When did your son become a pitcher?

PlayWithEffort posted:

The question seems simple enough but I guess it could broaden and need some clarification but I’m curious as to when everyone really started pitching.

I’ll add the first clarification.

When did your son start working on pitching as a very specific skill set?   This doesn’t have to mean PO only.

For example,  In younger ages everyone, or most everyone, pitched at some point. Many just carried that role into later years and became a pitcher. Others may not have but came back around to pitching due to whatever reason. 

What path did your son take?

Spot pitched from 9u-11u.  12u coach told him he was the starting pitcher for bracket play.  That was when he had his first lesson.  14u he was told he was a pitcher, and on occasion a position player, by both HS and travel coach. I expect next year for him to be a PO, but he still wants to hit, so this could be interesting to watch.

This will get blasted but here goes.  My son played on a 8U kid pitch team at age 6.  He has never had an official lesson other than myself, two older brothers, and a few travel coaches.  He has never been a PO but has had a lot of times that he has only pitched and hit but didn't play the field.  He has worked hard to become better on the mound, especially increasing his speed while keeping his control up.

Around about 9u he started to pitch. 11u or 12u started catching. Around 14u he was asked if he wanted to pitch or catch because he wasn’t doing both. He chose catching, but his head coach saw something in him and made him a pitcher. 15u the travel coach made him a PO because he really didn’t have a strong bat, speed on the base paths, but, above all, the coach didn’t want him hurt.

Son worked on his bat and is now a Senior RHP/DH with a mid-major scholarship to pitch.

So, my oldest son's story starts when he was 6 or 7years old  when I was an asst coach on a rec ball team.   The head coach asked me to take half the kids over to a field to see who could :  1) throw the ball 42'   2) come close to the 42' plate to throw a strike.  We ended up trying all the kids and only a few could do it.  My son was among them, and he liked doing it.   So, we practiced a lot on our own and he improved to the point where he could throw strikes which at that 6-7 years old is everything.   So, I noticed a couple things about him a year later 8-9 years old that I thought was a little "strange" compared to the other kids.   First, he really wanted to get better and practice as much as he could.   This was not about the snack after the game or practice.   He loved to practice.   Second, he was a very shy & introverted kid but once he got on a pitching mound he turned into an extremely competitive person who would not give in to hitters. These things stuck with him until he played his last college game.

In travel baseball and high school baseball he was a starting pitcher.   We met with his youth travel coach when my son was around 13 or 14U to see why he wasn't playing him in the field or hitting him.   My son felt he could both better than some of the kids on the team (state champs).  His travel coach told him at 14U that he had a gift and his ticket to college baseball was pitching.   He needed to focus on that, and he would give him some at bats when the situation called for it.  My son hit left handed, and the travel coach followed through with his promise.  My son continued to work on his pitching.   His travel coach was 100% correct about my son's potential, and I look back at that advice as golden.

Looking back at his development there were milestones and specific games that I'll take to the grave with me, but I'll never forget the 6 year old kid who asked his Dad to teach him to pitch.   You never get that time back.  Enjoy it while you can! 

9U

My son started in minors little league.  Had some rough beginnings which included a few tears on the mound.  But he stuck with it, with maybe a little pushing from dad.

Funny, like @fenwaysouth, he was a quiet kid when younger, but really found comfort and his competitiveness when on the mound.  All the way through his freshman year, he was both pitcher and catcher, but we knew we had to make a decision as playing both would increase risk of injury to his arm.  But the decision was easy to make as he had a tall/lean build like myself and pitching seems to be his best means to play in college, aside from him really loving it.

He's now a junior in HS, and pretty much pitcher only.  Would love to see him get AB, but not so much throwing (also played 3B) on his pitching off days.

