How fast is fastpitch softball

Some people would be surprised to know just how fast a pitch travels in fastpitch softball, especially when you consider that girls as young as 7 or 8 are doing the pitching in some leagues.

Keep in mind that speed in pitching is not everything, accuracy and consistency are just as important if not more so than pure speed. The average pitching speed of a youth softball player will differ greatly from pitcher to pitcher. However, we have compiled the average pitch times for each age group. These are broken down into two categories. Second is the Top Pitching Speeds which are speeds you could expect to see by pitchers in some B Level Rec leagues, all star teams and travel ball clubs.

This list is just the average softball pitching speeds by age, not what you might see in above average pitchers or the maximums they might be able to occasionally pitch. You also may be wondering how this compares to baseball pitching speeds.

I mean a 12 year old softball player pitching 45mph sounds kind of fast but not as impressive as a 12 year old baseball player pitching a 60mph fastball — or is it? To compare the softball and baseball speeds you really need all the information. The primary factor in comparing the two is distance from the release point to the plate or the distance a batter has to react to the pitch; this is the effective pitch speed.

A 12U softball pitcher stands 40 feet from home plate to start her pitch and about 35 feet from her release point. Otherwise, girls typically will be able to add 1 — 2 MPH per year naturally when built on top of a sound mechanical foundation. Well… balanced strength training and structured weekly pitching reps will help accelerate speed increases organically. I have speed drills that I use to teach girls to use their legs better and to synchronize the lower half of their body with their upper half, like the walk-through drill.

The following 3-step walk-through drill video wonderfully demonstrated by Amanda Scarborough is recommended to add to your daily pitching warmups to help increase speed by utilizing leg drive and speeding up the arm circle.

If you are within the following pitching ranges for your age and your mechanics are solid and efficient and your not in the averages simply because your abnormally strong or tall for your age , then more speed will come over time naturally. Young pitchers that are new and just learning usually start out throwing at about 35 MPH. Radar guns are not perfect, especially the cheaper ones!

Speed is less important than spin, which will dominate at any age. Can softball pitching speeds be too fast? Believe it or not, yes.

Skip to content. Is my daughter throwing fast enough? How do I throw faster? Throwing Distance? Could they crow hop? Your email address will not be published. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Alright, so if mph is very, very fast, then what is normal?

Goal Throwing Speed: Average Throwing Speed: Ages When a softball player begins high school, the game speeds up dramatically. An arm strengthening regimen Other genetic factors like fast-twitch muscle fiber composition, etc. Need a Great Workout Plan?

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