Posted on 03/19/2015 8:16:15 PM PDT by pallis
My homeschooled 14 year old loves baseball, batting and pitching. After his last Jr league season, a coach asked us to let him play for the high school. He tried out for pitching today. His first pitch was 87 mph, and his third was 89. It was starting to rain, and they stopped clocking them. He threw some curves, sliders and splitters. Since his first game pitched in little league, he has had phenomenal control, and everything was right on the money today. I had to tell someone. Yeah, I'm bragging.
Wow!
14? 2 pitches. Fastball and a change-up....
Just keep an eye on his shoulder and elbow. Dont let him over do it.
You have every reason to brag. A good kid doing well in school work (I am assuming) and now also in a sport. You can’t beat that!!
Watch him carefully. Don’t let some irresponsible coach blow his arm out.
You need to get him a personal trainer/manager. He’s MLB material.
And get him on the weights!
If he’s truly throwing 85+ as a 14 year old his velocity is among the top 1-2% of kids in his age group. A good coach will have him work on location and ball movement.
If he learns to throw a half way decent off speed pitch he can be virtually unhittable....
Don’t let the coach push him to throw too much “junk” at the age of 14. He will ruin his arm by 18 years old
High school pitchers need functional flexibility not increased strength. Velocity is a function of sound mechanics rather than weight training. Ask yourself how did Sandy Koufax, Pedro Martinez and Tim Lincecum (early in his career) develop devastating fastballs? It wasn’t in the weight room....
When I was around 18 our church played another church in what was little more than a pickup game.
Before the game I was warming up with their pitcher. He did not attend school and I did not know him but he was from way back in the sticks. Although we were playing softball we were warming up with a baseball.
I have never had anyone throw a baseball like he did. He threw so hard it literally scared me and I have never been even close to being scared by any pitcher before. to top it all off, I don’t think he was even throwing as fast as he could.
Fortunately we were playing slow pitch softball so we didn’t have to face his speed.
To put things in perspective, I played high school baseball and one of our pitchers went to Florida and became the number one pitcher in their rotation. He could not throw even close to what that kid did.
I doubt he ever played organized ball but wish he had.
I really didn’t know how fast he was pitching. He does his exercises and drills every day, but I don’t clock him often. ...My radar gun leaves a lot to be desired, and when he tweaked out a 90 on the platform the other day, I thought the gun was off, but after today, I’m thinking it was pretty close.
Thanks everyone for the good advise. I was lousy in baseball, poor depth perception, couldn’t hit, couldn’t catch, and couldn’t throw, so the first thing I did when he started pitching in little league was to get him a pitching program that concentrated on balance, movement and good mechanics, and I started educating myself. His control has always been excellent and natural. When he first started pitching at 12, my first instruction was to set up a 14 inch tire, and tell him I didn’t want him hitting any of the little kids. ...I ask him about his shoulder and elbow everyday, and he has never had any pain or discomfort.
Thanks everyone for helping me celebrate. I’m 61, and feeling a little giddy. LOL!
Most important is to ensure his head is screwed on straight so he’s equipped to handle success, disappointment, injury, and failure.
If he has control he is already ahead of the game.
Our high school coach played minor league ball but never made the majors. I remember his telling us that control was the number one asset for a pitcher.
Be very careful about the curveball. It is hard on the elbow.
...but good luck and have fun.
Wow. What grade is she in?
Seriously, don't let him over throw and burn out his arm. He is still growing. It is far better for him to work on finesse and wait for the power to come as a junior or senior.
"Ceterum censeo 0bama esse delendam."
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
Grow up.
Stop trying to make up your own life failures through your kid.
Be proud. We don’t get too many of those moments in life.
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