Is it true, speed kills?

[Eric F]

eric,

how about home to 1st? And how did you time this?

Timing was done by one of the league coaches with a stopwatch, and they were only doing H2H times. I was just an observer.

 

[MsDinosaur]

13yo DD ran a H2H of 13.5 last summer at a college camp, which really wasn't bad. The fastest girls were being clocked only about a second faster. IMO the timings are always so different, it makes it hard to get a good idea where a girl stands when you compare a time to a chart. If DD can stay that close to the speedsters, whatever the numbers are, I'm pretty pleased with her effort.

 

[SBFAMILY]

It all depends how its measured. In the NFCA camps few broke 3.0. DD in the 8'th grade ran a 2.84 at WSU slapper camp and at the Queen of Diamonds. That tied for the second fastest time at both camps. One thing that everyone needs to keep in mind quickness is different than speed. Marc from this site teaches quickness. DD worked with OSU best base stealer and learned a ton from her and Marc on how to get a good jump. In travel ball I can only recall her getting thrown out twice.

 

[MsDinosaur]

Another way to look at this issue, in terms of how we value speed, would be to ask ourselves this - If a player was average at everything on a softball field but the best on her team at one, what would you want that one to be?

- Best arm
- Best glove
- Best hitter for average (or best line-drive hitter)
- Best hitter for power
- Best speed
- Best softball IQ
- Best attitude/desire

How would speed rank in that context?

I'm not a coach, but personally I'd pick best hitter for average. Putting hits on the board does so much. It lifts the spirits of the offense and puts pressure on the defense. Speed's great, but you have to get on base before you can use it. JMO.

 

[gatorcoach]

How you measure the speed will give you a variance of about ~1.5 seconds. Most statistics are a dead sprint from a sprinters start.
-W

Good point! The OD camp times are laser timed from a sprinters start.

 

[BaldNBeautiful]

When I time players for MS tryouts, I have them hit off a Tee for both the H to 1 and H to H runs.
I also like to do a 1 to 3rd with a slide at third time as well, with clock starting when they step off 1st. Not exact, or perfect but I like to give them two or three shots at each.
I will try to see if I saved times from last year.

 

[SBFAMILY]

One thing that college coaches measure ROE. Reached on Error. That is what speed gives you. It might not count towards on base %, but it puts extreme pressure on a defense and if they are on base, guess what that power hitter will never see. That wicked change. How many times coaching have you watched a player make and error on a routine play, because they know the player is fast! It happens all the time if you watch college softball. Watch college softball and see how important speed is. DD signed to play in college because of her speed. Stolen bases, Runs scored, K's Walks,hits with runners in scoring postion, how good of a bunter she is, there are many things you look at when you are a coach.

 

[Greenmonsters]

One thing that college coaches measure ROE. Reached on Error. That is what speed gives you. It might not count towards on base %, but it puts extreme pressure on a defense and if they are on base, guess what that power hitter will never see. That wicked change. How many times coaching have you watched a player make and error on a routine play, because they know the player is fast! It happens all the time if you watch college softball. Watch college softball and see how important speed is. DD signed to play in college because of her speed. Stolen bases, Runs scored, K's Walks,hits with runners in scoring postion, how good of a bunter she is, there are many things you look at when you are a coach.

Just gotta be able to get to first base - hit, ROE, BB, HBP, CI, anything! This is why Herb Washington was only a PR.

 

[fastpitch]

If you want to play after HS it always feels like if you aren't a power hitter, then you better be a fast as lightning lefty.

 

[CoogansBluff]

One thing that college coaches measure ROE. Reached on Error. That is what speed gives you. It might not count towards on base %, but it puts extreme pressure on a defense and if they are on base, guess what that power hitter will never see. That wicked change. How many times coaching have you watched a player make and error on a routine play, because they know the player is fast! It happens all the time if you watch college softball. .

I'd love see some stats on that, just how many ROE's that a player gets a season, how much it might vary from one player to the next, how much can be attributed to speed. In the SEC, teams averaged 1 error per game last season. How many of those were on groundballs, etc. About 200 of 1,350 runs were unearned in SEC games. How much can be credited to speedy batters getting ROE's?

I don't know the answer. I'd still guess that having a great glove or being an elite power hitter is more valuable than being an elite runner. But who knows.