"Slow times for fast-pitch"

My cousin, Luke Snatchko, was quoted in today's Observer-Reporter about the future for fast-pitch softball leagues in the communities of Southwestern Pennsylvania.

From Chris Dugan's article:

The one nagging problem for the league, like most fast-pitch leagues, is pitching. The violent, whipping, underhand motion is difficult to master, even for a person who was a talented baseball pitcher.

"The problem we have is some of our pitchers have only two of three more years left," Snatchko said. "The average age of our pitchers is probably 40. ... It takes time and a lot of work to become a pitcher. For a guy just learning to pitch, you can't pick up the ball in the spring and put it down at the end of summer. You have to work at it all winter. It takes 12 months of working at it before you can throw strikes and throw the ball where you want it to go. The good thing is some of the older guys will help you."