Pitching from 50ft vs 60ft

[phillyinnj]

My son is a young 6th grader (11 years old until end of June) who will be trying out for his middle school team this spring. He pitches well at 50 ft and is well built for his age (5' 2" about 110)...my question is should he give it a go at pitching from 60 or just wait another year until he fills out more....he will be playing 12U again this year and is the starter on that team.

Anyone experience their son pitching from 60 at an early age and what was the result? Here is a vid of him (50ft)...he is on the right.

http://youtu.be/Z2lBFqgR4-g

[benz99]

Are you sure it is 60 & not 54, our middle school was at 54 ft which didn't seam to be to big of an adjustment. 60 would be another story. 5'2" & 110 lbs is a good size, he shouldn't have to much of a problem as my kid is waaaaay smaller than that

[scorekeeper]

My son is a young 6th grader (11 years old until end of June) who will be trying out for his middle school team this spring. He pitches well at 50 ft and is well built for his age (5' 2" about 110)...my question is should he give it a go at pitching from 60 or just wait another year until he fills out more....he will be playing 12U again this year and is the starter on that team.

Anyone experience their son pitching from 60 at an early age and what was the result? Here is a vid of him (50ft)...he is on the right.

If he wants to, let him pitch.

Sometimes, when faced with decisions like that, people don’t look at it correctly. If you’re looking at how he’ll perform compared to Doc Halladay, he’s gonna look pretty pathetic. Even if you try to compare him to a MiL, college, HSV or even HS Fr player, he’s still not gonna look too great. But, look at who he’s going to be playing with and against.

Yeah, there’s gonna be some knuckle draggers that will pound him pretty hard, but for the most part, its gonna be kids just like him. So, if he can’t throw an equivalent FB at 95, so what? The kid he’s pitching do isn’t likely swinging that drop 3 like a toothpick, so even if he hits it, where’s it gonna go?

When my son was 11, he threw practices with me on the 60/90 field. At the time, he was about 5’3”/85#, and it didn’t take him very long to get used to it. If you don’t go by what you’d like him to look like, but rather how he looks compared to all the other kids at that level, you’ll be surprised at how good he looks.

Its just a game! If he doesn’t strike everyone out at 11 on the big field, trust me, it won’t ruin his psyche, and it won’t cost him a DI ‘ship or a ML contract.

[tg643]

My son was 5'2", 120 in 7th grade when he was just turning thirteen. He pitched well because he threw strikes. Middle school teams aren't loaded with hitters who can crush the ball. Focus on mechanics and throwing strikes. It doesn't matter what the end result is in 7th grade. It's the foundation that matters.

[phillyinnj]

It's definitely 60 foot...not worried at all about his performance on the 60ft mound since he will still be 11 when playing (if he makes the team)...just wasn't sure how he should approach the difference in length (don't want his arm to turn into a noodle).

[tg643]

It's definitely 60 foot...not worried at all about his performance on the 60ft mound since he will still be 11 when playing (if he makes the team)...just wasn't sure how he should approach the difference in length (don't want his arm to turn into a noodle).

Watch his mechanics. Make sure he's still fluid from 60 feet. If not don't have him pitch in games. In 7th grade my son couldn't maintain proper mechanics from 60 feet with the curve. So he practiced from in front of the mound and didn't use it in the game. The next year when he "blossomed" to 5'4", 120 he was strong enough to through the curve properly. I believe more than anything over a year he adjusted to the distance.

The only place I've heard of 54/80 ball in the PA/NJ area was USSSA/ECTB trialed it for 13U fall ball aka the fall after LL. I don't know if they stuck with it. ECTB has been hurt badly by Diamond Nation in Flemington.

[tradosaurus]

My son is a young 6th grader (11 years old until end of June) who will be trying out for his middle school team this spring. He pitches well at 50 ft and is well built for his age (5' 2" about 110)...my question is should he give it a go at pitching from 60 or just wait another year until he fills out more....he will be playing 12U again this year and is the starter on that team.

Anyone experience their son pitching from 60 at an early age and what was the result? Here is a vid of him (50ft)...he is on the right.

http://youtu.be/Z2lBFqgR4-g

I would recommend against it because your son will be tempted to try to throw it as hard at 60 ft (I think you meant 54 ft) than he did a 50 ft. This will cause stress on his shoulder and arm.

