Pitching and Pitchers Discussion Question on HS pitching rule

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My daughter (11 years) is a pitcher in a softball rec league. She uses the leap-and-drag method of pitching. When she releases the ball, her back foot has been dragged away from the rubber. There is no second step or crow-hop. The other team stated that this was an illegal pitch because her foot wasn't touching the rubber. We follow Ohio High School softball rules. Can someone tell me if this is legal?

Thanks in advance.
Ann

 

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If your daughter is doing what you described then she is perfectly legal.

 

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As long as her pivot foot (drag foot) remains in contact with the ground it is legal. If her pivot foot comes off of the ground this is called a "leap" and is an illegal pitch. Sometimes because of the hole dug in the ground at the pitcher's plate there is no way for the toe to remain in contact with the ground, but the toe should not be appreciably higher than ground-level to remain legal. With a "leap" both feet are in the air at the same time and the pitch is delivered after both feet have landed.

A crow hop is similar to the leap except the the pivot foot re-establishes contact with the ground before the stride foot lands and the pitcher pushes off of the pivot foot again. Sorta like taking a skip step towards home plate before delivering the ball.

Bottom line is that the pivot foot must remain in contact with the pitcher's plate or the ground before the ball is delivered.

 

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this is something coaches love to say "SHE IS CROW HOPPNG! As long as back foot drags across plate so be it!!! To be honest, at this age tooooo bad if it doesn't!! Proper form and technique is way too important, Finalizing footwork comes with the territory and age. I suggest you other picky coaces give it a rest!!!

 

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Sounds 100% legal to me.

"Other teams" complain about a lot of stuff that doesn't have any merit under the rules. I'll take a wild guess here that your daughter's team was winning the game and she was having success against the batters. That's when these complaints usually surface!

Don't worry about what the "other team" has to say. The bottom line is what did the umpire have to say? His is the only opinion that matters when it comes to rules issues during the game. I hope that he dismissed the complaints, set the other team straight on the correct rule and allowed you daughter to continue with her totally legal foot drag.

 

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lets first ask? Are they talking about her DRAG foot not touching the rubber? If I understand the rules HIGH SCHOOL and even USSSA rules, the drag foot does not have to be in contact with the rubber at all!!! Now if this is NSA or ASA BOTH the DRAG and PIVOT foot have got to be in some contact with the rubber. I will say for as long and as many Pitchers that I have seen I have only ever seen 1 yes 1 pitcher ever do the CROW HOP. Well good luck with your team and hope this might have helped!!!

 

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Are they talking about her DRAG foot not touching the rubber? If I understand the rules HIGH SCHOOL and even USSSA rules, the drag foot does not have to be in contact with the rubber at all!!!!

I don't think you understand the high school rules.

In high school ball, prior to the pitch the drag (pivot) foot must be in contact with the rubber. The stride foot does not have to be. You are right about ASA. Both feet must be in contact with the pitching plate during the pitcher's preliminaries.

But I think the original post is clearly talking about the drag away from the rubber as the pitcher delivers the ball, not her foot placement prior to the pitch.

 

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The first way of pitching mentioned is legal but why go into more detail about which leagues make you use both feet or one.... just start with both on everytime and you should be fine ;D

 

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If she plans on continuing her pitching into high school, why not have the varsity softball coach at the high school she will attend watch her sometime this summer. Most coaches would be glad to help kids this age - and it's free. Considering the vested interest the coach may have in her, I'm sure they'll give good honest advice.

 

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Thanks for all of your answers. I'm was pretty sure her pitch was legal, now I'll have to defend it at every game. My question was about where her feet where at the point the ball was released. She starts her pitch with both feet on the rubber.

Thanks again!
Ann