Speed of pitchers

[SunnySanDiego]

What seems to be the average speed of 11yo pitchers? I know each girl is going to be different, but, what seems to be the avg speed? How many pitches should she have by this age?

[hotwheels]

11 years old
Average GAME speed - 63 mph
Throws 6 different pitches
Outstanding location
Doesn't have friends and hates boys - just loves softball and her DAD

Sorry, maybe that's just my DD

[DonnieS]

One of the leading pitching academies published this list awhile back - might have been Club K.


Grade - No. Pupils - Avg. mph - top 10 Avg
5 60 39.32 45.7
6 87 43.23 51.60
7 95 47.08 58.00
8 117 50.37 62.20
9 59 51.20 58.30
10 63 52.56 61.50
11 27 56.67 60.90
12 28 58.00 62.00

[anonlooker]

One of the leading pitching academies published this list awhile back - might have been Club K.


Grade - No. Pupils - Avg. mph - top 10 Avg
5 60 39.32 45.7
6 87 43.23 51.60
7 95 47.08 58.00
8 117 50.37 62.20
9 59 51.20 58.30
10 63 52.56 61.50
11 27 56.67 60.90
12 28 58.00 62.00

Typo? Or are the top 8th graders really throwing faster that all levels of HS pitchers?

[Clean_up]

I thought the avg speed of 7th graders was like 51 mph. We are talking averages and there are a lot of pitchers out there. I think the faster pitchers in this 12-13 year age range are between 54-56 mph, again, on an average as there are cetainly a few throwing harder 57+ and a few throwing under 50, but not many.

For 11 year olds, as the OP asked, maybe 49 mph would be a good average speed IMO.

A question for all you pitcher parents out there, what speed is good at what height? How much of a jump in speed does the average pitcher experience after they hit "maturity" and get their muscle mass?

[Clean_up]

What seems to be the average speed of 11yo pitchers? I know each girl is going to be different, but, what seems to be the avg speed? How many pitches should she have by this age?

My DD has 6 pitches, but there are a lot of 12 yr old pitchers who are just now learning new pitches, i.e. rise ball, curve and/or screw balls. Our first pitching coach (Doug Finch) started her learning them all with the exception of the rise until she could throw 50 mph in 10U, but a lot of coaches will ease their students into new pitches, one at a time. IMO at 12u level they should have FB, Drop, Change-up and at least one of the others, preferably a good curve ball or drop-curve and start working on the rise.

[catdad]

Sunny,

I think it has a lot to do wtih the kids natural ability. Some can pick it up very quickly and be throwing with speed in no time at all and I have seen others that have the desire but just don't have the natural quick reflexes it takes to pitch fast.

To answer your question I think around 46-50 is an average for girls around this area in the 12u division, and most only throw 2 or 3 pitches.

[Coach_Frisbee]

To answer your question I think around 46-50 is an average for girls around this area in the 12u division, and most only throw 2 or 3 pitches.

Upper 40's is the average for 12U in this area. I only know of a couple in the low 50's at this level. There are also only a few that have more than 2 pitches, although there are a pile of kids (and their parents) who THINK they have more than that. Just because you know the grip does NOT mean you have the pitch!

14U up? Everything changes...

[Cannonball]

When DD was 12 (15 now) we took her to a camp of which we didn't know was a tryout for a very good travel program. She was invited and the people running the camp thought she was 14. Long story short, when it came to the pitching portion of the tryout, they stated that if you dd can't throw 60 at age 14 she should not rotate into the pitcher portion of the session. Well, so much for that. Then, we watched these girls start to throw. I'm calling BS that they were throwing 60. As they continued to rotate, we took the dd over and signed her up. She threw 3rd hardest of any of the kids there. Here's a clue - NO ONE THREW 60.

One college coach commented last summer that when he hears a parent discuss how hard their child throws, he adds the "BS Factor" into the equation. It is somewhere between 3 and 5 MPH in his opinion. Additionally, what device is being used for the measurement? We had tryouts for my dd's team and so, one of the Dads showed up with a "gun" and offered it for use. Wow, we have girls throwing harder than D-I schools. His dd was real good on that gun. I guess you get the point.

Speed is only one factor. Control, movement, # of pitches that the dd can REALLY THROW, etc. are also factors.

[Tucson]

My beginning students regardless of age (2 are 9, 1 is 11) are consistently edging toward 35. They need to practice almost every day and have a lesson every week to keep improving. The 11 YO has been struggling to keep up with more talented girls - and now her family pulled her out of lessons "for the holidays." It will probably take 8 lessons to gain back what she will lose over 2 months. She won't throw at home.

The two 9 YOs that come to lessons consistently are at 35 mph.

I don't have a gun and my own DD never was clocked. I use Glove Radar. It is good to check my students progress.

A very talented 6th grader (11) could hit 47 mph with the 11 inch ball at 35 feet. It has taken a good six months to get her to 47 mph after she changed to a 12 inch ball and 40 feet. She throws the FB and change and has worked a little on the rise ball (with a different instructor). But an 11 YO that can throw a change up for a strike is like gold here in Tucson.

I have been experimenting to see if girls can throw overhand very fast. The answer is no. Their windmill pitch is always consistent with their overhand speed. If they can't throw 50 mph overhand, I think it would be unusual for them to pitch 50 mph.

My own DD threw overhand very hard, in fact harder than most. Thusly, she was able to pitch pretty hard, but I know she never hit 60mph with the windmill.

Put a Glove Radar on your Christmas list. It is fun to see what it says about your (and your DDs) overhand throw.