Reality check

[JJsqueeze]

So we had our first team practice with my little DD (not a pitcher) who just joined her first TB team (10U). This is a new team but the org has been around a couple of years, they are just expanding down in age. During tryouts I did not see any pitching so I was concerned we would not have a viable pitcher since the org is so new. I asked my 11 yr old pitcher daughter who is 10U eligible for the fall and who does not want to play TB yet, to come to practice with the team (coach said workouts are open to anyone interested). I did this just in case it sparked an interest in her and on the chance that we did not have pitching she could be an occasional fill in.

At the end of practice the coach asked the pitchers and catchers to raise their hands. Half the team raised their hands as pitchers and the other half as catchers. I'm not too surprised by this as the positions are so important so the better players would play there. The girls grouped up and started throwing. 3 out of 5 girls who were pitching looked every bit as good as my DD who is about 8 months older than them. One of them was definitely better overall and another one was much faster but maybe not quite as accurate.

We have a lot of work to do if she is going to be able to move on as a pitcher in TB at any level. She needs another 10MPH and a lot more consistency if she want to move beyond rec. But it looks like my little one's team is looking better than I thought and I'm grateful I don't have a pony in the "Whos going to pitch" race. Looks like the coach may have a parent headache on his hands. Oh- and what you all said about TB drama is soooo right on....I already saw a couple of mini instances, pitchers parents are nuts!!

Proud of my little one. She's the only 8 yr old on the team and was hustling her butt off and making every play and was the only one backing up the position when she was in line for her turn. Listening to her coaches and smiling the whole way. I'm going to miss being that kids coach but if she keeps up her work ethic she is going to be a beast.

 

[halskinner]

Got ya beat JJ,

Agreed to help a cousin / sponsor as an asst coach on a new 12u team. Ran 14 kids through hitting, running bases, fielding etc., Last thing, coach asked who were pitchers, 12 HANDS WENT UP! We looked at each other and just said "OOOHHH NNNOOOO!"

All but 1 had no instructor except coach Dad. Total disaster.

 

[Softballs]

jj- how fast does your dd pitch right now? how is her accuracy and change up?

 

[JJsqueeze]

the pitcher parents were at the fence with murderous eyes watching this part of practice. It was surreal. I could see them critiquing their DDs and looking for flaws in the other kids. One girl did not raise her hand as a pitcher so after this little workout her mom came up and was almost yelling at her "WHY DIDN'T YOU RAISE YOUR HAND- GO TELL THE COACH YOU PITCH!!" like the first practice is the only opportunity to have her DD get a look. Another dad was sitting away from everyone, I was in a dugout and he sat next to me and proceeded to tell me how he had a fight with the other dads over something that happened during the regular season in their league. He went on and on.....I never thought I'd have such an easy time being the non-crazy parent...TB is a trip...

 

[JJsqueeze]

jj- how fast does your dd pitch right now? how is her accuracy and change up?

She cruises at 41-42, pops up to 44-45 and can hit her spots about 30% of the time (I mean HIT them, she comes close more often). Her change up is deceptive, throws it with her same motion and arm speed so it is well disguised and comes in at 31-32, but can only throw it for a strike about 1 in 3 times. She throws about 75% of her pitches between the boxes but throws some big misses occasionally.

 

[Softballs]

If she isn't playing fall ball, I would take this time to get ready for 40ft and the 12" ball. Work on mechanics from 40ft and get ready for the spring.

 

[Softballs]

oh, and i dont think she needs 10mph to be successful in 12U. Keep practicing and try to get her to the mid to upper 40s.

 

[JJsqueeze]

If she isn't playing fall ball, I would take this time to get ready for 40ft and the 12" ball. Work on mechanics from 40ft and get ready for the spring.

Oh we are my friend. She's already move to 40FT with the big ball and we are working 3-4 days a week. She also has a PC now so her mechanics are getting scrutinized pretty well. So far PC is working just on slight tweaks to her form and balance at finish, she says her mechanics are pretty good otherwise in general, just inconsistent, so I am hoping after we work on getting everything consistent that we move on the improving speed. Everything I mentioned is from 40 ft with the big ball. It really wasn't much of an adjustment for her as I had secretly moved our practice mat to about 38 feet during all stars and she has pretty big hands.

She's a tall girl but not very strong so I am hoping that as she gets a little more toned that the extra strength lets her take advantage of her long levers.

 

[JJsqueeze]

oh, and i dont think she needs 10mph to be successful in 12U. Keep practicing and try to get her to the mid to upper 40s.

I'm not so sure about that....I watched some games at 12U (USSSA world series) out here and what I saw was low 50s with good control as an average pitcher. This was not even the "Good Tournament" this was the "Not good enough for PGF" tournament. We live in Southern California, but our rec league is a really small rural league, she dominates the league but just drive 10 minutes and she is very average rec league pitcher. It's brutal but true. We'll see what she does with a real PC. She's a super smart kid so I am sure she has an IQ advantage over other pitchers so she learns fast and I'm not going to bet against her.

 

[Dusty]

The reality check doesn't come after the first practice, it comes after the first couple of fall tournaments. When my dd joined her first travel team at 10u she was the #5 (out of five) pitcher. I asked her if she was sure she wanted to play travel instead of rec where she was the dominant pitcher in her league and she insisted on going travel.

It turned out the #1, a big girl who could throw hard but had bad mechanics, was inconsistent and didn't have much stamina. There were two co-#2's, one was the coach's daughter who really wanted to catch and the other was the most naturally talented pitcher but the least mature (that's what you'll notice in games that you don't see in practice). The #4 probably was better than the co-#2's but she was the team's best shortstop and we didn't have a lot of depth there.

Dd never really became the #1 pitcher but she became the go-to pitcher when the team was in a jam needed someone to come in and put out the fire. We were a pitch by committee team, which is probably how it should be at 10u, but dd got the valuable experience of being thrown into the circle in tough situations when the team needed someone to get us out of an inning. I wasn't sure she would last one year of travel as a pitcher but she's now going into her second year at 14u and has been the #1 or #2 pitcher on every team she's been on since 12u.