ASA 16U pitching distance

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by Dakota

Now that NFHS has moved to 43', ASA (and the other summer ball sanctions) have some thinking to do.

I would expect that the top 16U pitchers who also play high school ball will be motivated to play up at 18U rather than spend the summer pitching from 40'.

Those of you on the inside of the ASA rules changes conversations, has any discussion been going on about changing 16U to 43' (at least 16U-A)?

People tend to forget the "U" part of the classification. Many of the 16U participants are not in HS. I would think that most decent HS pitchers are already playing 18U.

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

People tend to forget the "U" part of the classification. Many of the 16U participants are not in HS. I would think that most decent HS pitchers are already playing 18U.

Perhaps, especially since the starters tend to be seniors. But those contending to be the starters won't want a wasted summer.

[coachmike]

How many 16u's are NOT in high school?

Most high school freshmen are 14 so unless you have exceptional players playing up I would say most 16u's are already in high school.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by coachmike

How many 16u's are NOT in high school?

Most high school freshmen are 14 so unless you have exceptional players playing up I would say most 16u's are already in high school.

And in some areas, half the HS seniors throw a pitch with a hump on it.

[JefferMC]

The main issue as I see it with this age breakdown is that the JV programs will be playing on the same fields as the Varsity, and many JV players are playing 14U ball. The grounds crew are not going to be troubled to move the pitching plate 3' between the JV and Varsity double-headers (or between their separate practices on the same day), so 90%+ of JV will be at 43' this spring, and back at 40' come the summer.

[Skahtboi]

Originally Posted by JefferMC

The main issue as I see it with this age breakdown is that the JV programs will be playing on the same fields as the Varsity, and many JV players are playing 14U ball. The grounds crew are not going to be troubled to move the pitching plate 3' between the JV and Varsity double-headers (or between their separate practices on the same day), so 90%+ of JV will be at 43' this spring, and back at 40' come the summer.

Jeffer, if your schools are using NFHS rules, then this won't be an issue at all. For NFHS, the rule merely moves the pitching distance back to 43 feet. Period. That is for anybody and everybody.

Now, for those few states and/or districts that are still using ASA rules, that will be up to them to work out how they want to administer the rule. They may want to ignore the pitching distance change altogether, though I don't feel that would be the best move. They may want to schedule double header JV games one day, and double header Varsity games another. They may want to have the grounds crew, coaches, or players, simply move the pitching plate the required three feet. It wouldn't take but a couple of minutes between games.

[JefferMC]

Originally Posted by Skahtboi

Jeffer, if your schools are using NFHS rules, then this won't be an issue at all. For NFHS, the rule merely moves the pitching distance back to 43 feet. Period. That is for anybody and everybody.

Now, for those few states and/or districts that are still using ASA rules, that will be up to them to work out how they want to administer the rule. They may want to ignore the pitching distance change altogether, though I don't feel that would be the best move. They may want to schedule double header JV games one day, and double header Varsity games another. They may want to have the grounds crew, coaches, or players, simply move the pitching plate the required three feet. It wouldn't take but a couple of minutes between games.

I think you missed my point. The girls will be playing NFHS rules from Feburary through May. Then they will be playing ASA rules the rest of the year. Just this fall, the local ASA TD's "jumped the gun" and put the pitchers plate at 43' for 16U in an effort to help the pitchers who would be facing that pitching distance in the school season. In fact, they announced, then retracted, the same move for 14U. The ASA organizers were actually the last group to announce a move to 43' for the fall. For a while it looked like we would have one 43' ISA tournament sandwitched in between 4 ASA tournaments at 40'.

[Snocatzdad]

It isn't that big of an adjustment.

I had 12U kids pitch an entire scrimmage from a 46' plate because it "looked" right. The bases were at 65' too that was what caused the confusion. 90% of the adjustment is made in the first three pitches. The last 10% takes longer depending on how much change has to be made to get their movement pitches exactly where they want them.

I've also seen 14B and Rec pitchers work from that distance and the extra three feet doesn't make them noticably worse.

On a straight fast ball 50 mph the difference in drop height is only 8" lower on 43 ft vs 40ft.

[Tru_in_Blu]

We have quite a few multi-use fields. One fenced in field which is primarily used for women's SP is also utilized for FP tournaments.

A local HS has 3 fields to support HS Varsity/JV and 12-14 y.o. rec league.

I've pitched [FP] games from the 46' distance with another pitcher's plate embedded at 40' and found it very distracting. I kept thinking a line drive would take a weird bounce off the front pitcher's plate and break my nose or something.

I can't imagine schools or town rec departments changing pitcher's plates all the time. On some open [i.e. no fences at all] fields we use we could potentially need plates at 40, 43, 46, and 50 feet.

We'll probably be seeing a lot more of the temporary plates with the 3 spikes underneath. For the HS fields, a larger, permanent plate at 43' will probably be put in. That will cover the HS games. Rec leagues and tournaments for the 14U and below will likely utilize the temporary plate, or a line drawn in the dirt. We do the latter for some modified FP leagues which aren't too fussy about the legality of their pitchers.