My son started taking lessons at 9 but never really got into a game as a pitcher until 11, where he would pitch an inning or 2.  By 14, he was used as a closer, but primarily an infielder.  As a freshman they had him start once a week, but still played his position.  As a sophomore he was put on varsity as a PO and now is a PO/DH and misses playing in the field.  He and we know his future is in pitching but struggling to understand why it needs to be decided so early.

Started learning basic pitching mechanics at 5 as something to do while I rested from throwning BP lol. Started pitching at 8 as a guest playing up in 9/10 in our rec league because he could throw strikes and it speeded up the game. He loved it from the first time he toed the rubber. 

Started travel ball at 13 when he got his first lessons from the travel coach who was an ex pitcher. He will be a PO this summer in 17U travel for the first time although he would have been happy to be a PO at 9. 

As mentioned above he is also an intravert but on the mound he's a completely different kid. There is no where in this world he would would rather be than on a mound. I've always said he should have been born back in the day when he could have pitched most every game. He would have loved it. 

Wow! We are heavily weighted on introverts at the moment. Some great stories in these replies.

For your former catchers, how difficult was it to make the switch to a pitcher from a throwing mechanics perspective? 

fenwaysouth posted:

So, my oldest son's story starts when he was 6 or 7years old  when I was an asst coach on a rec ball team.   The head coach asked me to take half the kids over to a field to see who could :  1) throw the ball 42'   2) come close to the 42' plate to throw a strike.  We ended up trying all the kids and only a few could do it.  My son was among them, and he liked doing it.   So, we practiced a lot on our own and he improved to the point where he could throw strikes which at that 6-7 years old is everything.   So, I noticed a couple things about him a year later 8-9 years old that I thought was a little "strange" compared to the other kids.   First, he really wanted to get better and practice as much as he could.   This was not about the snack after the game or practice.   He loved to practice.   Second, he was a very shy & introverted kid but once he got on a pitching mound he turned into an extremely competitive person who would not give in to hitters. These things stuck with him until he played his last college game.

In travel baseball and high school baseball he was a starting pitcher.   We met with his youth travel coach when my son was around 13 or 14U to see why he wasn't playing him in the field or hitting him.   My son felt he could both better than some of the kids on the team (state champs).  His travel coach told him at 14U that he had a gift and his ticket to college baseball was pitching.   He needed to focus on that, and he would give him some at bats when the situation called for it.  My son hit left handed, and the travel coach followed through with his promise.  My son continued to work on his pitching.   His travel coach was 100% correct about my son's potential, and I look back at that advice as golden.

Looking back at his development there were milestones and specific games that I'll take to the grave with me, but I'll never forget the 6 year old kid who asked his Dad to teach him to pitch.   You never get that time back.  Enjoy it while you can! 

Fenway: 

Did the 14U travel coach elaborate on what the the gift was for your son? I mean, obviously, it was pitching but did he get specific? Just curious...

PlayWithEffort posted:

Wow! We are heavily weighted on introverts at the moment. Some great stories in these replies.

For your former catchers, how difficult was it to make the switch to a pitcher from a throwing mechanics perspective? 

My 13U kid still has a problem with his pitching and catching mechanics. His sequence gets out of whack on the bump, unlike behind the dish, he doesnt have to think, just quickly transfer the ball and fire

LHP began pitching (Youth Baseball) at 9u. Began one lesson a week shortly after. Pitched in rec ball max allowed each game (3 innings/50 pitches). Was used sparingly as a P in local travel as he also played CF and caught AND was pretty small (late birthday and late bloomer).

As he aged, it got more serious. Two a week lessons from 12u, but serious building of velo started summer between 9th and 10th grade with a new PC who he stayed with until his career ended. Pitched and played the field all through HS (though his hitting wasn't that good and at a larger HS he wouldn't have played the field). Only pitched in travel (scout ball) unless he could beg his way onto the field when players were needed.

From beginning of college until he hung it up, he got a total of 2 ABs.

PS He was also a very introverted kid; baseball drew him out.

