Hey folks,
When and how did you know your child was capable of playing at the next level?
(My DD had to be prodded to practice. But, once she started practicing, she worked her rear end off.)
I had talked to her pitching instructor several times. He said, over and over, that a college level pitcher had to have a good breaking ball. My DD threw the ball hard, she didn't have a breaking pitch. She just could get it.
One day, a kid who pitched for Ken Eriksen at South Florida showed my DD how how to throw a drop. For some reason, it clicked with her.
She threw one to me that looked like a knee high fastball, but it hit the floor about 2 feet in front of the plate, and missed my face by about six inches. She threw several drop in a row with severe, sharp movement.
She didn't have any control, but she had a breaking pitch. Her pitching coach came over, took a look at the pitch, and told us to quit working on the rise and to concentrate on the drop.
Once she got that pitch, I knew it was just a matter of time until she learned how to control the drop.