Pitching and Pitchers Discussion whats better at 10u

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At 10u speed is most effective. The majority of kids can't touch speeds of around 50, so if a pitcher is near 50 the hitters are intimidated. Kids don't see it enough and don't practice against it. A 10u pitcher with speed =KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK.

 

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why is so hard to believe a 10u pitcher could throw in the 50's?

So from 10U to college pitchers only gain 10-15 mph? but pitchers just learning the game can throw 50-60? come on people were they pitching from 20'? Does anyone watch college those girls rarely throw 70... I think some people should wake up. Talk about blind.

 

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It is amazing that these girls are all as fast or faster than Jenny Finch was at 10U. :lmao:

Looks like the USA team will be stacked with these young pitchers for years to come. :yahoo:

Candrea needs to get on the OFC! :lmao:

 

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So from 10U to college pitchers only gain 10-15 mph? but pitchers just learning the game can throw 50-60? come on people were they pitching from 20'? Does anyone watch college those girls rarely throw 70... I think some people should wake up. Talk about blind.

Remember at 10u they are throwing an 11" ball. When they move up to 12u I saw a decrease in speed of 2-3 mph at first going to the larger ball.

I personally clocked the Stingrays pitcher Stingrays 99 was referring to at our Pickerington tournament last year and she was consistenly hitting 51mph. My daughter commented after grounding out to 2nd against her that she felt the ball pushing her bat back when she hit it LOL.

I clocked one other kid that used to pitch for the Classics at 51 last May in Lancaster.

Over 50mph at 10u is real. I can't say I've seen 55-56 but definitely low 50's.

 

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Speed at 10u with a little control will win you games at this level.

And yes there are kids that play 10u that throw at 50mph. Remember you have a 11" ball and some kids do have it, especially the ones that have been throwing for a year, tall, and turned 11 after Jan 1.

 

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WOW! didnt know this would get so much feedback!!! great to see all different views!!!

THANKS!!!!

 

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All of you who can't believe that there are 10u girls out there throwing 50mph have not seen any of the TOP 10u teams play in the last few years. This is my 3rd year in a row as a 10u coach. I have seen on average 4-6 pitchers a year that hit 50mph plus in games. Maybe 2-3 will consistantly stay at 50mph for the entire game. Nobody said it is the NORM, just that there are girls out there doing it.

Stingray99, Yes I did gun "BOO" at 52mph at Lasers Tourny, along with two girls from Team Michigan who won Pony Nats last season and two girls from the Center Grove Indiana Team(their #1 was hitting 50-52 for 4 innings in 90 degree heat).

If anyone has seen the Lasers Red play, knows their "Big Unit" pitcher. I watched her at Akron Summer Slam as a 10u throw 53mph many times on a JUGS Pro Sports gun which is guaranteed to have an accuracy index of +/- .10 mile per hour.

Again, it is not typical, but their are a small % of 10u girls who are throwing GAS!!

 

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I'm not debating that a 10U pitcher can throw 50, our 10U Diamond Dog pitcher from last year could hit 50. I'm saying there are no 10U pitchers throwing 4-5 different pitches effectively. That is just crazy talk!!

 

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it aggravates me to no end for uneducated people to make assumptions that throwing above 50 ( that means 51-52 not 59) can't be done by 10u girls. Yes there are people who exaggerate but there are also unbelievably talented girls right here in our back yard that rank highly nationally. Just beause 95 % of people can't do something doesn't mean the other 5% doesn't exist. MD

 

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Yes, 10U pitchers hitting 50+ on a gun!!!!!!!!! We saw 3 at NSA A who hit 52+ on different guns. Must've been a while since you were around 10U. It is rare, but there are some out there. The D1s that are throwing upper 50s are not top or they have a ton of movement. The better D1s are upper 60s and some 70. No matter what the speed is, speed is the killer at the 10U level if you can hit spots, well then you are just going to that much more dominant.

 

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Klump nailed it...they dont have 4 or 5 pitches. The have a bunch of pitches that all do the same thing.

I tried out a 12U in August that claimed to have 5 different pitches. I sat on a bucket with a glove in one hand and a radar gun in the other. ALL 5 pitches were the exact same speed, with the exact same rotation, and virtually no movement. Lots of pitchers are not hitting 50 even as 12 year olds, but there are a handful of 10 year olds that can routintely. Not mid-high 50's, but 50-52 isn't uncommon.