PlayWithEffort posted:

Wow! We are heavily weighted on introverts at the moment. Some great stories in these replies.

For your former catchers, how difficult was it to make the switch to a pitcher from a throwing mechanics perspective? 

I knew my son was going to be transitioning to PO eventually, so I never had him shorten/alter his delivery as a catcher.  That's why I think you need to pick one or the other, once you hit your early teens.

My son played his first season in travel. 8 or 9 U. He never pitched and played some in the field. He had teh same coach in Catholic youth ball. He did not pitch there even though he wanted to. 

After the season the coach pulled us aside and explained that while he really liked Charles, he was not going to take him on his team for the following year,  but he would love for him to still play on the catholic team. Son was at a public school, however all parishioners sons and daughters were welcome to play on the pre HS teams, no matter what school they went to. This gave my sons an extra season of baseball when they were younger, plus they got to know the other children in our parish.

The following year he played Rec ball. We signed him up, for his age group. We received a call from the commissioner, who we knew from playing with the church team. He asked did we really want him playing with his age group? He thought it was a waist of his time and he would like to bump him up to play with the older boys. We were fine with that. He received his first opportunities to pitch and we took him to some lessons. He did reasonably well but not great. He always had lots of movement on his ball so controlling that and getting strikes took some time. He pitched a little in Middle school, however they always wanted him at first base, and worked with pitchers that had more velocity. They also wanted him at First Base. (and occasionally SS, but that is a different story for a lefty) He never got a lot of innings. Freshman year was more of the same. The freshman coach saw him as the next great first baseman.  He received more pitching time, and while he did not have a lot of velocity he got kids out. Before the game when he was warming up you would hear the other team talking about how they were going to crush this kid. He doesn't throw very hard. But after the game it was We could not hit him because we are used to faster pitchers. Oh well. 

Sophomore year he is on JV, JV coach moves him to center field, Says he does not understand why he was very a first baseman. He was one of a three man rotation and did very well pitching.  HS coach is fired before the end of the year. New coach is hired but will not start until next year. He comes to some of the games and asks some assistants who my son is and what he plays on varsity. New coach is surprised to learn he is JV. Junior year he is on varsity and is kind of a pitcher only, until he gets his opportunity. (another story I have repeated many times so I wont repeat it here. If interested look at my post in Coach May's wonderful post about opportunity. ) 

We start going to recruiting events and showcases. I show up a little late and my son is warming up on the mound. There is a familiar figure behind the fence watching my son intently. I walk up to say hello to his old Coach from the Catholic team. We talk for a few, and he wants to know if I know the pitcher? Son is wearing his HS team cap and coach knows he went to this school. When I told him it was Charles, he was flabbergasted. "That's little Charles?", I did not know what I had. He went on and gushed about how well he was doing. 

During his recruiting process, all the coaches that were interested in him said, He was a pitcher, and would get an opportunity in the Fall to prove he could do both. He went on to pitch as a weekend starter all four years at his college, usually the one or two pitcher. 

Keep plugging and do not give up. 

Our son starting playing baseball at the age of 6 but has always been a position player first. He could throw the cover off the ball but had no idea where it was going so he had little experience on the mound and when he did...the innings were long with more walks then H or BB. This obviously beat him up mentally and so it got worse before it got better. He basically spent very little time on the bump until summer of 2016. Due to a returning pitching staff with 11 innings of varsity experience, they worked with him a bunch during summer before JR year. He started in spring of JR year as both RHP and OF. Improved as a RHP but was still a 1 for 1 (BB to K) with arm issues. Fortunately for my son, we met his pitching whisperer about 9 months ago, and it has been a whirlwind since. He is now committed to play at a Power 5 and looking forward to continued development. Long story short...if your kid can throw the cover off the ball at a young age and having control issues...be patient and keep looking for the right pitching coach who REALLY understands mechanics and the importance of the mental game!

