how do you talk your DD out of pitching

[blue1956]

I was never able to talk my DD out of it... Every time I would ask are you done she would say no still having fun... Even if she had a bad outing or struggled for a couple of weekends... I world ask her are you ready to give up she would say no why would I give up I love Pitching... So be prepared for the possibility that she won't ever give it up...

[TheCloser]

My DD loves to pitch and loves to catch. she takes lessons for both. she does fine pitching, but she is a really good catcher.
I have talked to her a few times and she says she wants to do both. how would you handle this situation?
thanks

Easy, stop paying for pitching lessons!

[BearsDad]

You don't leave her alone and let her decide when the time is right. Who do you think you are trying to control everything I bet that you always complain about the league you are in too

just a Dad looking out for my daughter. and her pitching coach is out for a few months, she just had a baby. and I don't complain about much. she is not on a league. she plays travel ball and is an incredible catcher. she doesn't get much pitching time and has asked me about it. that is why I asked

[anonlooker]

With my kid, all the time spent on pitching practice, drills, etc, came at the expense of reaching her higher potential in other areas of the game, namely hitting and fielding. After she gave up pitching and focused on those areas, she improved considerably. Interest from schools across the spectrum took off, and she's now at her first choice school.

Now the question "how did I get her to give up pitching?" I didn't. That came from her, due to other influences, and I imagine that is the case with most pitchers, and pitchers parents. My kid was reluctant to tell me, fearing that "all the time we spent practicing was just a waste." So she laid some groundwork over time, dropped some hints along the way, and had a solid case when she finally "dropped the bomb." Which was funny, because I simply said "okay." Expecting an argument, she made her case anyway, and I was like "it's okay honey, you had me at hello."

So what brought about her change of heart re: pitching? Two main points she made, along with several others little points (in case I wasn't already convinced, I guess)

First - she actually had two first choice schools. One was the softball dream school, WCWS contender every year, great university. She went to their camp, loved the school, the players, the coaches, and they all loved her, the head coach most of all. They had a great relationship right off the bat. She made an offer, but said my kid would never pitch there. So as my kid told me, if she wasn't going to pitch in college, why keep pitching in travel? Why not focus on what she would be doing in college? Great point. Even though in the end she opted for the better academics over the better softball in college, this coach was a huge influence. My kid respected her enough, and knew I respected her enough, to make this her #1 point in deciding to stop pitching.

Second - she hit her first home run. A 6th inning, two-run shot that broke up an intense 1-1 pitchers duel, at a night game at Colorado Fireworks that was running late so hundreds of people were watching. She realized then that she could do as much, if not more, to help her team win, with her hitting as opposed to her pitching. Another great point. And she was right. Within six months of shifting her focus, she went from 6-7-8th in the batter order to 3-4-5th. In 18s they had her "protecting" an absolute beast of a hitter who is now in the SEC, and she grew to love it when they'd pitch around the other kid to get to her.

Another point, since your kid is a catcher - while pitching gets more visible recognition, any good coach will tell you a stud catcher is every bit as important as a stud pitcher. A great catcher can make average pitchers look good. But even a stud pitcher can look bad with a terrible catcher. So unless she's on track to be a stud pitcher (hard to say at 12, but still), developing into a great catcher with a solid bat will have schools lining up to recruit her. Being competitive at two positions won't take you nearly as far as being a stand-out at one. And it will likely get her more playing time, even now at 12u and 14u, and that has to be her/your top priority.

In the end, the decision has to come from her. Your job, your only job, is to empower her. Support her goals. Give her plenty of latitude to make her own decisions. Let her go. Let her stumble and wobble. The sooner the better. It's a really great experience, once you allow her to learn to stand on her own two feet. It starts by letting go. Which starts by no longer trying to talk her out of, or into, anything. Just let go. She'll be fine.

[jtat32]

I heckle mine while they're in the circle, but it hasn't worked yet.

[blue1956]

You don't leave her alone and let her decide when the time is right. Who do you think you are trying to control everything I bet that you always complain about the league you are in too

just a Dad looking out for my daughter. and her pitching coach is out for a few months, she just had a baby. and I don't complain about much. she is not on a league. she plays travel ball and is an incredible catcher. she doesn't get much pitching time and has asked me about it. that is why I asked

Your dd goes to Toni paisley also... Great Pitching coach

[BearsDad]

You don't leave her alone and let her decide when the time is right. Who do you think you are trying to control everything I bet that you always complain about the league you are in too

just a Dad looking out for my daughter. and her pitching coach is out for a few months, she just had a baby. and I don't complain about much. she is not on a league. she plays travel ball and is an incredible catcher. she doesn't get much pitching time and has asked me about it. that is why I asked

Your dd goes to Toni paisley also... Great Pitching coach

yes she does. toni is great. my DD likes her alot

[fasterpitch92701]

My daughter did both. From a practical point of view one will trump the other. Between extended pitching practices that...require a catcher... and catcher practices that usually require some sort of pitching, it becomes problematic. The spot light is always on the pitcher but, as noted by others, a catcher is the team anchor and should be the pitchers best friend. Wear and tear wise, a catcher takes more abuse that just about anyone (IMHO). Sure, you see pitchers with ice bags on their shoulders but the catcher has ice bags from hips to below the knees. Nothing like all that catchers gear on a 105 degree day with 90% humidity. There will come a time when your daughter knows, just knows, she can't do both. Choices will need to be made. DD was the primary catcher in her freshman and sophomore years in college. One road trip to Florida involved 13 games in 7 days and she caught them all. That was...ugly. This year she will be catching and playing short stop thanks to a freshman catcher recruit. We have funny stories about her pitching before she acknowledged she couldn't do everything...all the time. But, thankfully, that's now long past us. Both pitching and catching positions require, I think, a personality the melds with the position. As she ages the different requirements and mental perspective will show out. Good luck. I wish your DD well.

[Battle]

I heckle mine while they're in the circle, but it hasn't worked yet.

I threw beer bottles at mine and yelled, " You suck!"... I thought it was working until she started throwing them back and yelling, " You suck too... AND you throw like a girl!!!"

I remember the last time it happened. We were practicing. It was right after one of her drop balls caught me in the shin. I jumped up and yelled, " Damn you suck!" and hurled the bottle. She hurled it back and caught me upside the head. I had to have 12 stitches above my right eye. On the way back from the hospital my daughter said, " Dad, I think I want to be a catcher. Can we start working on that tomorrow?" I said, " Yes, whatever you want to do is fine with me."

[fasterpitch92701]

Battle: hint - only throw e-m-p-t-i-e-s.