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Pitch Calling


mommamia
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Have other people noticed that alot of the really strong pitchers during the summer are not as effective during the school season. I know the competition is not as strong. So maybe some do not push themselves as hard as they do when the competition is stronger during the travel season. Or is it the difference in pitch calling? I really think alot of it has to do with the sequence of pitch calling and not using the each pitchers individual best pitch.

 

What are others thoughts on this?

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Pitch calling & the secquence could have a lot to do with it. But most pitshers have a stronger defence behing them during summer ball than they do in High School. Its a small world in Travel Ball, most coaches that has been in for a while knows most plyers in there area & what not to pitch to them. I know I study a batters form, swing & where they position thmselves in the box & try to have some kind of a plan how I want to pitch to her. It doesnt always work but most of the time we will do ok. Im not a highschool coach so I cant speak for them but sometimes I do wonder what there thought process is when calling a certin pitch.

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Pitch calling & the secquence could have a lot to do with it. But most pitshers have a stronger defence behing them during summer ball than they do in High School. Its a small world in Travel Ball, most coaches that has been in for a while knows most plyers in there area & what not to pitch to them. I know I study a batters form, swing & where they position thmselves in the box & try to have some kind of a plan how I want to pitch to her. It doesnt always work but most of the time we will do ok. Im not a highschool coach so I cant speak for them but sometimes I do wonder what there thought process is when calling a certin pitch.

 

 

Ok, as I have said before, I am fan on the sideline whose daughters have played and moved on. I proudly can say one is a sophomore at local college playing softball. I however, attend as many HS games as I can. I understand what you are saying. I attend a lot of North Greene's game and I have noticed that Coach Fletcher had given her catcher the green light on calling pitches. Just out of curiousty I asked why. Her answer was this, "I trust her judgement. She has faced these girls for 4 years now and has played travel ball with and against many of them. She knows what they can and cannot hit." I know Coach Ward at Chuckey Doak is pretty insistant that he call pitches. Greeneville calls the pitches. I like NGHS philosphy. Even though, she has coached for a few years there, she knows her pitcher and catcher will make the right decisions. Maybe she is wrong. Maybe she is right. Whichever it is, it seems to be working!

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Ok, as I have said before, I am fan on the sideline whose daughters have played and moved on. I proudly can say one is a sophomore at local college playing softball. I however, attend as many HS games as I can. I understand what you are saying. I attend a lot of North Greene's game and I have noticed that Coach Fletcher had given her catcher the green light on calling pitches. Just out of curiousty I asked why. Her answer was this, "I trust her judgement. She has faced these girls for 4 years now and has played travel ball with and against many of them. She knows what they can and cannot hit." I know Coach Ward at Chuckey Doak is pretty insistant that he call pitches. Greeneville calls the pitches. I like NGHS philosphy. Even though, she has coached for a few years there, she knows her pitcher and catcher will make the right decisions. Maybe she is wrong. Maybe she is right. Whichever it is, it seems to be working!

 

 

I would like to see more high school coaches hand over the responsibilty to the catcher, if the catcher has the ability to make good judement and understands the reasoning behind why and when to call what pitches. Maybe, we will see more of that. It seems like the high school coaches would want to help their catchers excel and move forward. I am sure some catchers are not ready for this responsibilty too.

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I would like to see more high school coaches hand over the responsibilty to the catcher, if the catcher has the ability to make good judement and understands the reasoning behind why and when to call what pitches. Maybe, we will see more of that. It seems like the high school coaches would want to help their catchers excel and move forward. I am sure some catchers are not ready for this responsibilty too.

 

The differance between pitchers in the summer and in High School is the level to which they are expected to perform. Teaching a catcher to call a pitch and when a pitcher should shake a pitch off is somethng they should learn in high school, unfortunately most high school coaches don't know themselves and the majority of times that they let the catcher call pitches is to take a little pressure off themselves. Coaches calling pitches in high school can result from two different aspects. (1) they are more confident in their ability than their catchers ability and (2) they are not confident at all in their ability. Coaches like Gene Ward at Chuckey-Doak know the game and what it takes to compete. Knowing the pitching scheme is the responcibilty of the "battery", but even in college most coaches call the pitch selections.

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The differance between pitchers in the summer and in High School is the level to which they are expected to perform. Teaching a catcher to call a pitch and when a pitcher should shake a pitch off is somethng they should learn in high school, unfortunately most high school coaches don't know themselves and the majority of times that they let the catcher call pitches is to take a little pressure off themselves. Coaches calling pitches in high school can result from two different aspects. (1) they are more confident in their ability than their catchers ability and (2) they are not confident at all in their ability. Coaches like Gene Ward at Chuckey-Doak know the game and what it takes to compete. Knowing the pitching scheme is the responcibilty of the "battery", but even in college most coaches call the pitch selections.

 

 

 

Ok I am going to give you my position as a coach on pitch calling. The two girls I currently have pitching and catching have been together as pitcher and catcher since they were old enough to start. My catcher knows my pitcher better than any one. When I first took the team, a pitching coach called pitches for them. However as sophomores I began to give them control of pitch selection. Now as Seniors, they are in total control. I think it is important that we as coaches give guidance, encouragement, and feedback. A wonderful tool is the video of the game. Using the video, you can say to them, "Okay why should have called a different pitch? Why do you think that pitch was so effective at that point?" Anyway, back to what I was saying. /rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":rolleyes:" border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" /> Allowing the catcher, in this case, to call in pitches is a good thing. She knows much than I do what is working and what is not. These two have played against most the girls they face either school or during travel ball. They know where they hit, what they hit, and what they cannot hit. It really situational call for coaches.

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Curious about the following:

In college are all pitches called by the coaching staffs?

Do most summer league coaches call the piches or let the catchers call the game?

Why do the vast majority of HS basbeall coaches call the pitches but it seems much less likely in HS Softball?

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