Pitching and Pitchers Discussion Pitching speeds

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I time all of my players from the same point as well, no matter what side they hit from. And I think thats the way these camps should do it also. I want to know how fast someone is compared to everybody else. Everybody starts from the same spot at first base, so I need to know who my fastest players are for base stealing purposes. Timing someone from the left side of the plate doesn't make them faster, it makes the distance they have to travel shorter......

This is true... I think I agree.

 

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True , but it does explain why times are so different. Queen-KSU they started in front of the plate, like you are stealing a base, since no one starts behind the base. I think Amanda can explain it better than I can. That is what I have seen at most college camps . It will be interesting how Paramount does it this weekend. If it is the same way I guess everyone better start changing profile sheets so they reflect NFCA times..

 

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Was down in Loudonville this past weekend watching some 18u softball and what stood out more than anything else to me was how few pitchers can throw a great change up or any change up at all for that matter.Time after time i would watch girls throwing heat getting tattooed or the batter fouling pitch after pitch off while thinking if this girl just had even a decent change batter out.My daughter,not being much over 100 pounds ,learned from a young age that to survive as a good pitcher she needed to develope a great change up and man has it paid off for her.Learn a great one that you can throw anywere in the count and watch how it can control big hitters.If i had a dollar for every 3-2 count she has fooled a batter with her floater i would be doing good.Her pitching coach said that out of all the girls he works with only 2 have great change ups because the girls and parents just dont see it as a glamorous pitch and just refuse to work on it.Take a pitcher who throws mid to upper 50s who has one other solid pitch and add a great change up and watch her roll.

 

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My son got me a radar gun for my birthday. I have clocked every pitcher my DD team has played since and many who they didn't play. 16U and the fastest was 55 MPH. There was one exception, a pitcher from the Cincy force threw 61 MPH.

 

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Fastpitchdadx2 ... couldn't agree with you more about the importance of a good change-up. My DD is D3 and has done pretty well (set a school record for wins this year) with a mid to upper 50's fastball, a drop, and a knuckle change that she can throw for a strike when she wants. I just laugh and shake my head at all of the parents and unfortunately even some pitching coaches who say their girls are throwing in the 60's, and who over-emphasize pitch speed and/or the number of pitches they can throw.

 

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Anyone see a big difference in speeds using a cheaper Bushnell vs Jugs gun and any difference based on lighting. With the low end Bushnell I've always clocked girls 2 - 3 mph slower than their pitching coach does using the Jugs.

 

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Love the knuckle change. Not sure why more kids are not taught that pitch. It sures messes with the hitters.

 

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Anyone see a big difference in speeds using a cheaper Bushnell vs Jugs gun and any difference based on lighting. With the low end Bushnell I've always clocked girls 2 - 3 mph slower than their pitching coach does using the Jugs.

Yes, the cheaper Bushnell guns seem to be anywhere between 2-4 mph off. We used two different top end Jugs guns and they seem to be consistent with each other.[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][/FONT]

 

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Yes, the cheaper Bushnell guns seem to be anywhere between 2-4 mph off. We used two different top end Jugs guns and they seem to be consistent with each other.[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][/FONT]

This is consistent to what I have always heard and seen with my Bushnell gun. 2-3 mph difference. With that being said why pay $1000 for a Jugs when you can get a Bushnell for under $200??;&

 

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If you have a pitcher that pitches at 50+ but has a hardtime hitting corners and low and high which causes walks and you have a pitcher pitching at 42+ but can hit her spots that rarely has a walk who do you pitch? I say the slower pitcher. But I have found at 12u they do just the opposite can someone explain why?

 

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If you have a pitcher that pitches at 50+ but has a hardtime hitting corners and low and high which causes walks and you have a pitcher pitching at 42+ but can hit her spots that rarely has a walk who do you pitch? I say the slower pitcher. But I have found at 12u they do just the opposite can someone explain why?

rarely has a walk because she's throwing big juicy meatballs and they are pounding the living tar out of the ball? Just asking.

