Where Will Your Game Be One Year From Now?

For Parents Considering the Pitching Position with their Daughters

Dear Parent,

If you are thinking about taking on the position of pitcher with your daughter this note is for you!

Please notice I am using the phrase “taking on the position with” above because learning to pitch is a partnership between the two of you. Becoming a pitcher is a special journey that takes a high level of commitment time-wise, financially, and emotionally. It can also be one of the most rewarding positions in all of sport! After reading this you will understand what to expect, have a road map for success, and motivation to help you persevere along the way.

You and your daughter had so much fun in coach-pitch and T-ball. You loved going to practices together, watching her make friends, you making parent buddies, and celebrated when the whole team jumped up and down after the first win.

But today is different. It’s the first game of kid-pitch. She's seen her friends pitch a few times and has maybe tried it with you in the backyard once. Today is a big game with the rival team. The first inning begins and the coach suddenly turns to her and says “You’re up! You’re pitching!” Surprised, she nervously creeps out of the dugout and dawdles up to the mound. All eyes are on her as she feels small out on the big field. She throws her first pitch - a grounder. Then comes wild pitch after wild pitch and her teammates are screaming "come on!" The coaches are yelling out mechanical corrections. To no avail the pattern repeats: ball…ball…ball. Her coach has to relieve her every batter and she finishes the game discouraged and embarrassed. "I don't think pitching is for me."

It doesn't have to be like this!!

Enjoying youth softball has a lot to do with managing expectations. In the NCAA Women’s College World Series the pitchers only throw an average of 60% - 70% strikes. From my coaching experience a player under the age of 12 who can “hit” 30% of her spots (“hit” is a ball thrown directly into a specific location within the strike zone), is above average. If those same girls throw 30% or less ”bad misses,” or pitches their catcher can’t handle, she is also above average.

Asking your 8-year-old daughter to throw just 30% strikes (not spots) in her first season is setting an unreasonable expectation. As Cheri Kempf said in her Book The Softball Pitching Edge, “If you were to set up a game at a carnival in which you gave participants a small ball and asked them to make a backward circle with their arms as fast as they could, let the ball go, and hit a 17-inch-wide, 3-foot-high target at a distance of 35 to 43 feet, you probably wouldn’t give away a whole bunch of teddy bears!”

I started Practice Pro so I didn’t have to hear, “We should have started learning to pitch earlier. If only we would have known.” It takes a whole lot of reps to reach 70% strikes at 60 miles per hour.

Then there is this other scenario. Many parents/pitchers begin as 8, 9, or 10-year-olds, which is ideal. But they mistakenly don’t realize it’s a year-round commitment or that formal instruction is necessary to stay competitive at even a part-time travel ball level. They wait until they are 11, 12 or 13 to start learning. While its never to late to start, of course, the competition level is high by that age. Their playing time might become more limited and team options narrowed.

Another misguided expectation I see revolves around clinics. Many house leagues will provide clinics that give your daughter general understanding of the motion. These are the perfect scenario to spark interest and get you going while you decide if it’s for you or not. Unfortunately, simply attending a handful of large clinics will not teach a fraction of what you need to know. The simply isn’t enough time.

Lastly, I’ve noticed coaches, parents and players, all have a different definition of what being a “competent” pitcher means. Folks new to pitching usually have very high expectations of what’s possible in the near future. As a pitching coach, I believe there is more possible in the long term. I define “competency” in first-year pitchers as being able to make a proper motion. This includes a premotion, a backwards circle, striding with the correct foot, and performing a safe movement that reduces the risk of injury. She also must pitch legally and understand that her value is a player is not based on throwing strikes. Instead, it’s whether or not she worked hard and never gave up.

Most parents and coaches define “competency” as walking a batter less than once or twice an inning. Many times they believe that competency is throwing about 50% strikes. Reaching this level is in fact, advanced, and is accomplished through at least one year of pitching preparation. This is also an outcome-based goal without process goals. Outcomes are not controllable, but the process is.

For the confidence of your daughters, the health of your league, and your own stress levels, I’d suggest getting professional instruction year round, about once per week with breaks as needed. If you see a pitcher who is very good ask her parents how she learned. Step outside of your league and see what other pitchers are doing. If anything, make your priority to learn the mechanics of a safe motion and the parameters of overuse. Most of call, don’t forget what we are all really trying to learn: hard work, teamwork, and commitment.

Sincerely,

Coach Abby