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HS Pitchers

Posted by Deeply Enraged on April 21, 2025, 8:37 pm

The following is a commentary on pitching in high school as it pertains to helping girls find a spot in college.

(If HS achievement is your ultimate goal, that’s of course totally fine and your prerogative. No disrespect.)

I’m seeing again the behaviors that DO NOT get girls to the next level. Specifically:

Riding a pitchers (back to back games, full 7 inning outings) which wears them out for travel season.

Especially if the kid is not committed, this is coaching MALPRACTICE! Riding her in HS means that her arm
Is dead in June/Jily… and that is THE TIME to show off for college coaches.

But, HS coaches don’t aim to get kids in college. They aim to either collect a stipend or compete for a regional/sectional/state title.

IHSA is nice… but it means NOTHING for college recruiting! If you’re a coach and that’s your #1 goal, you are a HINDERANCE to girls with a college goal.

Ugh.

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by Deeply Enraged ×2 on April 26, 2025, 8:50 pm, in reply to "HS Pitchers"

I can not believe that this Moron Coach left my daughter in for a full seven innings she pitched 120 pitches for the loss. This year she has 80 innings and there are 3 other pitchers,one would think switching pitcher would help to throw the other team off. Highschool is nothing, we are hoping she is good to go for travel, and not burned out. Coach keeps telling her "Nobody's better" I am ready to pull her they have no chance this year and he should be getting the other pitchers more time in the circle for the future of our school.

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by Mustache on April 27, 2025, 6:36 pm, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

We had a coach in rec ball that said the same thing ... "no one better" to each girl one after another.. I hope he is not coaching now, but if he is he needs to quit. Enough is enough. Total Massengill

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by What!! on April 29, 2025, 7:31 pm, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

What is exactly a Massengill?

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by Look at the math on April 23, 2025, 11:30 am, in reply to "HS Pitchers"

Make of this what you will, but here are the stats for the top 10 ILL teams on MaxPreps:

LWC - #1 pitcher has 72% of innings
Marist - top secret statistics
LWE - 58%
Washington - top secret statistics
Oswego - 48%
Fremd - top secret statistics
Wheaton N - 66%
Glenwood - 51%
Carterville - 65%
Sycamore - top secret statistics

To the other post about OPRF (#24), they're at 32%.

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by Cheas Champ on April 24, 2025, 12:47 pm, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

If my team played 100 innings over the past 30 days and my daughter pitched 65% of those innings over those 30 days that 65% is not too much.

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by Bystander on April 23, 2025, 8:53 pm, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

OPRF lost their #1 pitcher Anna Topel back in March during Pigeon Forge spring-break trip.

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by John St. Clair on April 23, 2025, 6:08 pm, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

OPRF lost their #1 to injury making any comparison using them pointless

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by @Look at the math on April 23, 2025, 2:45 pm, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

Thank you for this! That is a great statistic to look at.

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by Other math on April 24, 2025, 6:42 am, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

This is interesting. I’d love to also see which teams are playing their full roster, versus just their 9-11 best.

Some coaches do a great job of giving the end of their bench opportunities to get into games. Other coaches ride their best 9 and leave kids with hardly any game experience. There are plenty of opportunities to rotate players in HS, especially in non-conference and runaway games. Those that do are meeting the spirit of the HS game - teaching skills and building community.

HS and club are two different ways to play softball. Each has their place.

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by not accurate on April 23, 2025, 4:24 pm, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

Is this from Maxpreps? some of the other ones that were in there weren't accurate either. LWE only had 2 games entered, which probably means whatever team played against them entered it? One of the other teams only had 4 games entered.

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by @not accurate on April 24, 2025, 9:13 am, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

Yes, straight from MaxPreps on Wednesday.