As to the question....Speed is a killer at the 10u level. But a well-developed change-up makes that fastball that much more effective...especially when you run into a team that times her up 3-4 innings in. As the players hitting develops as you climb the age brackets, "junk" needs to be a part of their arsenal.

Power pitchers are nice to have...but I would take an unpredictable one that pitches smart in the long run.

 

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Sometimes when we give ball park speed ranges it is helpful to realize just how significant 1 mph is. The difference between 50mph and 53mph is not similar to say the difference between $50 - $53... it is much more significant. 1 mph = about 1.5 feet per second. That means over 35 feet a pitch thrown 3 mph faster than another pitch in just 1 second covers at additional 4.5 feet...that is quite a game changer.

 

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Sometimes when we give ball park speed ranges it is helpful to realize just how significant 1 mph is. The difference between 50mph and 53mph is not similar to say the difference between $50 - $53... it is much more significant. 1 mph = about 1.5 feet per second. That means over 35 feet a pitch thrown 3 mph faster than another pitch in just 1 second covers at additional 4.5 feet...that is quite a game changer.

Which effects reaction time as well. Almost 3/100ths of a sec difference which doesnt seem like much, But when you have less than 1/2 sec to react, 3/100th sec is a big deal
50mph @ 35' = .4772 sec
53mph @ 35' = .4492 sec

 

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Sometimes when we give ball park speed ranges it is helpful to realize just how significant 1 mph is. The difference between 50mph and 53mph is not similar to say the difference between $50 - $53... it is much more significant. 1 mph = about 1.5 feet per second. That means over 35 feet a pitch thrown 3 mph faster than another pitch in just 1 second covers at additional 4.5 feet...that is quite a game changer.

And how long does it take a 50 mph at 10u to reach the hitting zone? About .35 seconds. That means a difference of about 1.6 feet for 3mph, which is still significant.

 

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I think one thing that is helping these top level pitchers in 10u is the quality of instruction they now recieve and the amount of time they work at it. All 3 of my pitchers have been recieving lessons for several years from top instructors (2 with Kim Reeder and 1 w/ Ron Marstiller) and they work on it year round. So while I can't comment on what Jenny Finch was doing 20 years ago at this age, or if Coach Candrea may be interested in any of the players I have seen at 10u throwing low 50's. I can say when you come up against one you know it will be a battle to score many runs.

 

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it aggravates me to no end for uneducated people to make assumptions that throwing above 50 ( that means 51-52 not 59) can't be done by 10u girls. Yes there are people who exaggerate but there are also unbelievably talented girls right here in our back yard that rank highly nationally. Just beause 95 % of people can't do something doesn't mean the other 5% doesn't exist. MD

No one said it cant be done but seems everyone in Ohio thinks there are more than a handful that can do it and that simply is not true......IN fact everyone on here has seen several apparently....I love people like you that think everyone else is uneducated because they dont agree 100% with you....its called opinion not education....now who is educated?;&

 

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a fast pitcher who can locate. with an effective change-up.

 

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I got 54, 54, 54, 55, 55, 55 do I hear 56, 56, 56 I got 56 do I hear 57, 57, 57
Stop it you guy are killing me :lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao:

There is a 10U in Chatanooga throwing 62!! Do I hear 63?

 

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Nobody ever put a gun on my dd at 10u, but all she had was a good fastball and it usually worked just fine. That was back in 2008, but as the game evolves it will take more. An above average fastball with a good change will go a long way at 10U still though. If you're able to add a peel drop, it's all the better.

 

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No one said it cant be done but seems everyone in Ohio thinks there are more than a handful that can do it and that simply is not true......IN fact everyone on here has seen several apparently....I love people like you that think everyone else is uneducated because they dont agree 100% with you....its called opinion not education....now who is educated?;&

I don't think he thinks you're uneducated because you don't agree with him. What your post reveals is that you haven't been around 10u games played by high end travel teams. At the elite level there are a lot more than a handful of pitchers hitting 50+. It's not about opinion it's about experience which leads to education. Go to a 10u nationals event and you'll see it on almost every game.

....and I do own a radar gun.