O.K. all you Softball Gurus:

[str8up]

For the 12-u lil ladies, what is the times for:
1. pop to pop catcher to 2nd base
2. runners time 1st to 2nd
3. your average pitching speed in this division
4. average number of pitches a pitcher has in this division

[FPdaddy]

The REAL world answer to question #3 is 45mph. That is the average...some girls get to 50mph, but lots are in the 45 range.

As for question #4...the REAL answer is THREE. A lot "claim" to have 5 or more, but they either don't break or can't be thrown for strikes! I would say FB, drop and CU are pretty common.

The pitchers that give 12U teams fits are the ones with PINPOINT control!

Keith

[jofus]

I'm not sure about 1 and 2, and 3 and 4 I only "really" know about my own DD.

She is an old 12U (just turned 13) and is pretty good size, 5'6" and 120 lbs(edit to add, she is a fairly "new" pitcher, she has been taking lessons for a little over a year and has only pitched in a few games last year....I wish she had started earlier, but water under the bridge now, I guess).

On both a radar gun and a Revfire ball (if you haven't seen one of those, you should check it out, btw), she consistently hits 46-48, with occasional 49's and 50's.

As for pitches, she is pretty proficient in fastball, drop ball, and two different changeups (turn-over and horseshoe, horseshoe is slower). In pitching practice she also throws curve and screw, and has started working on the rise ball and her coach's "signature" pitch that he "invented", the triple pitch. None of those are ready for games though, although the curve and screw are close, maybe now as a "throwaway" pitch on 0-2 or something.

[3Bsnag]

Disclosure- I don't know averages, but just what we see catching our pitchers and we're talking older 12's (turning 13 this spring/summer) that are playing up at 14U.
1. DD is popping at 2.1
2. Don't know, DD's new nickname is turtle if that gives you a hint
3. Mid to upper 50's, 55-58 common
4. 3 done really well, screws and drops @ 80% strikes, true rises @ 50-70% strikes

DD caught a friend a couple of weeks ago that has a very good backwards screw. Looks like it's way outside and breaks hard ending right on the plate.

[jofus]

My DD played 14U last year and we saw some decent teams (although, not the quality you get in California, etc., I'm sure), and I think I only saw one girl that I would say was over 55 mph.

We went to a winter camp at UVA this past December, for 12-15 year olds, and out of about 60+ girls that were there for pitching, I would say less than 10 of them were anywhere near 60. Most of them were probably high 40s to low 50s.

[slim00]

1 and 2. Don't know.

3. Fastest that I clocked last year was 54. Slowest you had to measure with a sundial. I would say average was upper 40's say around 48-49.

4. Number of pitches, well it depends, there's FB inside low, FB outside low, you get the picture. I would say that most only had command of the FB and were trying to perfect the CU. A few had great CU's. Even fewer had a drop-curve. So I would say on average 2. Oh, I forgot, there were a couple that threw what I called a gravity-drop, does that count?

[bkatona]

This is for 12U:

1. Don't know
2. HP to first is a little less than 3 seconds, so 1st to 2nd be about the same.
3. DD is pitching 12U and is averaging mid 40's. She will get on the Rev-Pro when she visits her TB cousin who's team has one of these. We have one girl who can get pretty close to 50 on occasion.
4. Fastball and Change-up that can be thrown for strikes are what we see.

[Lefty's Dad]

This is for 12U:

1. Don't know
2. HP to first is a little less than 3 seconds, so 1st to 2nd be about the same.
3. DD is pitching 12U and is averaging mid 40's. She will get on the Rev-Pro when she visits her TB cousin who's team has one of these. We have one girl who can get pretty close to 50 on occasion.
4. Fastball and Change-up that can be thrown for strikes are what we see.

1. Probably around 2.5 I would think for 12u. DD is 14 and is at 2.0 (work still to be done)
2. HP to 1B under 3 seconds is college speed, that's pretty good if your 12u is doing it now As far as 1B to 2B, as long as it's faster than the pop time, no worries, it should be about the same time as H to 1B but they leave before catcher gets the ball of course.
3. The speed standard for the select teams in our org. are each team has to have one pitcher that can throw a minimum of 55 in 12u with 80% being strikes.
4. FB, Curve and/or Screw. Working on Drop and/or rise and those better start working by 14u.

One note, a Pitcher that played on same team as DD a year ago had very little speed (around 50 at the time) but she had incredible spin and movement on the ball, so hard to hit and when it did get hit it was an infield dinker for the most part. By the time they get to 14u, speed is of less importance because most any girl at that age can drive a fastball to the fence.

[Gone in 2.6]

For the 12-u lil ladies, what is the times for:
1. pop to pop catcher to 2nd base
2. runners time 1st to 2nd
3. your average pitching speed in this division
4. average number of pitches a pitcher has in this division

1. Your target is 2 sec. Not sure about average
2. 3.2 seconds is a decent time for 12U
3. Mid fifties I guess. Your top pitchers at ASA Nats will be throwing
58-61. The fastest I ever saw was 64. Bree from Spring Klein Impact Tanel in 2004. Now
committed to DePaul, class of 2009.
5. Dunno. Their dads say they have 5 pitches but they all look the same.

[Brooke's Dad]

The fastest I ever saw was 64. Bree from Spring Klein Impact Tanel in 2004. Now
committed to DePaul, class of 2009.

- Just for a quick update:

She plays Travel Ball for Impact Gold.

Bree is now playing High School ball for Klein Oak (5A Division) and her team is undefeated after about 15 or so games.

She transfered from Klein Forest (along with MM and JB) this past summer to K.O. and they are all doing well.