Anyone who follows Life in the Fastpitch Lane on Facebook (which I highly recommend you do) knows that I do a post on every pitching student who achieves a new personal best. They can be new students, longtime students, students who have impressive achievements, students about whom you might wonder, “Why is he bragging about that?”

Doesn’t matter, if they do it I’m sharing it. I’m proud of every single one of them because of what it means to them.

But of course there’s always someone who likes to rain on the ol’ parade, and this is no different. I recently saw a Facebook post putting down the idea of celebrating speed achievements, arguing that other factors such as spin and spot are more important, and basically saying we shouldn’t celebrate speed so much.

So I thought it might be worthwhile to address why I do these posts, the thinking behind them as well as the practical realities. There are actually a few factors. Let’s start with…

It’s measurable and empirical (mostly)

Measuring speed is relatively easy. You set up a radar, point it toward the pitcher, and have her throw. You then get a number which you can compare to the numbers that came before it.

Thanks to products such as the Pocket Radar it’s also relatively inexpensive. For example, you can pick up a Smart Coach for $399 or a Ball Coach for $299, (even less during Black Friday or another sale) which is a whole lot less costly than a Jugs or a Stalker, and it works just as well.

That means these days just about anyone can acquire a radar and start taking readings. While there are ways to game a radar to get a higher number (such as moving it toward the pitch while it’s in flight), if you just set it up so it’s stationary the numbers you get will be pretty consistent from pitch to pitch.

Until recently, to gather data for spin and spot you would need a $5,000 Rapsodo setup or a Trackman system that costs so much they don’t even list a price on their website. Not exactly in the budget of the average pitcher parent.

The new PitchLogic ball from F5 Sports is showing a lot of promise in this area, making it far more affordable for families to keep on hand and use whenever they want. But right now speed is still the easiest thing to measure.

It shows (and rewards) progress

While there are no doubt people who love the radar numbers for the bragging rights, that’s not how I see them. For me, it’s more about showing progress and rewarding the work it took to get there.

Seeing a photo posted and reading a story about them can give pitchers incentive to keep working hard and striving for more. It can help them feel good about the long, boring grind that’s involved in getting better.

Now, I will admit if they’re not showing progress it can be a little discouraging. But what’s important to remember in those cases is that it’s not linear.

A pitcher can get some gains, but then hit a plateau or even backtrack a little depending on a number of factors, such as a sudden growth spurt, their emotional state, health and nutrition and other factors. They may also have a case where they made certain mechanical improvements but then have to make others before the next personal best can be reached.

Even then, though, having a tangible data point such as a readout on a radar can help them keep working until it all comes together again. And the feedback they’re getting from the radar can be invaluable in telling them whether further adjustments are required.

It’s a controllable

While it’s true that stats such as overall strike percentage, first strike percentage, earned run average, and other pitching stats that appear in GameChanger are good indicators of effectiveness, they are not within the pitcher’s control.

An umpire with a tight strike zone (as so many seem to have these days) may be calling pitches a tracking system would classify strikes as balls. The official team scorer may mark reached on error plays as hits, tanking the pitcher’s ERA.

The ball may have done exactly what it was supposed to do when thrown and the hitter just did a good job of getting her bat on it. Doesn’t mean it was a bad pitch, but it sure looks like one in the box score.

The speed is the speed whether the pitch is hit, missed, or watched, and regardless of what the umpire thinks it is. Throwing hard is something the pitcher can control, so measuring in-game speed in particular will show if she’s giving it her all or pitching scared.

That can be invaluable feedback for future physical and mental training.

It’s easy to understand

Many of the people who read these types of posts aren’t necessarily softball people. They’re family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and others who like to read success stories about kids.

Posting a story that pitcher A hit 25 revolutions per second or 2500 revolutions per minute on her riseball with 83% efficiency and six inches of vertical movement is probably going to be tough for the non-softball fanatic to understand.

Heck, there are a lot of coaches who don’t actually know how to read those numbers.

But saying pitcher A was throwing 52 mph and is now throwing 53 mph is something pretty much anyone can understand. Friends and family can say wow, great job and be confident that it really was something to celebrate.

That makes everyone feel good. Grandma might even bake some cookies to celebrate.

Final word

The truth is some of the most effective pitchers in terms of getting hitters out quickly weren’t the fastest pitchers in the tournament, but they had great command of their pitches.

At the same time, though, their effectiveness went up as their speed increased. Speed may not be everything, but a lack of speed isn’t anything.

It’s going to get you beat up more times than not, especially as you get older and hitters get better.

So the next time you see a post talking about a new speed high, don’t try to run it down, and don’t feel bad if your pitcher isn’t rising to the same standard yet. Everyone is on their own journey, and everyone has their own ceiling.

Instead, celebrate that a young lady has seen improvement in one aspect of her game, and trust that she’s also working on the rest. Everything else will sort itself out over time.