Quote:
Originally Posted by Manny A
That's always been the party line at NFHS when asked why they allow it, and it made sense to me. There are quite a few high schools where decent softball pitchers are at a premium, and any little help the rules can provide to allow for more players to get the ball into the strike zone is a plus for those teams.
It always makes me shake my head when someone argues NFHS isn't preparing pitchers for college ball by allowing them to step back. Well, for one, NFHS has never been touted as a feeder program for NCAA ball. And, two, those high school pitchers who are aspiring to play in college aren't being forced to take a step back. It's simply an option for those girls who prefer to pitch that way.
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In my area, I'd estimate that 95% of the high school pitchers that I've observed tend to start with both feet in contact with the pitcher's plate. I think they've learned it that way so they'd be legal for either NFHS or USA Softball.
Every once in a while with a HS pitcher who starts with only 1 foot on the plate, a coach will ask about it, thinking it's illegal. At that point I have to take my hat off to see which sanction I'm working that day.
As I've stated before, I only work the 2 sanctions. Consistency between/among the various alphabets would be most helpful. We have some guys that do college ball and try to bring some of those rules to the HS game.