PlayWithEffort posted:

 

Fenway: 

Did the 14U travel coach elaborate on what the the gift was for your son? I mean, obviously, it was pitching but did he get specific? Just curious...

Sure.  He had physical skills, command and a variety of pitches at 14U.   So, his youth travel coach had known him since he was 10 years old.  He knew my son's mental makeup...logical, stubborn, and decisive.  He knew he would make the right pitch for the situation. 

So, I think a lot of kids have those physical skills at 14U.  What makes some people different is really learning how to pitch, setup hitters, learn new pitches, focusing on pitching in big situations, working on mechanics, etc..   My son didn't learn a curveball until he was 16 years old.  He didn't need it, but wanted to add another tool to the arsenal.   As you become a PO, you can focus on those tools and experiences.  Certainly that was the case with my son.  His travel ball team relied on him to win big games...Perfect Game national championship games.    That was a lot of pressure, but he was mentally tough.  High school gave him the opportunity to pitch, play the field, DH, etc.   But his travel baseball experiences prepared him for college baseball.  My son isn't unique in that regard, but he did take advantage of his one standout baseball skill that got him on a college mound. 

JMO.  I hope that answers your question.

We all have different opinions but mine has never changed. If we could turn back the clock as to when it all began it would be later than he started.

Joined a kid pitch league when he was 8 going on 9 but no one was allowed to be a PO. He played t ball for 2 years. Son  had ONE paid lesson and in his entire pitching career. Every night son and dad watched the Braves, Maddux was his favorite,  dad would explain to him what he was doing and the next day they would practice everything he saw the night before. Son had very good mechanics, never threw a breaking ball until HS. 3 pitches, 4 seam, 2 seam, circle change. He was tall and lanky and threw hard for his age. With that being said Mr. TPM WAS VERY protective and selective. He encouraged other sports  and son played just about every position including catcher and no summer ball until sophomore summer. I remember when the Ohio Warhawks called for him to join their team for the summer and it was a no. He wasn't going anywhere he couldn't see him play. He trusted no one. 

Son became a pitcher only for his sophomore and junior year and then pitcher and DH and first base as a senior, already committed.

Things were different then, there were many kids who were always hurt, but ours only had one bought of tendentious as a sophmore and didn't play fall ball.

So this weekend I met a family sitting behind me, the son is in elementary school and plays on 3 teams and pitches on 2 of them I remember.

Parents, don't do that.

fenwaysouth posted:

PlayWithEffort posted:

 

Fenway: 

Did the 14U travel coach elaborate on what the the gift was for your son? I mean, obviously, it was pitching but did he get specific? Just curious...

Sure.  He had physical skills, command and a variety of pitches at 14U.   So, his youth travel coach had known him since he was 10 years old.  He knew my son's mental makeup...logical, stubborn, and decisive.  He knew he would make the right pitch for the situation. 

So, I think a lot of kids have those physical skills at 14U.  What makes some people different is really learning how to pitch, setup hitters, learn new pitches, focusing on pitching in big situations, working on mechanics, etc..   My son didn't learn a curveball until he was 16 years old.  He didn't need it, but wanted to add another tool to the arsenal.   As you become a PO, you can focus on those tools and experiences.  Certainly that was the case with my son.  His travel ball team relied on him to win big games...Perfect Game national championship games.    That was a lot of pressure, but he was mentally tough.  High school gave him the opportunity to pitch, play the field, DH, etc.   But his travel baseball experiences prepared him for college baseball.  My son isn't unique in that regard, but he did take advantage of his one standout baseball skill that got him on a college mound. 

JMO.  I hope that answers your question.

It does. thanks for taking the time to elaborate on what they saw in him. 

TPM posted:

We all have different opinions but mine has never changed. If we could turn back the clock as to when it all began it would be later than he started.