My son moved up to 13U because of his age and the extra 4 ft (54 ft vs 50 ft) was enough to tire him out earlier (because he was trying to throw as hard). And my son is 5'-8", 160 lbs. Part of my son's problem though is his mechanics as he needs to work on a wider stride.
http://youtu.be/QmA6rSWS_Js

[scorekeeper]

The whole thing’s a learning process, and it doesn’t make any difference what distance a pitcher is used to throwing from, until he learns that it takes no more effort to throw max intensity pitches from 60’ than from any shorter distance, he’ll very likely overthrow. Now if you’re one of those dads who has to not only gun every pitch, but tape it, critique it, and grade it as well, then not only shouldn’t he be throwing at 60’, he shouldn’t be pitching at all until you learn you shouldn’t micromanage him, any more than you want someone micromanaging you.

[Baseball gLove]

My 12 year old son is 5'6" 135 lbs. He had pitching lessons during the fall with a current MLB pitcher from 60'6". Because he was looking good we forgot to mention to the coach that he pitches from 46 feet as a 12U.

When my older son had just turned 12 (bad birthday age cut off) he was playing 13U pitching from 60'6" during the summer. At the time he was 4'10" 90 lbs. He had been gunned at 70 to 72 mph. The following year he was 5'3" 105 and pitching for the freshman and JV team at his high school. He was voted best pitcher on the freshman team which had a record of 23 and 6.

[phillyinnj]

The whole thing’s a learning process, and it doesn’t make any difference what distance a pitcher is used to throwing from, until he learns that it takes no more effort to throw max intensity pitches from 60’ than from any shorter distance, he’ll very likely overthrow. Now if you’re one of those dads who has to not only gun every pitch, but tape it, critique it, and grade it as well, then not only shouldn’t he be throwing at 60’, he shouldn’t be pitching at all until you learn you shouldn’t micromanage him, any more than you want someone micromanaging you.

Scorekeeper, Not sure why I would be critiquing him but no, not really concerned with what his results will be, IF he would make the team...he's only 11 and won't turn 12 until after the season so whatever he does on the team IF he makes a team will be an accomplishment in it's own...

[shake-n-bake]

The first year at 60' can be a nice learning experience. The days of throwing it by everyone and then backing that up with a LL curve ball are over at that point. Watched a bunch of kids pitching last year that apparently didn't get the memo on that. What a waste.

If he makes the team and pitches, you'd be wise to train him to throw a whole bunch of ground ball outs. Perfect time to learn to sink a fastball.

[scorekeeper]

Scorekeeper, Not sure why I would be critiquing him but no, not really concerned with what his results will be, IF he would make the team...he's only 11 and won't turn 12 until after the season so whatever he does on the team IF he makes a team will be an accomplishment in it's own...

Sorry if I wasn’t clear. I was responding to what tradosaurus posted, so when I said “you” I wasn’t meaning you, I was meaning a generic you, and was of course meaning a helicopter dad who just couldn’t help but critique everything his kid did.

It sounds as though you’ve already made up your mind to allow him to give it a go. Good on ya! If he doesn’t make the team, at least he tried and will have the experience. If he makes the team, it’ll be just that much more experience. As long as he has fun doing it, its all good!

Good luck to him.

[Baseball gLove]

It sounds as though you’ve already made up your mind to allow him to give it a go. Good on ya! If he doesn’t make the team, at least he tried and will have the experience. If he makes the team, it’ll be just that much more experience. As long as he has fun doing it, its all good!

Good luck to him.

Where is the "Like" Button?

[phillyinnj]

Sorry if I wasn’t clear. I was responding to what tradosaurus posted, so when I said “you” I wasn’t meaning you, I was meaning a generic you, and was of course meaning a helicopter dad who just couldn’t help but critique everything his kid did.

It sounds as though you’ve already made up your mind to allow him to give it a go. Good on ya! If he doesn’t make the team, at least he tried and will have the experience. If he makes the team, it’ll be just that much more experience. As long as he has fun doing it, its all good!

Good luck to him.

TBH Like....is that what they do on Facebook...

[Jake Patterson]

My son is a young 6th grader (11 years old until end of June) who will be trying out for his middle school team this spring. He pitches well at 50 ft and is well built for his age (5' 2" about 110)...my question is should he give it a go at pitching from 60 or just wait another year until he fills out more....he will be playing 12U again this year and is the starter on that team.

Anyone experience their son pitching from 60 at an early age and what was the result? Here is a vid of him (50ft)...he is on the right.

http://youtu.be/Z2lBFqgR4-g

Philly,
I doubt your son will be pitching as a sixth grader on a MS team... Let him try out and enjoy the experience....