tb coach tells pitchers only throw strikes

[Hinky]

1st year 14u travel ball coach
told his pitchers they should only throw strikes. 13 year old pitcher replied "when ahead in the count shouldnt we make batters chase pitches, swing and miss is also a strike"
coach replied "if you're not throwing strikes you will get behind in the count"

Now 3 pitchers are baffled at what their coach wants them to do at this level. all three pitchers and their pitching instructors have told them "when you're ahead on a batter throw just outside the strikezone"
Imo throwing strikes all the time would be a hitting festival.
Whats the heyB feedback for these pitchers? Insight on how to address this situation?

[GIMNEPIWO]

From the information provided; either the 1st year coach has little experience or he/she does have experience and the 3 pitchers have no control and can't hit the strike zone .... IF the former is the case, it's time for a change ... IF the later is the case, he/she may be just telling them to throw strikes because he is tired of watching HBP's & BB's, figuring if they hit the ball the team at least has a chance of making an out ... IF neither of those is the case, then more information is needed.

[curveballerguy124]

Hahaha....... Hand her coach a ball tell him to throw batting practice WITHOUT a net and tell him to make sure to only throw strikes see how long that last and if that changes his opinion!!!!

[artomatic]

Did you hear the coach say this with your own ears or did the 13 year old pitcher tell you that is what her coach said?
If you heard these instructions yourself, then you should trust your gut on what the coach meant.
If this is what the pitcher heard, then maybe she didn't understand the instructions, or filled in the lack of information with assumptions, or heard and responded correctly.

It's just hard to say with the info given, and sometimes there are 2 sides to every story, and the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

Just saying that sometimes what a coach says is interpreted differently by the player, especially a 13 year old girl.
And if the parent of 13 year old pitcher is frustrated or doesn't like the coaches or team, they also can "fill in the blanks" with something that fits their narrative...

[Sparky Guy]

Sometimes with a 13 yr old. Between what goes in the ears and what comes out of their mouth you swear a game of Plinko has been played in their cranium. Ya never know where it ends up.

[jonriv]

Sometimes with a 13 yr old. Between what goes in the ears and what comes out of their mouth you swear a game of Plinko has been played in their cranium. Ya never know where it ends up.

I have news for you, it does not end at 13!

[Hinky]

it was spoken to the pitchers in front of the entire team.as well all the parents that were standing around after the game..
Clarity to those that responded in doubt about what was said.
It was clear what the coach said...its what i heard as well.
all three pitchers have control.
no they're not walking batters all the time. the coach told the pitchers to only throw strikes.

the responses are interesting...
- trust the gut instinct of the coach
-the players themselves misspoke .
-have the coach pitch BP with no net ( great response)
-and a good analization of thought on the situation

No dd, not my team.

[curveballerguy124]

Hey Hink, all honesty if that coach made a dumb comment like that to his pitchers then he really doesn't have a clue and should not be coaching because he is going to get his pitchers hurt!! For starters the girls are not up there trying to throw balls the goal is to throw strikes on the corners where its safe. On occasion they are gonna miss and float one over the plate enough without the coach telling them to throw a strike it will happen. When you tell a 13 yo kid to throw strikes she translates it as over the plate. What he should tell his pitchers is "establish a corner albeit hi, low, in, out, off the plate where ever the blue is giving establish it early and see how many strikes you can get on that spot" that will teach his pitchers to not give in to the batters to simply get a strike..... Its a shame there are coaches out there like that because he is not teaching his pitchers a thing on how to become a pitcher!! But hey if all else fails go with my original suggestion

[Capone]

My DD has gotten yelled at for throwing strikes on the corners with an 0-2 count. Only when they got a hit though. If they struck out it was fine

I would have a conversation with the coach. If they were passionate about always throwing strikes and that was against what I believe, I would have to look for a new team.

[jonriv]

Although I agree with idea of having pitchers getting batters to chase balls out of the strike zone and hiting the corners etc.., in my experience only the best Pitchers can do this with any consistency at 13. For many pitchers just throwing strikes can be an issue. Also, there are a population of pitcher's Dads(the ones who say their DDs have 6 pitches ) keep instructing their daughters to nibble around the plate and all they do is walk batter after batter.

G's post seemed to be right on

At 13 there this is what you usually see:

1) flamethrower "bully" pitchers who fire strikes but are too much for the majority of hitters. Tend to have problems with better hitters and teams, but blow away most others

2) Junk pitchers that throw at all different speeds that no one sees coming(including the catcher)

3) Good control pitchers that can hit their spots

4)The elite pitcher that has speed, location and can throw at least 2-3 very effective off speed pitches

Most pitchers are 1-3, most pitcher's Dads think their DD is 4



I also find it very dubious that a 13 year old said

13 year old pitcher replied "when ahead in the count shouldnt we make batters chase pitches, swing and miss is also a strike"

Sounds more like Dad speak-IMO