37 post for 16U Teams needing a Pitcher 8/18

[Eastside]

I counted through 12 pages of postings and found that at least 37 - 16U teams are actively posting a need for a #1 pitcher. Is this a sign?

 

[gcg3refs]

WOW and Yikes!

 

[Skeeter]

It's a sign that there are not enough pitchers out there at 16u that are throwing 60+mph that these coaches are looking for. Use what you have and make them better.

 

[FastBat]

It's hard to be a pitcher because they need to keep ahead of what dominates at each age...

10u pitchers: Raw speed is what is important at this age because pitchers throw from 35 feet, so physical bigness will dominate. So smaller or less dominating 10u pitchers will get discouraged and end up quitting or finding another position.

12u pitchers: By second year 12u, those fast pitchers are perfect speed to hit bombs off of, so it becomes less fun for 12u pitchers and some quit.

14u pitchers: The pitchers realize they need to put more time into developing a few decent off speed pitches. They could have previously been dominating by throwing to their FB/change and hitting spots, but at this age they begin to need movement and lots of it. Developing each additional pitch probably takes 12 months to throw consistently to spots. So they become discouraged and change positions or quit.

16u pitchers: If a pitcher hasn't been discouraged/quit by 16u, they probably can be very particular as to which team they will play for. They also take playing softball seriously and put the time in.

IMHO this is why there are so many threads like...

"Awesome 16u Team seeking 2-3 solid pitchers, previous mound time not necessary"

 

[Sweetpea]

Why does it have to be a sign of something? It's the most important position in the sport and the most difficult position to develop.

 

[mike_dyer]

There are plenty of pitchers in that age group and every other,, so long as your defense is sound.

There are prolly 8 - 12 "elite" pitchers at that age group. I guess it makes sense that there are 37 coaches are fighting over them.

Of the 37 coaches scrambling today there's prolly only 1 that would drag an elite pitcher 8 or 10 hours away from home for a week and then not let her bat.

I'm pretty sure that's why there are 37 coaches looking and not 36.

 

[wannaplaysb]

Lol. At 10u they were belittled as freakish parents and if you had a flame thrower she was the Norm in the polls. At 12...they were just fast and defense stepped up. I heard many coaches say it on here. At 14u some got discouraged and focused on other aspects of the game. Only the strong survive. So true pitchers at 16u are the ones that withstood everything during the growing years and are still loving the rock. They are often overworked and battle tested. And truly want to throw. And throw well. They work on little goals, outwitting opposition and loving the chance to throw at the best. I know... I own one of them! That's a lot for a developing girl to handle.

 

[Pitchersdad10]

My daughter is a varsity pitcher and has tried out for 8 teams that needed pitching and they are still on board today looking? She cant throw over 60 so she doesn't get considered? So what are the coaches looking for then???

 

[wow]

At 16u you always have a place for above average pitching. You post even when you may not have a spot, or increase roster size to accommodate.

 

[coachtomv]

My daughter is a varsity pitcher and has tried out for 8 teams that needed pitching and they are still on board today looking? She cant throw over 60 so she doesn't get considered? So what are the coaches looking for then???

A unicorn, lol. As stated there are a limited number of truly game changing pitchers or even just the speed 60+ variety. Each coach needs to build a staff of styles that can create match-ups for your defense. Even if you have that premier stud, you need more than one and you need different styles to change things up. Our 14u team last season had 4 pitchers including one lefty, none over 55 in game speed, we used their different styles to change things up often and did pretty well like that, even against more talented rosters.

Too many coaches don't know how to "manage" the chess match. You can have the stud pitcher, speed, defense, etc and beat alot of teams using basic softball strategies because your simply better than your opponents, most coaches can do that against inferior teams. Try doing that with less talent or with like talent on a big stage. You see these "dominant" teams fail when punched in the mouth, because they cannot adjust and use all the tools of the "team". See it all the time. Now, we also see dominant teams with the coaching and that is fun to watch.

These coaches need to focus more on consistent pitching, with different styles, instead of that one-two dominant pitcher(s), which are all pretty much gone at this point most likely anyways, lol.

Good luck to you and all the coaches still looking.

 

[Run26]

I counted through 12 pages of postings and found that at least 37 - 16U teams are actively posting a need for a #1 pitcher. Is this a sign?

You could have saved yourself a bunch of analytics and just searched for this same type of thread last tryout season and probably 5 years before. This is not new and is discussed every year. 16U is the hardest age group to build highly competitive teams due to player fallout. As others have said, there are way too many teams for the talent pool.

 

[Pitchersdad10]

My daughters high school team has that defense and as a result my daughter pitched 3 games with less than 5 hits. So i know it works. Just dumbfounded that good coaches out there dont see it. She refuses to get discouraged over it. She always knows she may see them in a game sometime and gonna let them know what they missed.

 

[lewam3]

I agree with the responses that point out that this is nothing new. Should teams at 16u be formed and built around existing 2 good pitchers? Should a coach even hold tryouts if he only has one average arm beforehand?

 

[mike_dyer]

My daughters high school team has that defense and as a result my daughter pitched 3 games with less than 5 hits. So i know it works. Just dumbfounded that good coaches out there dont see it. She refuses to get discouraged over it. She always knows she may see them in a game sometime and gonna let them know what they missed.

I hope she lays it to some of them, if/when it happens they probably won't see it the same way you do though. The ones with sense would have gave her a shot, the idiots who passed on her will just blame the kids on their team for not performing.

"The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence."

― Charles Bukowski

 

[FastBat]

"The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence."― Charles Bukowski

Truth.....

 

[Coachjoe4GFP]

In the past 5-10 years the number of teams and organizations has increased expedentially. There too many watered down teams to support the limited pool available. Each year I see more and more teams with 7-8 players, then all of the sudden they fold and screw the kids they have committed to, or merge with another org. Too many teams to support number of girls. Hopefully the number of girls can eventually fill the number of teams. Just can't start an organization or team because kid can't go anywhere else.....

 

[dyehard5]

I can name 25 Major League baseball teams that are also looking for a #1 pitcher.

 

[coach384]

I'm looking for a 16u pitcher. We play solid defense so her speed isn't my big concern give me movement and the drive to win and she can play for me. If your still looking give me a email

sjackson610j@yahoo.com

matt Jackson 16u blue diamonds

 

[Pitchersdad10]

Thank you for the opportunity. My daughter has since found a team that's got her excited to pitch and play with. Funny how that works. Couldn't make 11 teams we tried out for but found one that has a long history of winning. Excited to watch her go at it in fall for this new team. Karma!!!!

 

[coachtomv]

Thank you for the opportunity. My daughter has since found a team that's got her excited to pitch and play with. Funny how that works. Couldn't make 11 teams we tried out for but found one that has a long history of winning. Excited to watch her go at it in fall for this new team. Karma!!!!

Probably why they have a long history of winning, saw something they liked in your daughter, good for her!