Transitioning to 12u distance and ball size

[AmyLynn05]

My daughter (born 8/09) started learning to pitch last fall/winter. Her team played 10u A/B ball this spring, but struggled a bit at that level so for fall we decided to let her do a bonus 10u season before moving to 12u in spring. We are really happy with that decision. We watched her blossom as a pitcher, gain overall confidence, enjoyed every minute of the season, and was able to refine her technique.

The problem is that after taking a few weeks off (and recovering from an overuse injury) she is back to lessons and is struggling. We made the change to a 12in ball and 40' distance and it is turning out to be rough. I keep trying to tell her it will take time to adjust but shes pretty upset. She ended the 10u season nailing her spots and last we clocked her in June (at end of spring) was at 41mph. Today she hit spots at less than 40% accuracy and was only clocking 36-37mph!!!!

I assume much of this is normal, but how long should we expect it to take for her to regain that speed and control with the larger ball and extra distance? Any tips for making the transition smoother?

 

[STRIKE3]

My daughter (born 8/09) started learning to pitch last fall/winter. Her team played 10u A/B ball this spring, but struggled a bit at that level so for fall we decided to let her do a bonus 10u season before moving to 12u in spring. We are really happy with that decision. We watched her blossom as a pitcher, gain overall confidence, enjoyed every minute of the season, and was able to refine her technique.

The problem is that after taking a few weeks off (and recovering from an overuse injury) she is back to lessons and is struggling. We made the change to a 12in ball and 40' distance and it is turning out to be rough. I keep trying to tell her it will take time to adjust but shes pretty upset. She ended the 10u season nailing her spots and last we clocked her in June (at end of spring) was at 41mph. Today she hit spots at less than 40% accuracy and was only clocking 36-37mph!!!!

I assume much of this is normal, but how long should we expect it to take for her to regain that speed and control with the larger ball and extra distance? Any tips for making the transition smoother?

I have seen more times than not that the transition lasts a couple of weeks tops. The speeds you mention makes me wonder about her mechanics. Please don't take this the wrong way as you can find great help here but she is slow and it isn't the size of ball she is throwing.

Video as mentioned in a thousand threads here would be helpful but don't worry if you don't feel comfortable sharing. Based on your comments above (and without observing) I am fairly confident she doesn't know how or hasn't been taugtht how to pitch correctely or potentially even how to just throw underhand yet.

I am not trying to sound negative but let's find out what is really going on. Again, it is likely a mechanics thing and she can pick up a ton of speed if so.

She has plenty of time and happy to help!

S3

 

[AmyLynn05]

I dont take offence I appreciate the input. She's only had lessons for 3 months of her pitching career (last oct-dec when she was just starting) thanks to covid, so mechanical is a very likely possibility. Also after her overuse strain I noticed a drop in her speed the rest of the season as we limped to the end. I just know that in our area she was average this spring compared to the other B level pitchers and dominant this fall at the C/B level so its frustrating to her (and me) to have reverted so much.

I'm glad I was able to get her back in lessons now- it's only been 2 sessions back with the 12in ball and 40' distance. And with working back from an overuse injury I'm sure that is playing a part in this too. We are trying to rebuild slowly, with help/guidance from p/t as to not rehurt her shoulder.

I will try to post a video or two for critique after her next lesson, for now I just mostly was curious how long, under normal conditions, it took to adjust so I can reassure her

 

[Tango]

Couple of things I do with kids transitioning- check her grip (maybe to deep and ball feels huge), throw linger than 40 feet ( most kids try to throw the ball to the catcher and trough them). Everything else is mechanics and effort to throw hard.

 

[justAdad2]

the 10u to 12u transition time for a pitcher is hard. keep it fun and she will get through it. also don't have high expectations with her racking up K's in her first year of transition. the good news is when in 2 years she backs up 3 ft she will hardly notice.

 

[cnardone]

Obviously, bigger & heavier ball, and a longer distance makes for a huge jump. Getting back all velocity and all control takes time. But within a week or so (with one lesson), my DD was regularly throwing strikes. I can't tell you that she was at the exact same strike percentage, but close enough.

cmn

 

[Terry]

My DD switched this fall from 10u to 12u and I saw the same sort of issues. Hers turned out to be mental causing issues with her mechanics, during the first lesson moving to the 12" at 40' she struggled. The next lesson I gave her an 11" ball and started at 35 and moved back to 40 and saw no issues, went back to the 12" and all over the place again. Looking at the video she seemed tight almost trying to force the ball like it was the biggest rock in the world(her words "this ball is sooo much bigger"). So I set up a net 20' away and had her throw 5 11" balls quickly without worrying about location. On her 2nd set I added in a 12" ball without her knowing, by the 4th set and only the last ball was an 11" and I told her she is getting good with the 12"(I received a "what") . After that her mechanics were back to normal although it did take about a month or so for location and speed to come back to where it was.

 

[Tech Control]

My DD (08) had similar issues during the transition from 10U to 12U. It just takes time. We did extra sessions in the backyard with the bigger ball and further distance, nothing intense, just working on form/mechanics and having fun. Just give it time, be supportive and try and make it fun while your trying to protect yourself .

If your area has a Rec. town team, Little League, Ripken, etc. it might be a good idea to join for the extra reps. DD has always played Rec. LL SB and I’ve coached her since T Ball. Plenty of reps, since not many girls wanted to pitch and in our area the competition is high.

The way we looked at it, 1st year 12U Fall is for learning and working out the kinks anyway. Once the Spring rolls around it gets intense.