Pitching and Pitchers Discussion Lack of Girls Fastpitch Softball Pitchers !

[HITTER23]

Age / Top Speed
8 / 49
9 / 51
10 / 53
11 / 55
12 / 59
13 / 62
14 / 63
15 / 66
16 / 68
17 / 68
18 / 67
19 / 67
20 / 69
21 / 70
22 / 71
23 / 71

Can you imagine this on OFC......

15U Pitcher looking for team, so so area....

My DD is 15u and is looking for a competitive team blah blah. Goes to a pitching instructor she currently has a curve, screw, change up, and THROWS 66 MILES PER HOUR !!!!!!!!!!!

 

[wow]

What?? Why would it drop?

at 10U its a 11" ball and 35 ft... at 11 its 40 ft and 12" ball.... Depends on kid and when the measurements are done but kids drop in speed when they move bcd and have a heavier /bigger ball...

Maybe at the end of 11u they get some speed back.. Buts it is two steps back one step forward type of thing....

 

[nonparentcoach]

Thats exactly right and just what I have assembled for 2015

 

[LADY_KNIGHTS]

At the Buckeye Heat tryouts we used a Rev Fire to check RPS (rotation per second) of our 16 and 18U pitchers at tryouts. By 16U they should be above 20 RPS on most pitches. We had only one 18U over 20 and one 16U around 16 on a couple pitches. Most were around 12 to 14 rps. So not only was there no speed...but no movement...As you need spin to create movement. If you are going to a pitching coach and they are not utilizing a Rev Fire to measure your RPS...but are assuring you that your ball is moving...they are just taking your money!!!

 

[FastBat]

/\ /\ /\ /\ /\ You are all right, although Jennie Finch is probably 35 years old, I bet they had different distances, used the white "old school" balls, etc. I think it was probably slightly different parameters, you can't take it that literally. I think in HS it was only 40 ft back then, as an example there were just differences.

Oh, and no one had their own helmets or $300 bats either, I could go on and on.

 

[LADY_KNIGHTS]

/\ /\ /\ /\ /\ You are all right, although Jennie Finch is probably 35 years old, I bet they had different distances, used the white "old school" balls, etc. I think it was probably slightly different parameters, you can't take it that literally. I think in HS it was only 40 ft back then, as an example there were just differences.

Oh, and no one had their own helmets or $300 bats either, I could go on and on.

I'm scratching my head...60mph is 60mph whether it is 40 or 43feet. A 60mph white ball travels the same speed as a 60mph yellow ball. And a 35 year old throwing 60mph is no different than an 18 year old throwing 60mph. And I'm still scratching my head...but that could be because I need a shower.

 

[Chad Strahler]

I'm scratching my head...60mph is 60mph whether it is 40 or 43feet. A 60mph white ball travels the same speed as a 60mph yellow ball. And a 35 year old throwing 60mph is no different than an 18 year old throwing 60mph. And I'm still scratching my head...but that could be because I need a shower.

Yea, but 60 mph from further distance gives you longer time to react to it. So it is different. So 60 mph from 200' can be waited upon and timed easier, get the drift?

 

[mike_dyer]

Yea, but 60 mph from further distance gives you longer time to react to it. So it is different. So 60 mph from 200' can be waited upon and timed easier, get the drift?

But no one was talking about reaction time and/or timing or any of that. You kind of make the point that speed would be no different even from 200 feet.

 

[total180]

A question for some parents out there, and girls too I would imagine.
With so many established teams and organizations out there why would you even want to go to a start up?
Is it the salesmanship? Is it the money they spent on a website designer?
Is it the promise of greener pastures?
There is only so much to be offered out there without it becoming a bribe.

 

[SMc4SMc]

Why waste time perfecting your pitching if a kid constantly gets seated on the back of the bus. Kids are smart, they're going to shift their focus and train at what gets them the most playing time on the most competitive team. If coaches utilized a better rotation of pitchers then possibly they'd see improved player retention, quality organization growth, less burnout, less injuries, and more kudos for developing college softball stud pitchers.

 

[FastBat]

I'm scratching my head...60mph is 60mph whether it is 40 or 43feet. A 60mph white ball travels the same speed as a 60mph yellow ball. And a 35 year old throwing 60mph is no different than an 18 year old throwing 60mph. And I'm still scratching my head...but that could be because I need a shower.

MPH can be measured from the release or when it crosses the plate.

Also, could the ball be slightly lighter, did she always pitch with a 12 inch ball from 40 feet? Is that why there was no decrease or stall at certain ages? I'm just trying to think of answers for the question. That's all.

 

[FastBat]

Yea, but 60 mph from further distance gives you longer time to react to it. So it is different. So 60 mph from 200' can be waited upon and timed easier, get the drift?

Also, I'm only saying 35 years old because parameters could have changed in the last 25 years with balls, distances, everything. There have been alot of changes.

 

[HRTrot]

Lack of pitchers may be due to the drop off in girls trying out for softball in addition to the amount of travel teams there are. The amount of girls trying out seemed to have been down these last couple years.

 

[Fairman]

We are seeing the results of Softball being dropped by the Olympics.

We saw a surge when the sport was added and this is the resulting ebb. It takes a lot of work to make an elite pitcher and the better athletes are opting for a more recognized sport. We can pretend that it hasn't effected our sport but the kids on the fields today have never seen Jennie Finch pitch for a gold medal in China and we are not minting new Olympic Stars.

 

[brownsfan]

We are seeing the results of Softball being dropped by the Olympics.

We saw a surge when the sport was added and this is the resulting ebb. It takes a lot of work to make an elite pitcher and the better athletes are opting for a more recognized sport. We can pretend that it hasn't effected our sport but the kids on the fields today have never seen Jennie Finch pitch for a gold medal in China and we are not minting new Olympic Stars.

I thought Tokyo still has the ability to choose 3 sports for the Olympic games for 2020? From what I understand, softball is still on the board for those Olympics.

 

[Westler33]

That would be nice if it is.

 

[SpazMan]

DD pitches - one of the hard workers.

It takes a SPECIAL girl to become a great pitcher. As others have said, the dedication it takes is not for the faint of heart for either the girl or the parents. It's a HUGE committement to the entire family to make it happen. No different than how you achieve greatness in anything in life. Determination and hard work make it happen. So yeah, there aren't a lot of great pitchers. I know it's cliche, but it's true. "If it was easy, everyone would be doing it!".

 

[HITTER23]

How long do all these teams wanting a pitcher, mostly 16 and 18, wait it out before they fold??

 

[Chad Strahler]

But no one was talking about reaction time and/or timing or any of that. You kind of make the point that speed would be no different even from 200 feet.

You are talking about reaction time when you start bringing distance in the mix with talking speed but speed is speed correct.

 

[Heat#12]

DD pitches - one of the hard workers.

It takes a SPECIAL girl to become a great pitcher. As others have said, the dedication it takes is not for the faint of heart for either the girl or the parents. It's a HUGE committement to the entire family to make it happen. No different than how you achieve greatness in anything in life. Determination and hard work make it happen. So yeah, there aren't a lot of great pitchers. I know it's cliche, but it's true. "If it was easy, everyone would be doing it!".

So very true.