Parent Involvement in Fed ???

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Mountaincoach

I think the reason you see a difference is because pitching a softball is one of the most difficult things to learn in athletics. As a result, most of those girls have a private pitching coach that isn't necessarily on the field as a regular team coach. As a result, the responsibility of warming up the pitcher falls to the parent who hauls their daughter to every pitching lesson and learns the mechanics themselves. They become the "other pitching coach". I'll be very honest--unless the head coach has a daughter who pitches or they pitched themselves in their younger days, they are usually the least likely person to coach that pitcher. As a result, you see the "parks and recs" look on the field during warm-ups when it comes to the pitcher. Just my opinion after watching it happen for years.

My daughter pitches and fortunately she's had coaches on her travel teams who were college pitchers.

I've seen too many coaches whose only input to the process was "Throw strikes!" Really helpful.

[Duke]

Rich,

Your post took me back 25 years just before I became an umpire. I was coaching youth softball and my daughter was on the team. She was a first baseman but for some reason I had her pitch this one game. She was striking out people when she was throwing strikes but there were a lot of balls thrown in there also. I remember hollering out from the dugout to throw strikes. I guess she must have heard it a few too many times. After telling her probably one too many times she turns to me from the circle and says "what do you think I am trying to do". Yup, one smart kid! Got me thinking in a whole new way.

Every time I hear that now when I am on the field I think back to those days. I also want to say to the coach, maybe you should show her what she needs to correct with her mechanics........