Posted by: Mark H. () on Mon Jan 6 14:57:23 2003

I have a daughter who is extremely competitive in 11-12 year old boys little league baseball. I understand physically she won't be able to do that at some point in the future and will need to go to fast pitch softball. My question is will she gain more from the baseball at this point or should we make the move to softball as soon as possible. I believe she will be challenged more in the baseball and hope that will make her continue to improve. Any advice on which way to go to improve her as a ball player would be greatly appreciated.
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> > I would move her quickly. College coaches don't give full rides to girls with a baseball background. There is a lot more to the game of fast pitch softball and the timing for almost everything is different. I have a son that played college ball and a daughter that is a college pitcher. My son was a top hitter in baseball. He can't touch my daughters pitching.
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> Please!!....Both bats look the same. Both throw balls. (yes, one bigger than the other) The goal is to hit the ball with the bat and you say one game is completely different than the other? I played DII baseball and was on a fastpitch team that took 9th in the nation one year. Hitting is hitting. Neither game is easy. Both games you have to be quick to the ball. Yes, the riseball in softball is different from baseball. But they throw it and you hit it. It's the same.
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> And, if the 11-12 year old girl is really a player and wants to improve to become the best player she can be, she should continue with the boys as long as she isn't overmatched. No girls league of 11-12 yr olds will provide the challenge that 11-12 year old boys would provide.




If we are comparing top level select baseball to National caliber ASA girls teams, then that's true. If we are comparing top level ASA girl's teams to LL all star baseball, maybe not. If we are talking about LL drafted league teams, then no. By the way, LL girls fastpitch is generally considered the lowest level fastpitch of all.

As to the high school female pitcher, some high school fastpitch is pretty good. Most is pretty low level. Even though top level female pitchers have been known to make MLB hitters look silly, I have always argued that, given a little experience looking at such pitching and any great hitter would be able to adjust. I still say, the ideal scenario is to play baseball in the spring and then join a national caliber fastpitch team for the summer. Why not? Best of both worlds.

Mark H.