One of the things you see on social media is the now famous picture of the very proud young pitcher holding the radar gun displaying the speed of her latest personal record pitching speed. There is nothing wrong with a young player and her parents wanting to share their accomplishments. It is very cool to see a player’s hard work paying off and sharing it is the natural thing to do.
My only real concern with these posts is the level of expectation that it creates with many other pitchers and pitchers parents. If my 10-year-old daughter is working hard on her pitching and I see a post of another 10-year-old throwing a lot faster what am I supposed to think? Is my kid any good? Is she working hard enough? Is my daughter’s pitching coach holding her back? And on and on the list goes.
Of course, this discussion will be had across all age groups because there are always going to be kids at each end of the spectrum. We know they call the game fastpitch for a reason and faster is seen as being better for many of the people involved in the game. What we need to remember is that not all kids are created equal and that while one 12-year-old might be maxing out at 50 and another at 60, they can both still be very effective pitchers and they both have a long career ahead of them where they may see tremendous gains in speed and effectiveness.
Moral of the story? Please keep posting your pictures of your kids success! Everyone else, chill out! There are a million different pitchers and a million different stories. Not all kids fit into the same mold but that doesn’t mean there is any reason for concern. Keep working hard and trust that your work will pay off.
P.S. Don’t believe the radar speeds when you watch the games on ESPN! I promise not every college team has a pitcher throwing close to 70 miles per hour! I promise!
