How to Tell If Your Pitcher Is Improving (It’s Not Just Stats)

Hi There Friend!

I remember watching a pitcher not too long ago in a game that wasn’t going her way.

The strike zone felt tight, with pitches that easily could have been called strikes not going her way. Balls were finding gaps, a few defensive errors kept extending the inning, and you could feel that moment starting to build… the one where things will either get back on track or completely unravel.

And honestly, it would have been easy for it to unravel.

But it didn’t.

She stepped back on the rubber, took a breath, and threw the next pitch. Then she did it again. And again. She didn’t rush. She didn’t shut down. She didn’t let one tough moment turn into four or five more.

She just kept competing, one pitch at a time!

She kept showing up for her team, even without her “A” game.

And as I watched her work through that inning, I remember thinking… this is what progress actually looks like.

Not perfect innings. Not remarkable stat lines. Not everything going her way.

But learning how to fight through adversity and lead her team through it.

This time of year, I know how easy it is to look at stats and try to figure out how your daughter is doing.

Earned runs, hits allowed, strikeouts, wins and losses...that’s what everyone sees, and it’s often what we default to.

But those numbers don’t always tell the full story.

Because what I saw in that game won’t show up anywhere in a box score… and yet it told me everything about where that pitcher is headed.

If you really want to understand your daughter’s progress, I’d encourage you to start paying attention to the small things, because those are the moments that matter most!

Watch how she responds when things get hard. When something doesn’t go her way, is she able to take a breath and go right back to work, or do things start to spiral a little? That ability to reset and stay steady when she’s struggling tells you a lot about her growth.

Pay attention to her body language, especially when she’s not at her best. Is it steady and consistent, or does it rise and fall with her performance? Confidence isn’t just about how she feels in the moment, it’s about how she shows up when the game gets hard.

Watch how she shows up for her team, too. Even if she’s not having her best outing, is she still engaged, still supporting her teammates, still connected in the dugout? That’s leadership, and it matters just as much as anything she’s doing physically.

You may also start to notice her understanding the game at a deeper level. Is she recognizing her strengths and where she feels most confident throwing? Is she working with her catcher to get ahead in the count, and then trying to expand the zone with a believable ball to create weak contact or a swing and miss?

She may not execute it perfectly yet, and that’s okay. The fact that she’s starting to think that way is progress.

And maybe most importantly, is she beginning to trust herself? Trust her preparation, trust her plan, and trust what she’s doing out there…even when the results don’t look the way she wants them to.

Because pitching is easy when everything is going well. What separates pitchers is who they are for their team when things get hard.

The goal isn’t perfection. It’s learning how to compete, how to adjust, how to lead, and how to trust herself even without her “A” game.

So as you’re watching her this season, start looking for those moments. And when you see them, point them out. Help her recognize that she is improving in ways that really matter, even if it doesn’t always show up in the stat line yet.

Because over time, that’s the kind of progress that separates her and turns her into someone her team can rely on when it matters most!

All My Best,
Myndie