Is three feet that big of a deal?

[itsnotsoft]

Curious to get opinions of 14U teams playing up to 16U after the pitching distance change takes effect? Is that concerning the coaches and/or pitchers enough to keep them in their own age bracket? I am also curious to know if the younger brackets will stay away from older brackets? If 14U sticks to 14 division will the better 12U stay in 12s ETC...?

[Sftbll4ever]

I'm not a coach, but after seeing a 14u team that moved up to 16u then decided to play in an 18u friendly try and pitch from 43', it was UGLY. Not one of the pitchers could get the ball to go over the plate. Blues said they struggled in the first game, but by the 3rd game, it was just bad.

There are some teams that can still do this and do very well at it, but there are many more that are not even close to being able to compete with a 43' distance.

[CrushersDad]

DD is a pitcher in 16U. A few weeks ago a tournament combined 16U/18U so she had to pitch at 43'. She said that it took her about an inning to figure the difference out but after that she didn't notice any difference (except that the 40' rubber had not been removed and her back foot kept getting caught on it).

[itsnotsoft]

I would think if you are fast ball pitcher, it would not hurt as much as if you rely on movement and off speed to get the job done. If you live and die by how fast you can throw the ball then it would be a simple transition. Other pitchers would adjust but I think their off days would come up more often then you have seen in the past. I think their compass migh get a little off. curve breaking too soon, drop hitting the floor, rise in the fence, screw in a rib cage, ouch!

[Softballknucklehead]

16U girls are bigger & stronger than 14U yet there are always exceptions, I gotta believe it's not going to be pretty when 14U teams try to play up I don't care how fast you throw it 3' for 14U girls will make a big difference that's why it's staying 40' for 14 & 12U, it turns it into a different game for them a Hitters game with more walks & hit batters.

The #2 & #3 pitchers on the 16U teams will have trouble, to get a preview of the spring attend a JV or Freshman HS game this year the pitching is going to be ugly at 43' for that matter the Varsity level may turn into a hitters game ecept for those teams that have Gold pitchers who have been pitching at 43' that's why they are GOLD players.

[Sftbll4ever]

Our state is staying 40' for HS.

[callegacy]

At 40' you can rely on speed at 43' the average pitchers really need to rely on movement and ball placement. Don't get me wrong speed is still good at 43' but you still need the junk. If you think about it if the batter stands way in the back of the box its like 45' now.

[callegacy]

40' what state is that?

[Sftbll4ever]

40' what state is that?

Same as yours.

[callegacy]

ok but I could have sworn I heard they changed it to 43'? effective jan. 1st 2010'