Walks in 8U/ 10U Games

[quincy]

My DD moved from 8U to 10U this fall and I am still disappointed in the number of walks. Neither Team has much exposure fielding the ball. It seemed the majority of innings was get your 6 runs in on walks, with a ball hit occasionally. We had 1 double header were 3 balls were put in play by both Teams combined. Some kids struck out but the umpire was getting bored too and called some bad pitches strikes, feel sorry for the umpires too.

Our local rule for 8U was if a batter had 4 ball’s, a coach used a spring loaded pitching machine to pitch to the batter. The batter could strike out but not walk. This was better for Team fielding because they occasionally got a ball hit to them but the game time was brutal. Pitcher pitches enough to “walk” the batter, coach runs out to machine to pitch, batter might or might put ball in play, start cycle over. We had at least 1 game in 8U where the umpire never even bent down when the other Team was pitching, they just kind of looked and called a ball. Again I feel sorry for the umpires too, not complaining about them.

My brother manages an 8U Team in a different part of the country and their local rules are. For the 1st two innings the players pitched. If a batter had 4 ball’s, the batter’s coach pitched to them. The batter could strike out but not walk. If a Team walked 4 runners in an inning their pitchers were done, all coach pitch for the rest of the inning. At the beginning of the 3rd inning, all coach pitch.
For 10U the pitcher is on their own, walk as many as you want until you get to 6 runs. I know I am being a little harsh but I think if I look back through the scorebook the majority of our innings played where a bunch of walks and done, for both Teams.

Ours or the other Team’s “good” pitcher was occasionally on but that was the exception opposed to the rule.

I would be surprised if my DD learned anything from the games we played this fall, she did at practice.

Do you think 10U will get better in the spring were she will actually go to the plate expecting to try and hit the ball? Go out to the field and have a chance to make a play or backup a base, actually move?

What are good 8U league rules in regards to players pitching?

Are there any good 10U league rules in regards to players pitching?

 

[starsnuffer]

I see some leagues that have coach pitch after 4 balls. Personally, I don't like this because it makes for really bad pitching later on.

The best thing to do is have your league contract a pitching coach to have group pitching lessons for new pitchers. Start this early, and have regular sessions before and during the season. The best way to have decent pitching in rec ball is to make sure the opportunities exist to teach basic pitching skills early.

At 8u, I think they should still be playing T-ball and coach pitch. Have them learning how to pitch, sure, but they shouldn't have to in games yet.

-W

 

[alexander58]

Our league has coach pitch the first 2 innings, player pitch thereafter. The kids get an opportunity to field balls in the first 2 innings, but not much after the kids take over. We went to this format a few years ago. Personally, I think the games are easier to watch, but pitching has suffered as the kids move up.

 

[Wookie]

To add to starsnuffer's 1st comment, it also makes for bad hitting since the players will wait for their coach to come in and pitch. It is so hard to get the kids to swing at pitches from another kid after they've been through a year or two of hitting off of their coach.

In addition to getting a pitching coach to provide lessons, you also need to impress upon the parents that they need to practice with their kids. At this age it's all muscle memory, and if the only time they are pitching is at a game or a team practice, that is not enough. I personally found this out with oldest DD, thinking that once a week with the pitching coach was enough. As soon as we started to go 3 times/week on our own her ability greatly improved, in less than 6 months. Drill this into your parents heads that if they want their kid to be a pitcher they have to put in the effort too.

 

[3'sDad]

When DD played 9-10, we had a local rule where only a maximum of 7 batters could hit per inning, limiting walks. Later in the season the Rule was amended to 7 batters/inning with the team leading needing to make 3 outs in the field the last inning.

This allowed the pitchers to learn to throw strikes early in the year and the better pitchers to learn to get 3 outs later in the seaon.

Worked for us.