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by DuKane #% on April 23, 2025, 4:18 pm, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

Wheaton S: 100% (14 innings)
Wheaton N: 66% (63.2 innings)
Lake Park: 64% (48.1 innings)
Glenbard North: 78% (49.2 innings)
St Charles N: 63% (41.2 innings)
St Charles E: 60% (62.1 innings)
Geneva: 64% (35 innings)
Batavia: Top secret

Not sure what this shows... either a really good pitcher, a team without much pitching, or a coach that rides one horse come hell or high water... you decide!

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by So crazy on April 23, 2025, 2:22 pm, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

That some of these HS coaches hide their GC stats. Like anyone is scouting anyone, the majority of these coaches don't even know the players. Playoffs last year our coach was asking the girls about a pitcher from a certain school and asked "Is she good? Shes only a sophomore though..." Meanwhile all season long she dominates......I wonder sometimes if they even look at the other teams, nonetheless scout them.

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by Hiding Stats on April 23, 2025, 3:10 pm, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

It's total BS - and it's against what IHSA asks every team to do!

"What do coaches need to do? Coaches need to
enter their rosters and schedules at the start of each season, report scores immediately after each game and enter statistics to appear on statewide stat leaderboards."

From: https://www.ihsa.org/documents/MaxPreps_Reporting_Procedures.pdf

Someone should drop a dime on the Coach Belichicks at Marist, Barrington, etc. Get a life - it's HS softball!

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by Free Willy on April 22, 2025, 12:13 pm, in reply to "HS Pitchers"

I have witnessed travel ball coaches ride a girl for 3 games and 330 pitches on Saturday then hand her the ball first game on Sunday.

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by @Free on April 22, 2025, 1:46 pm, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

Agreed that travel coaches can do this. Years ago, a well known org was short pitchers and threw their top girl 600+ pitches in two days in a fairly meaningless tournament. I had to go back to GC to confirm that this actually happened. It did. The pitcher turned out just fine.

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by @Just fine on April 22, 2025, 4:45 pm, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

Just fine, for how long? My daughter is a pitcher in college and I've seen way too many girls not make it to or through college without serious arm issues.

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by @@Free on April 22, 2025, 2:54 pm, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

600+ pitches in two days....in travel. That coach should be fired. It is DUMB!!!

6 games---100 pitches per game that is a lot for about 5 innings.

10 games---60 pitches per game that is a lot better for a 5 inning game but I doubt that would happen.

Don't over pitch.

It is just bad.

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by Moderate Discomfort on April 22, 2025, 1:11 pm, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

You're right - there are idiots everywhere.

But it seems like the incentives are more aligned in the club scene. Club coaches want to get their kids committed. Yes, win tournaments too - but it's different in HS. Most HS coaches have no idea of the recruiting scene and may never even talk to a club or college coach.

This is really an issue for sophomores. If they are good, their HS coach rides them - especially if in the conference or playoff hunt. Then those kids show up in June with velo down and/or nagging injuries.

Argument could be made that it's better for college prospects to not play HS.

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by OPRF on April 22, 2025, 11:14 am, in reply to "HS Pitchers"

Tip of the cap to the OPRF HS coaches. Rarely do they do this - they are always rotating their pitchers, especially in non-conference games and early in the season. This has to help with what seems like a great team culture., keeping more kids involved and improving. (No, not an OPRF parent!)

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by Parents on April 22, 2025, 8:28 am, in reply to "HS Pitchers"

I agree with this, but this is exactly why parents should not be coaching their own kids in high school --IF their only goal is some all-conference patch..

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by Coach on April 22, 2025, 8:27 am, in reply to "HS Pitchers"

This has gone on before your daughter was playing and will go on long after she is done.

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by Coach on April 23, 2025, 6:56 am, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

I am very thankful my daughter has never had a daddy coach in HS, both my boys played travel, HS and Juco baseball and we never once had a MOTHER coach at any level. Why do dads think they need to be involved in this at the HS level on up? We never even let a parent run gamechanger let alone coach in HS. All her coaches had softball experience and actually PLAYED the game... Some, I mean MOST of these daddy's need to grow up and quit living in the past trying to recapture your glory days that did not happen.

