pitching speeds

He sounds very similar to many of the freshman that made our JV team here in Central FL this year.

I guess what I am looking for is this the average speed for a 14 year old that is still growing? He can only go out for one position and he said that he could just go out for short if not. He just doesn't want to not make the team.

Sounds like he has some tools, I know my sons school looked for solied fundamentals, keep his confiedence up and show coaches he wants to be there.I asked similiar question about speed and you can find the results in previous post, but if I remember right his speed seems about right. Seems odd they can only tryout for one position, I would bet if he has skills and a good attitude he doen't need to worry (You can do that )I have a freshman son also and just went thru his 1st HS tryout couple months ago. Our experience this year has been wonderful, for the most part. Welcome aboard and best of luck to you and your boy.

Don't know about where you live, but where I am, I think that would be a shoe in for a JV pitcher. We play in probably the most competitive region in Georgia. I also think that coaches will say that you can only play one position, but if you have an athlete that is a good pitcher, you have a chance at playing both.

On our varsity team, we have a sophmore that started in right field and also was a starting pitcher. Mostly because he could hit.

Doesn't sound like you have much to worry about.

quote:

Originally posted by bballfan23:
My son will be trying out for the High School team soon. He is worried about his pitching speed. His average speed is 76 mph with movement and controll. A little about him, he is 5'5" and 118lbs. He has not started his growth spurt yet. He (we) would like to know what you think...does he have a chance?

Do you mean by "soon" next year? HS season is almost over.
76 is actually above average for a freshman I think.(assuming no subtract 7mph from what dad says son throws)

First post this kind of stuff in the pitching forum and you will get more feedback..

I logged games last year for our freshman team and 76 is on the upper end for velocity for a freshmen. The hardest thrower I clocked was 78. I don't have my log book here but I belive 72 was average. These are real numbers on a Stalker. Subtract 2 from a Jugs reading. Like others have posted remember the HSBBW pitching rule number 1. Ask dad subtract 7.

He should be fine. Good luck.

BTW Welcome to HSBBW!

BOF--should us who are being honest add 7

Can he hit? There's no mention of that. If he's not sure what position gives him the best shot, being a good hitter will take care of things. If trying out as a position player, you better be able to hit. Especially if you want to make it to varsity and get significant playing time.

76mph would be above avg for an incoming freshman so if really does throw that hard, as long as he can throw strikes, locate and continue to grow, should be no problem. It also depends on what these HS coaches are looking for. It's different from school to school.

As for growth spurts, who can predict them? My son was about 5'5 145 when he played freshman ball, by his senior year he was 5'9 185-190, not exactly a growth spurt but he was much stronger and much faster than he was in the 9th grade.

You can't go crazy over this stuff.If they're good enough and the coaches like what they see, they'll make the team. If not, you work harder in the off season to improve and try again the next season.

Got to admit that this thread makes me feel better for next season. Son is an 8th grader now and throws upper 60's low 70's (oh wait...add 7 so throws mid 70's ) He really hopes to jump straight to JV..so if he continues his 3-5mph increase per year he should have a shot velocity wise anyways (he is a lefty with good movement).

It's nice to be able to project size. It's nice to be able to project velocity. But work on the controllable. A player should spend the offseason working on what he wants to improve for the following season. 76mph is fine for a 5'5" freshman. He'll most likley gain some velocity just by growing. There are a lot of varsity pitchers across the country throwing 80mph successfully if they have a good offspeed pitch and location.

My son didn't throw in the 70's until soph year in HS. By the time he graduated, he had touched the mid 90's. Now in college, he is very effective at 84-89.

CPLZ, I like that you touched on where the kid was effective at.

I have seen so many pitchers "throwing for the gun" to get the velo reading, but when it really comes down to getting the out the velo comes way down for control.

But back to this thread... why would a coach tell a prospective player they could only try out for one position?

Crazy... In CA the SS CIF gives coaches 80 hours of try out time. Every player should be in the IF, OF, and be tested on the ground and in the air... arm actions, foot actions etc...then pitch or catch too if they can.

I would want to see everyone everywhere and decide for myself what I want to do with them.

As a freshman I pitched 75-76, sophomore 77-78, and now as a junior 80-82. All on a stalker. If he progresses like most kids do he should be fine. I should add that I've grown about two inches in that span and added about 10 pounds. In other words, nothing drastic changed in my body. Working with a certified NPA instructor certainly helped me gain velocity.

EDIT: I feel its pertinent to add that these speeds led me to sub-2 ERAs playing against mostly 3A out 3 classes competition in three years of varsity. So, with a good circle change and a lot of well-located strikes you can dominate most high school teams with those velocities.

BBALLFAN23 - There is a big long thread under "coaching tips" called something like "average speed for a 14-15 year old" This thread has been going on for years and contains some early posts from parents of their FR son's velocity with follow up posts when they were seniors. GREAT READING, take a look, you're going to feel a lot better after you do...

<dad factor warning so get your -7 ready> My son is 6'3" 190 LHP this season as a freshman. He has been clocked at 86-87 throwing as hard as he possibly can in a bullpen. On the stalker to hitters, he's 81-82. He's playing varsity as a freshman.

The top freshman on the freshman team threw about 77 and the comment from the parents was that he threw as hard as anyone they saw in freshman ball all season (which is over). This is a 5A-I school with just over 3,000 students.

I would feel really good if my kid was throwing 76, with strikes and hadn't hit the growth spurt yet.

Frankly, hitting locations with a little movement will make a pitcher more successful than having lots of MPH's.

Our varsity scored 10 in 1 2/3 on Saturday against a kid who throws 90 (I saw it on a stalker myself), but its flat & straight, he doesn't hide the ball and he misses in the strike zone a lot. He telegraphs his off-speed so they all know when its coming. The next kid probably threw 80-82, but was on the corners, had some movement, hit his spots, etc. He held us down for four innings with nothing.

HS baseball is a LOT of fun. Welcome to the group and I'm sure the next four years will be very memorable for you and your son!