 

[stephanie]

Not saying its a good system, just telling you what we have in my area:

At 8U, it's coach pitch, no walks. They hit it, or they are out. Girls learn to swing the bat!
At 10U, modified Kid-pitch. A player pitches until they pitch 4 balls, and then the coach comes in to finish out the strikes. (ie: if the count is 3-1, and the next pitch is a ball, the coach comes in for 2 pitches) The kids have to hit the ball into play, or they strike out.
(Most of the kids on my team learned to swing at the kid pitching, because I would come in and strike them out (I stink at pitching) However, I heard from other coaches that this was hurting their players as the girls would tend to wait for the coach to come in to pitch. I loved playing teams like that, as I had 2 ace pitchers who struck out a lot of girls...)
12U is full-on softball.

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

What are good 8U league rules in regards to players pitching?

Are there any good 10U league rules in regards to players pitching?

I think it all depends on how many girls and teams you have in your league. Generally, at the 8U division we have 7 or 8 teams (75 players or so) so you might have one decent pitcher per team. The leagues philisophy is to get as many kids to pitch as early as often, while still moving the game along with some coach pitch.

For example, the first half of the season, kid pitch until a strikeout, ball in play, or 4 balls. If 4 balls, coach comes in to finish the count. No walks. The second half of the season, all kid pitch including walks. Yes, there are a lot of walks but it forces the girls who want to pitch, to practice and work harder. Can it be brutal, yes, I once saw a pitcher walk 7 straight batters (4 run max rule per inning) and cry as she left the circle. I blame the coach and parents for not having the girl prepared (both mechanically and mentally) for the position. With that said, the league tries to strike a balance between making the rec game fun for the girls who don't take the game as seriously with the players who want to play more competively and be prepared for the playoffs and All-Star tournaments. It's not perfect, but seems to work out pretty well. Some parents would like to see no kid pitch at 8U, other parents (myself included) would like to see only kid pitch the whole season but make it mandatory for anyone interested in pitching to attend pitching clinics and a minimum # of days of practice each week.

At 10U, no more coach pitch and regular ASA rules apply including DTS, but any one pitcher can only pitch 9 outs and there is no stealing home.

 

[SoftSocDad]

I blame the coach and parents for not having the girl prepared (both mechanically and mentally) for the position.

You're blaming the coaches and parents of an EIGHT-YEAR-OLD girl for not having her mechanically and mentally prepared to be a pitcher.

I like your contributions here, but I wonder if you realize how ridiculous that sounds.

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

You're blaming the coaches and parents of an EIGHT-YEAR-OLD girl for not having her mechanically and mentally prepared to be a pitcher.

I like your contributions here, but I wonder if you realize how ridiculous that sounds.

With rules that allow walks and no coach pitch, I do blame the parents and coaches for putting a girl in the circle who is not ready to pitch. I would not do that to any of my players. It serves no good purpose for either the pitcher, the batter, or the fielders to walk 7 or 8 batters in a row. If a kid wants to pitch on my team, she needs to demonstrate that she has some proficiency at the position. Most of the girls I coach have been playing softball since they were 5 (t-ball) and yes if they are pitchers (especially) you need to recognize as a coach if she can handle the pressure of being the center of attention, pitching in a game. Not every 8 YO is cut-out for this position. That's what I meant by "mentally prepared", sorry if you think that is ridiculuos.

 

[Dusty]

Our old rec league was Babe Ruth affiliated so I believe their playing rules are fairly consistent among all member leagues. I couldn't stand BR as both a parent and coach and it probably accelerated our family's flight to travel ball.

8u- Slingshot pitching machine only, 5 pitches or three swinging strikes and no walks. 4-5 run limit per inning.

10u- Kid pitch only, 4-5 run limit per inning.

Our league used to be coach-pitch at 8u and modified coach-pitch at 10u (no walks, the coach inherits however many strikes the kid pitcher threw) and I tend to think that works better for player development. Of course the only problem is that not all coaches are going to be comfortable or capable of throwing hittable pitches themselves but it's still probably better than lugging a slingshot out to the circle and setting it up every time ball four is called.

My kids both learned to pitch competently well before they went to 10u so their teams always did well but it was just as boring but quicker to watch them strike out the side every inning.