CoachJV

I listened to the two games you guys broadcast from the tournament as we sat at the Middle School game in Manchester. It sounded pretty bad to be playing on the big field with the long fences. Sometimes things like that have an effect on the way kids play. I mean it can have more of an impact than people think. We played tournament ball there last summer and we just told the kids, "it is the same size field for both teams." The teams that can adjust and adapt are the ones that win out. By the way I think Scotty Hansert may have found his calling. If he needs an agent to negotiate his contract let me know. ))) We went down to support CC and I was ready to go after they were put out but my daughter and her buddy wanted to stay and watch some of their team mates from tournament ball play. I was glad I let them talk us into staying. The last two ball games were worth staying for. The Goodpasture defense made some tremendous plays to support their young pitcher. I understand their older pitcher had an injury. The young lady that played shortstop made a play that was just incredible. You don't see that level of play at the college level. Not at all discounting the other girls but that play and the play that number 9 (another 8th grader) made at third just stick in my mind. She took a hot shot in the chest, picked up the ball and threw for the out, then said "ouch". That is a ball player. The Brentwood - Riverdale game was an awesome game. Nothing to nothing into international tie breaker. It was one of those games that you can't win but someone has to lose. That is the kind of game that you pay your dues and play all weekend to hope you have a chance to play. Nobody learns anything useful in a 15-0 blowout but in a close game like that both teams gain rare experience that makes all the difference. A couple of errors were the difference in the ball game. It was worth the admission and "bleacher butt" to see. If anyone knows for sure I'd like to confirm it but I understand both pitchers and several other players from both teams have already committed to major college programs. If that is so I can see why.

All the pitchers I saw looked good. Cat appeared to have added a screw ball or maybe even a drop screwball to her already deadly arsenal. She may have been throwing that a while but we only saw her at one high school tournament last year and one game at CC. Her control, speed and variety of pitches makes it tough on batters. Anyone going to the plate without a plan against her is taking a knife to a gun fight. I was really impressed with Christen. Her velocity is up, she demonstrated good control and the variety of pitches she threw was good. That plus her mound presence and leadership will be an tremendous asset to CC in the coming years. You tend to overlook Kasie in this because she makes it look so easy. She worked the corners at will and kept the batters off balance. Her rise ball looked good and I did not count strike outs but she popped up several. She looked comfortable on the mound and ready to take charge and make a run on a good year. I have to admit I did not watch her as closely because I know she is good. It is easy for people to quote radar speeds and take that numerical value and try to discern which pitcher is better than the other. I guess it is easier for all of us to wrap our minds around, but while speed is an asset, it is not an answer to every problem. Anyone that watched Kristen Schmidt from LSU at the College World Series in 2004 should know that. The fastest pitch I saw her throw was 54 mph. If she had not just run out of gas after 400 pitches I think they would have won it. It should be a good year for both teams. The hitting was off on both sides but that is normal for this time of year. The pitchers have been working all winter and they are at the top of their game. The hitters are just getting started. It will come for both teams, they just need some "at bats". How well they come together as a team, their willingness to adjust, and their willingness to work, will determine the level of their success.

Well you should know about my eyesight by watching me try to catch a football and yes I do know who the boss is and she lets me make all the decisions. On a serious note though, I made the mistake of thinking the girl with the knee brace on was Kat. We met her and Ann last winter in Memphis at an Ernie Parker lesson and she was amazing. Ernie had he show off her curve ball to Casey as a great example of how to do it. The break on the ball was amazing. Is Darci a Club K girl as well?

Hey Weave, You looked good over there on first base keeping the action going. We came by on the way back from Club K and watched a couple of min from the parking lot. It was about 8:00 I think. I thought one of your girls was going to hit my winshield on the hit that won that game. Casey and Billie Jean wanted to stay warm. Who was I to argue... Who is the young lady that pitched that game? I think she was #1 and how is the Hosfield girl doing with her knee? Cheri was telling me about it last year when she hurt it. Good luck to you guys this year. Jay V.

I will not attempt to suggest what everyone else should do, only what my rules are and where they came from. Under the Q&A section on the Michele Smith website a couple of years ago she recommended no more than 140 pitches a day and then a couple of days off after that. I think the site has changed because I can’t find this now. Back this winter Baptist Hospital had a seminar where they were the subject was baseball and softball pitchers arms and injuries. I asked Cheri Kempf how many pitches a day she recommended for a pitch count to keep a softball arm healthy. Her response was “not much more than 140 a day.” I asked her how many days a week and she said “not much more than four days.” We have taken this “560” a week rule and backed into a routine that we hope will be safe and productive for my 12 year old. The way I figure it she hopefully has several years to go in this so why take a chance. The way we use this is that with lessons ongoing and her middle school coach wanting them throwing most days, we may wind up throwing six days, but we try to limit the pitch count to about 100 a day. If we go to a tournament and she throws 250 pitches over the course of two days, then we figure in about 3 days rest to recover. We keep a book to make sure but you can use about 5 pitches per batter. Of course there is no guarantee that some “catastrophic” injury may occur, but it does limit her exposure to over use. One other thing that the Baptist Seminar brought out was the temperature. They claimed that an athlete was like 32 times more likely to get an injury when it was cold. I think that was their number, don’t shoot me if I am off on the number, but I do know it was a bunch. Good luck to everyone and I hope this helps.

I am looking for a 10 and under pitcher for a tournament team based in Manchester. Emphasis will be on proper form and technique to let the girls improve, not just winning ball games. We plan on playing five or six local tournaments and practicing all the fundamentals taught by Club K. If you have any questions or know of a good girl that wants to get better, give me a call. Jay Vincent 931-596-3674 after 6pm