 

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No not meatballs, she throws strikes,hits her spots and a has a nice change up. Not saying no one hasn't hit off her; the hits have been able to be field. She has had several games that no one has scored on her or have been very low scoring games.

 

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Softballfan74 ... at any age, a slower pitcher who can mix up things and hit her spots can possibly be more effective than a faster pitcher who can't consistently throw strikes and/or hit her spots. With that being said, at a younger age level where the emphasis should be more on development, a coach might stick with the girl who can throw faster because the accuracy and improvement might come with more work/experience whereas speed is sometimes harder to teach ... not impossible, but in some girls it just never comes.

 

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Fastpitchdadx2 ... couldn't agree with you more about the importance of a good change-up. My DD is D3 and has done pretty well (set a school record for wins this year) with a mid to upper 50's fastball, a drop, and a knuckle change that she can throw for a strike when she wants. I just laugh and shake my head at all of the parents and unfortunately even some pitching coaches who say their girls are throwing in the 60's, and who over-emphasize pitch speed and/or the number of pitches they can throw.

Agreed!
I would be lost without my change up! I've been throwing it anywhere from 2-6 times an inning this summer and only one girl hit it with any power. Struck a girl out last weekend on 3 change ups..loved it! I, too, don't understand why some girls just don't feel the need to develop a change...most people just can't hit a good change up. Not to mention how fun it is to have a girl totally whiff at it every once in a while...sometimes you just need a cool breeze

 

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SBFAMILY---I can't believe you haven't whipped out one of our favorite links for this type of thread, lol

http://www.pitchsoftball.com/default.asp

Has great info for pitchers (and their parents), from beginners to more advanced...including realistic speeds for different ages and how many types of pitches she can honestly expect to master.

 

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My daughter attended the NFCA camp a few weeks back as a pitcher. I was suprised she was in the middle of the pack with her speed. There were only a few pitchers that were throwing around 58 t0 60 mph. I was standing near were some of the coaches were seated and obviously you heard more positive comments when the higher speed pitchers were throwing. This is my daughters first year at 16u and she has had a lot of success even though she is not a hard throwing pitcher. I like to say we pitch smart. She has had a lot less strike outs but a lot more 3 to 4 pitch innings. Also I have been suprised that we have not come across a lot of dominate pitchers. The extra 3 ft has obviously changed that.

 

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My daughter attended the NFCA camp a few weeks back as a pitcher. I was suprised she was in the middle of the pack with her speed. There were only a few pitchers that were throwing around 58 t0 60 mph. I was standing near were some of the coaches were seated and obviously you heard more positive comments when the higher speed pitchers were throwing. This is my daughters first year at 16u and she has had a lot of success even though she is not a hard throwing pitcher. I like to say we pitch smart. She has had a lot less strike outs but a lot more 3 to 4 pitch innings. Also I have been suprised that we have not come across a lot of dominate pitchers. The extra 3 ft has obviously changed that.

I think that the extra 3 feet gives the batter a little bit of extra rxn time but it also gives the ball a lot more time to move, so those balls that move at the plate at 40 feet now start move 3 feet in front of the plate. It takes some adjusting to go from 40-43, but it's nice to have more movement on your pitches!

 

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Kat wouldn't do any good. I don't think they read the studies.

 

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SBFAMILY---I can't believe you haven't whipped out one of our favorite links for this type of thread, lol

http://www.pitchsoftball.com/default.asp

Has great info for pitchers (and their parents), from beginners to more advanced...including realistic speeds for different ages and how many types of pitches she can honestly expect to master.

Thanks for the link.

 

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Looks to be the 2 highest spins from two different girls we ( Curve-28.4-mph 47, Rise-29.1-mph 46).

How old are these girls? Awesome spins. Killer, Are they being recruited yet? Get their player profilies on hand during tournaments.