Thread: Legal Pitch?
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Old Mon Dec 05, 2005, 11:03pm
Mike Walsh Mike Walsh is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2000
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Quote:
I know that the intent of the rule was for the male pitchers that leap,but I do not think they had an aggressive 12U pitcher in mind on this one.
Thanks, [/B]
I only call softball games for female teams, and I've never heard that this rule was intended for males who leap. I have heard that coaches don't like to see it called, and that umpires who call it may not be asked back. You don't have to look far to see posts complaining about how inconsistently this is called.

From your description it's hard to tell, but if she isn't replanting it is likely she is not gaining an advantage. Thus, it probably won't be called often. Yet it is hard to imagine that she releases before she loses contact with the ground, so it probably is an illegal pitch. If you let her develop a bad habit at 12, it will be harder to break later. The older she gets the more it will be called, too. If she is as talented as you say, coach her to pitch legally, Otherwise, it just might be the finals when you run into an umpire who is going to call it.
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