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by Paige on April 23, 2025, 11:53 am, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

Please stop with the gross generalizations. Some of the best coaches my daughters have had are parents of other players on the team. Some of them played the fastpitch softball, some of them played college baseball, some of them played other sports. All great coaches.

If you don't like parents coaching, then don't play for a parent coach. That's your right. But for you to come on a public forum and trash all parent coaches is ignorant.

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by It Aint’t Fair on April 23, 2025, 11:32 am, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

Since 9U my daughter has had 6 coaches. 3 good - 3 poor. Two of the top 3 had daughters on the team.

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by yes! on April 23, 2025, 2:47 pm, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

Parent coaches usually have more ownership of the team and care more about the success. As long as they can separate the Parent/Coach role it is usually a great fit.

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by Um... nope. on April 23, 2025, 3:19 pm, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

There can always be unique situations, but as a rule - at least above the rec league level - this is absolutely NOT the case.

There is no way most (any?) parents can consistently separate the parent and coach roles. Either they are going to be too easy on their kid, or they're going to be too hard on their kid.

And even in the one in a million chance that they're perfect... the perception from others STILL has a negative impact on the kid, coach and team.

Bad idea. Every time.

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by @Nope on April 23, 2025, 4:37 pm, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

Speak for yourself. There are plenty of great mom and dad coaches. Maybe you should do better homework before choosing.

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by @@Nope on April 24, 2025, 9:16 am, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

I’ve not disregarded that there are SOME parents who can pull this off. But there is NO WAY - even if they are a “good coach” - that it doesn’t impact the perceptions of the parent and the kid, internally and externally.

Juice isn’t worth the squeeze at the competitive levels. Especially as you get into college exposure, it’s a TOTAL liability.

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by @@@@Nope on April 24, 2025, 12:50 pm, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

I could see travel ball coaches being parents. But high school coaches being parents? That's a whole different situation. Who's gonna spill the beans, what school are we talking about?

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by @@ Fake news on April 25, 2025, 3:12 pm, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

Yes only one would hope this is not to be true, we would only hope this is Fake news. If my husband decided to coach my Daughter in Highschool I think she would lose it. This would definitely embarrass her at school. I couldn't imagine if he said the wrong thing would the group take it out on him? She might lose friend. I might even lose a friend or two if someone maybe talked bad about him. What if he held a girl accountable and the parents did not agree. This might get us thrown out of Town!

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by FAKE NEWS on April 25, 2025, 1:43 pm, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

Quit, there are no high school coaches that are coaching their own daughters. That would be creepy , and she may never be able to be byherself in college or the real world. What is a high school coach going to go with their daughter to college too? UNREAL. fake news

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by @Fake News on April 25, 2025, 2:33 pm, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

Deion's are everywhere. It's not entirely out of the question.

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by LMAO on April 26, 2025, 9:49 am, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

Who would Shedeur Sanders without Deion? Actually, wish there were more Deions in this world.

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by just saying on April 30, 2025, 9:17 am, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

Without Deion, Shedeur would be a 1st round draft pick!

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by @Just Saying on April 30, 2025, 11:52 am, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

Shedeur's actions cost him dearly. Deion's actions get him hired for lots of $$$$$$$. Don't fool yourself.

Re: HS Pitchers

Posted by @PARENT AND COACH on April 22, 2025, 4:40 pm, in reply to "Re: HS Pitchers"

Coach you are 100% correct, every year we hear the same complaints. I never hear when a parent has had enough and downed their daughter. So who's fault is it? You want to complain but your little workhorse is in the circle every game and you say nothing! You are living your dream through your child's eyes shame on you.
I have heard of a Daddy ball Highschool Coach more recently, I have no clue what school has a Dad coaching Highschool softball? This is just a new level of strange. Then add the "All Conference" part. Shame on the Teachers, Principle,School,Parents,Mayor to let this happen. Shame on that father that again is living a dream that he may not have accomplished.

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