Our Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal!
How the Sessions are Different
Most players have started their season already. Games will be testing your and your team’s abilities. They are an accumulation of all the work you’ve put in all winter. While the offseason was a time when you’ve learned new things, like improving your pitch repertoire or making big changes to your fundamentals, the in-season is all about performance.
Even though you’ll be learning a lot during the season, if you want to play and if you want to win, you’ll have to give the coach a reason to let you pitch. Giving chances in order to let the pitcher learn or see if she can handle pressure might be few and far between.
In Pitching School, we spend a lot of time helping pitchers simplify their mechanics. The simpler the motion, the easier it is to repeat. The easier it is to repeat, the more strikes they throw and the more spots they hit.
But once a pitcher is able throw strikes, coaches and parents start asking a new question:
"How do I teach pitch-calling strategy?"
It's a great question, and honestly, it's one I have spent a lot of time thinking about.
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Think back to your last golf round. What type of player are you? Are you praying that you'll hit your next shot in the air, or are you calculating the difference between your 5- and 6-iron? Are you just trying to keep up with the rest of your group, or are you visualizing the angle of your draw?
These questions show a clear difference in competency level. One person is competing, while the other is focused on basic skill development without even knowing which skills need to be developed. She just knows she has to get the ball over there, with no idea how.