I was having a discussion regarding my 9 year old that is learning to pitch. It dealt with the mental challenges of pitching as well as the goals of being a new pitcher. Basically the conversation about the mental aspect, and dealing with those challenges, came down to framing the goal. The question was essentially, should a new U10 pitcher be most concerned with throwing balls over the plate, not being so concerned that batters are getting hits but being good with not getting walks or should she be more concerned with getting strikeouts? Is it a combination? Case by case? I'd love hear what people have experienced.
New U10 pitcher
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- Jan 22, 2011
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I'm assuming this is 10u rec. I would work on consistently being able to hit the 4 corners. Top of strike zone on inside edge of plate, Top of strike zone on outside edge of plate, bottom of strike zone on outside edge of plate, and bottom of strike on inside edge of plate.
As a 9-year-old in a rec environment part of a good experience for everyone is to get balls put in play, so getting hit shouldn't matter as she is learning. Try not to throw it right down the middle
.
Her ultimate goal as a pitcher isn't to strike everyone out, but to get softly hit balls put into play so the defense can make plays.
Take a look at the sticky "I/R In the Classroom" and this video which shows some of the drills:
As a 9-year-old in a rec environment part of a good experience for everyone is to get balls put in play, so getting hit shouldn't matter as she is learning. Try not to throw it right down the middle
.Her ultimate goal as a pitcher isn't to strike everyone out, but to get softly hit balls put into play so the defense can make plays.
Take a look at the sticky "I/R In the Classroom" and this video which shows some of the drills:
- Sep 3, 2015
- 372
- 63
First learn to throw strikes, then learn how to throw to the corners.
At 10u, I would say the pitchers job is only to throw strikes. If you can do that, job well done.
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At 10u, I would say the pitchers job is only to throw strikes. If you can do that, job well done.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
- Jun 20, 2015
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u10 is soccer
10u is softball
10u is softball
Yup, we were a 10U rec pitcher. Then a 10U C-level travel pitcher. Then a 10U B-level pitcher. Then a 12U B-level pitcher, and then most recently a 12U A-level pitcher.
They say you need to throw 100,000 pitches before you're really a pitcher. Who knows, but we probably average 500 per week between lessons, practice, games, and working in the yard. So 40 weeks per year, 4 years... *computing* 80,000 pitches for my DD. Just a little more to go.
But yes, start with simply getting the ball over the plate with the best mechanics possible. How do you know what good mechanics are? Start her in lessons. Yes, you can go it alone with YouTube and help here, etc. etc. but the fastest, best way is with a top-level instructor and weekly lessons. Yes, it's expensive and at times might not seem worth it. But that's simply the fastest way. And then a lot of hard work in the yard.
The first time a girl hit one out on my DD I was very eager to see her reaction. To my delight, she simply asked for the ball and went after the next batter. Some of that might be able to be taught, but I think it's innate. If she freaks out or stresses or falls apart because she's getting hit hard, pitching might not be right for her.
Work hard on mechanics, slowly get to location. In 10U my DD only had a fastball and a change. So many girls had "6 pitches" but my DD was by far the better pitcher. Don't move to a new pitch until you really can throw the ones you have. In 10U locating a fastball will win many, many games.
And far most important is "keep it fun".
Set a basketball on a tee and have her knock it off. Do simulations, where you pretend her best friend is batting and you call balls and strikes and see if she can get her out. Pitch a pretend inning against a pretend team. Walks or Ks are the only outcome. See if she can get three outs before she walks in a run. That kind of stuff.
They say you need to throw 100,000 pitches before you're really a pitcher. Who knows, but we probably average 500 per week between lessons, practice, games, and working in the yard. So 40 weeks per year, 4 years... *computing* 80,000 pitches for my DD. Just a little more to go.
But yes, start with simply getting the ball over the plate with the best mechanics possible. How do you know what good mechanics are? Start her in lessons. Yes, you can go it alone with YouTube and help here, etc. etc. but the fastest, best way is with a top-level instructor and weekly lessons. Yes, it's expensive and at times might not seem worth it. But that's simply the fastest way. And then a lot of hard work in the yard.
The first time a girl hit one out on my DD I was very eager to see her reaction. To my delight, she simply asked for the ball and went after the next batter. Some of that might be able to be taught, but I think it's innate. If she freaks out or stresses or falls apart because she's getting hit hard, pitching might not be right for her.
Work hard on mechanics, slowly get to location. In 10U my DD only had a fastball and a change. So many girls had "6 pitches" but my DD was by far the better pitcher. Don't move to a new pitch until you really can throw the ones you have. In 10U locating a fastball will win many, many games.
And far most important is "keep it fun".
Set a basketball on a tee and have her knock it off. Do simulations, where you pretend her best friend is batting and you call balls and strikes and see if she can get her out. Pitch a pretend inning against a pretend team. Walks or Ks are the only outcome. See if she can get three outs before she walks in a run. That kind of stuff.
"Set a basketball on a tee and have her knock it off. "
^^^^Priceless
Ending a lesson with this task is a great idea. Kids like to win.
^^^^Priceless
Ending a lesson with this task is a great idea. Kids like to win.
- Apr 14, 2022
- 586
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She should be trying to throw hard and straight down the power line.
Req can be harder to pitch in than select particularly if they throw hard. In my experience umps have smaller zones and the batters will may not swing. Defense may not get you many outs.
Some of the better games my dd has pitched had decent runs against. Instead of 1-2-3 it is bases loaded no-one out.
Req can be harder to pitch in than select particularly if they throw hard. In my experience umps have smaller zones and the batters will may not swing. Defense may not get you many outs.
Some of the better games my dd has pitched had decent runs against. Instead of 1-2-3 it is bases loaded no-one out.
If all she wants to do is pitch rec then work on just throwing strikes. If she wants to be more than that and pitch in travel then forget about throwing strikes and make good mechanics the priority. When I get a new student at the younger levels that is serious about becoming a high level pitcher I always tell the parents that it will take a year for her to be able to throw 3 strikes before 4 balls and to be prepared for that.
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