From
Fastpitching.com
What's better, movement or speed:
We are constantly being asked,
"what's more important to have, speed or movement". The
answer is very simple, BOTH! If you have a lot of speed
but not much movement you are going to get hit hard.
Now, of course there are flame throwers in the 10's and
maybe even some 12's that can blow straight heat past
batters. However, past those age groups heat with no
movement gets hammered. On the flip side, what if you
have a lot of movement but no speed. This can be equally
as bad as having speed only. If you do not compliment
the movement with some speed what happens is that
batters can track the ball. They pick up the movement
and are able to adjust and once again you are getting
hit hard. A slow curveball or dropball will have that
long sweeping bend to it instead of a late sharp break.
What really dominates batters is a combination of
movement and speed. You don't have to be the absolute
fastest by any means. All you need to be is fast enough
to get a late tight break on the ball. In my opinion
pitchers should be striving to throw breaking pitches at
the highest rate of speed possible. But don't forget
that the faster you try to throw your movement pitches
the more likely you are to lose your spin. It takes a
lot of hard work and dedication to be able to throw fast
movement pitches with the proper spin which of course
explains why so few do it. Those who do go on to set all
the records and the record setters are never the fastest
but rather they have the fastest movement pitches with
correct rotation.Close the hips or
keep them open?
I hear people debating all the time
on whether a fastpitch pitcher should close the hips or
keep them open. When my sister was about 9 years old she
began taking pitching lessons. Her first pitching coach
always told her to "Close your hips", he harped on that
constantly. She would try so hard to close her hips but
every time she tried harder her ball would go to the
left (she's a lefty). When that would happen he would
blame it on her hips being late or not closing hard
enough. Well, to make a long story short, and after
years of developing this extremely bad habit we finally
figured out that the reason her ball was going to her
left was because her hips were TOO EARLY! Her hips were
actually getting in the way of her arm causing the ball
to shoot off to her left. I am now totally convinced
that the hips should be open while the arm is coming
though the release point. Maybe they can finish at a 45
once the ball is gone but at release I believe they
should be open. This really has a huge affect on your
movement pitches. It is impossible to throw a riseball
with the hips closing before release. It is also much
easier to get the correct rotation on the curve ball
with the hips open at release. In short, if your hips
are closing too early try keeping them open while you
practice for a few days and see if you don't notice a
big difference in your movement and control.
Average and Top Pitching Speeds for Various
Age Groups:
Keep in mind that the speeds listed
are just what we have seen after 17 years of being
around fastpitch softball. They are by no means totally
accurate, simply a rough estimation.
10U - Avg. Speed
38-42 - Top Speed 48-53 Low to mid 50's is very rare.
12U - Avg. Speed
44-50 - Top Speed 53-59 Upper 50's is extremely rare but
we have seen as high as 61 mph from a 13 year who was
still eligible to play 12U
14U - Avg. Speed
49-54 Top Speed 56-61
16U - Avg. Speed
53-57 Top Speed 60-68 Again high 60's is very rare but
there are a few capable
18U - See 16U
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