Joined a kid pitch league when he was 8 going on 9 but no one was allowed to be a PO. He played t ball for 2 years. Son  had ONE paid lesson and in his entire pitching career. Every night son and dad watched the Braves, Maddux was his favorite,  dad would explain to him what he was doing and the next day they would practice everything he saw the night before. Son had very good mechanics, never threw a breaking ball until HS. 3 pitches, 4 seam, 2 seam, circle change. He was tall and lanky and threw hard for his age. With that being said Mr. TPM WAS VERY protective and selective. He encouraged other sports  and son played just about every position including catcher and no summer ball until sophomore summer. I remember when the Ohio Warhawks called for him to join their team for the summer and it was a no. He wasn't going anywhere he couldn't see him play. He trusted no one. 

Son became a pitcher only for his sophomore and junior year and then pitcher and DH and first base as a senior, already committed.

Things were different then, there were many kids who were always hurt, but ours only had one bought of tendentious as a sophmore and didn't play fall ball.

So this weekend I met a family sitting behind me, the son is in elementary school and plays on 3 teams and pitches on 2 of them I remember.

Parents, don't do that.

Thanks for sharing. Watching Maddux and practicing what he watched with Mr TPM sounds like good memories AND good practice.

I started to teach both sons  a pitching motion when they were around 10 yo. The HS senior seldom pitches now, as he is a gifted fielder and good offensive player, but they might need him to throw a bit at need. He has always had a very strong arm, even though he is a little guy. It's hard being a SS/CF, and being in a regular pitching rotation, though.

14 yo just had his first pitching lesson with a local guy, after years of having to listen to just me. He has shot up, and is firing it pretty well. He concentrates very well on the mound, and doesn't buckle under pressure. He used to be more clumsy than his brother in the field, but has recently turned a corner with the glove. He is fast, has a gun, and loves to hit, so he's another who might not end up being a pitcher, though i'd say he has a better chance than his big brother. He's got a decent height to him and has that lanky thing going on. right now he's counted on to be in a pitching rotation.

Son pitched some in Little League. No formal lessons other than a session with a local MLB pitcher where you got a free autographed ball One thing that he did not like about pitching was it took him out of MI where grounders got through where he would have been. So when did he become a "no pitcher only at all"? When a coach asked to see his fastball and he said "Coach that was it!"  At that point we deemed his speed, hitting and defense would be his tools to advance in the game he loves.

At 13 years of age our eldest son shot up to 6’3” - that’s when I told my wife “honey we gotta get this kid some pitching lessons”....

13 is when it all started.

Flying Dutchman posted:

At 13 years of age our eldest son shot up to 6’3” - that’s when I told my wife “honey we gotta get this kid some pitching lessons”....

13 is when it all started.

That’s tall for 13. Did he grow much more after 13? I’m guessing he did because that’s pretty young still.

PlayWithEffort posted:

Flying Dutchman posted:

At 13 years of age our eldest son shot up to 6’3” - that’s when I told my wife “honey we gotta get this kid some pitching lessons”....

13 is when it all started.

That’s tall for 13. Did he grow much more after 13? I’m guessing he did because that’s pretty young still.

He’s 6’5”

Chico, Jr. started pitching at 9U--in Little League and on a travel team his Little League sponsored to get players some games against better competition.  Every kid on that 9U travel team pitched some.  My son was reluctant to try it and was the last kid on the team to get on the mound.  He did pretty well and liked it.  By 10U, son was first P in the rotation for travel and LL all-star teams.  At that time he also played in the field, of course.  (Btw, two great things about combining LL and travel this way: 1) son learned to play with kids of widely varying abilities in LL; and 2) the LL was careful to coordinate travel team and LL schedules so that pitchers weren't overused--all games counted toward pitch count limits.)

Fwiw, my son is also introverted.  But he hates to lose.  And he never seems to get nervous, intimidated or rattled, even in big games or if he makes a mistake on the mound.  (IMO these last qualities are key--I was not like that as a P.)  He is confident as a P (almost?) to the point of being cocky.

