that’s meaningful to HER….it’s worth the time and money. And I promise, with the right attitude, you will grow a relationship with your DD that you didn’t have before. Because it will take your support to help her through the hard times.

Learning to pitch can also help your DD with her hitting. As she’ll potentially better understand ball spin and how to better read pitchers movements.

 

[sluggers]

It is unlikely your DD will be a college pitcher. But, if she wants to do this because she enjoys it, she should do it.

 

[Bonesaw]

I wouldn't label your DD a "new pitcher". She's pitched in games. Thats a big deal. She's just a pitcher who wants lessons.

 

[quincy]

I know one of the top pitching coaches in our area would love to coach your DD. If she has the drive it is never too late.

As bonesaw just mentioned she has pitched in games too which is a big plus for her.

(I think too much but I am quessing your DD has pitched in mostly bad situations, huge plus. It can be hard to teach pitchers to just to survive)

 

[Shiloh]

I wouldn't label your DD a "new pitcher". She's pitched in games. Thats a big deal. She's just a pitcher who wants lessons.

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[Jdeesso]

My DD is 11 and pitches first year 12U for a competitive organization. We were throwing this weekend at her teams facility and there was a college jr pitching with her dad. She was throwing hard, consistent mixing in pitches and encouraged my DD to watch her bc she was very good. I ended up speaking with her dad (of course my daughter thinks it’s annoying and a embarrassing, ha) and picking his brain and said her daughter started in 8th grade.

If she puts in the work, she can be successful and reap the benefits of the hard work. Don’t let that initial assessment deter her or you. It’s a long hard road with lots of ups and downs but when you see the positive results she will know it’s worth it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Chlene8]

Thank you all so very much for the feedback. I’m feeling so much better about this.

I’ve put that phone call behind me and will move forward to find a good PC for her. She definitely wants/enjoys it and has the support at home.

She runs cross country and plays soccer as well but softball has her heart!

And thank you to Bonesaw for pointing out she’s not a “new” pitcher. I need to shift my mindset on that. She’s a pitcher interested in improving her skills with lessons (sounds so much better)!

I’m really glad I posted here.

 

[El Oso]

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?

I'm old as hell and have no expectations to be the next Eddie Van Halen so should I not take guitar lessons?


Call someone else, get her some lessons and let her have some fun pitching. If it stops being fun and turns into work in her mind, stop taking lessons. Simple as that.

 

[CoachJD]

I'm old as hell and have no expectations to be the next Eddie Van Halen so should I not take guitar lessons?

A lot of softball coaches/private instructors would take the attitude that if you're not gunning for that guitarist vacancy in Van Halen since Eddie died, you're just wasting time. It's a terrible mindset. It's OK to have that as a goal, of course, but that goal isn't any better than the goal to just become a better guitar player because you want to play at a bar with friends (or because you just want to learn how to play your favorite songs by yourself).

I've come back to this thread a couple times, and I love the responses here (and it's why DFP is a great place), and I get more and more upset with his instructor. Seems like the type who hand selects kids who are already great, helps them improve very slightly (or not), and then posts about all the kids he got into D1 schools.

 

[El Oso]

I've come back to this thread a couple times, and I love the responses here (and it's why DFP is a great place), and I get more and more upset with his instructor. Seems like the type who hand selects kids who are already great, helps them improve very slightly (or not), and then posts about all the kids he got into D1 schools.

I beleive you nailed it. That's exactly what I was thinking.