From ages 11-13 son had some minor arm issues:  Tendinitis, then growth plate in elbow and shoulder (no surgery, just had to shut him down a couple of times when he was growing quickly).  The physical therapist he was seeing also worked with college and minor league Ps, so son did a handful of lessons with him.  These were helpful for both his health and his performance.  Otherwise, son just worked with his LL coaches.  In hindsight, the arm issues may have been a good thing, bc son didn't throw a lot of pitches in those years.

Son was first in the rotation for his middle school team as an 8th grader (missed most of 7th grade year with previously mentioned growth plate issues).  First again as a Fr on JV.  This year as a Soph he is mostly a relief P on varsity.  He has started a couple of games, but was told in advance he was only going to go 3 or 4 innings in each. 

When son started HS, both travel and HS coaches told him that if he wanted to play in college, then his future was as a P.  Partly because he didn't do a lot of pitching during his early teens, I also hear a lot that he is still pretty raw and is has untapped potential.  (I hear this from enough different sources that I don't think it's just an effort to sell the services of a pitching coach.)

Last year (Fr and summer after) son tweaked his arm a couple of times making snap throws while playing IF.  He also had a truly miserable year at the plate in JV and in travel--first time he wasn't one of the better hitters on his team.  So this year he decided he wanted to be a PO and focus on getting better on the mound.  I miss seeing him in the field and at the plate, but his coaches agreed it was a good move.   He still takes some BP and may play some in the field for HS as an upperclassman (a small HS), but for now he doesn't do anything but pitch on HS and travel.  This summer he is scheduled to work a couple of days a week with the PC for his travel club. He has never done anything like this before--says he wants to see if he has what it takes to play D1.  He seems happy as a clam to be a PO.

My son started pitching in 9/10 rec ball. He was a closer in high school. In travel (13u to 16u) he only started championship games when we had gone through all the pitching to get there. In 17u he started a few midweek scout league games to save pitchers for the weekend tournaments. He shocked me once throwing five innings of two hit ball against one of the top travel teams. It was one of the few times I saw him actually pitch instead of rear back and throw. 

As he got older he saw pitching as something that took focus away from hitting. But he preferred starting a scout game versus playing half the game in the field with a couple of at bats. 

Technically at 14 when he couldn't hit the curveball and stay in the lineup. Prob first pitched at 10 and more at 11 but 14 is when the rubber hit the road.

Most of my son's travel ball and high school teammates who transitioned to POs did so during freshman and sophomore year of high school. Many of them realized it was the ticket to be on Varsity sooner rather than later. At least in my neck of the woods (California), that was the case. 

Shoveit4Ks posted:

Technically at 14 when he couldn't hit the curveball and stay in the lineup. Prob first pitched at 10 and more at 11 but 14 is when the rubber hit the road.

IMO that is an ideal age for most.

2018 started baseball at 4.....with older brothers. By 6 he was a catcher for 8 year old team. Continued to catch until 13. Then went to pitcher. Never took any lessons.... 

Son played up from 9U-11U and was the smallest kid on a very good travel team.  Pitched a few innings here and there.  Team broke up before 12U season (his second year at 12U).  New coach was a former MLB guy.  Really worked with my son.  He was a huge help.  Things just kind of went from there.  Only played for that guy one year, but went back to him a few times thru his freshman year in HS.  Had a pretty good HS coach, but son pretty much just worked on pitching on his own thru HS.  When he was in the mid-upper 80's the start of his junior year, the possibility of being a college pitcher started to hit him.  He always had considered himself a SS but had more interest as a pitcher so that's what he did.  It's worked out ok

My son's first season of "kid pitch" (age 8?), he had a good coach who asked any of the players who wanted to pitch that season to stay after the first practice. My son's ability to throw the ball accurately, consistently for his age and the coach's ability to teach basic mechanics were a great combination; and, from then on, he pitched regularly for whatever team he was on.