How Not to Develop Pitchers

One of my favorite softball pitching stories was told by Jennie Finch at the end of her "Pitch Perfect" instructional video. 

She was pitching in the championship game of a summer ball tournament when her legendary NFCA hall of fame coach, Gary Hanning from the OC Batbusters, told her to throw only screwballs and riseballs for the entire game. No fastballs. No changeups. These were her forth and fifth best pitches at the time and her confidence modest. Not surprisingly, Jennie felt uncomfortable and struggled through the game. However, she was trained to persevere, went pitch by pitch, didn't give up. The defense got her through and they won!

I absolutely love this story and it embodies what all youth sports strives to be.

What the coach did was convey to Jennie that he had confidence in her no matter what. He believed in her more than she believed in herself.  He was also teaching her that it's not about winning, it's about HOW you win and challenging yourself.  Even if her team would have lost the lesson stands strong. Coach Hanning was preparing Jennie to reach her potential, an Olympian and NCAA National Champion, not a summer ball tournament champ.

Joe Maddon said the same thing. 

"As a Little League coach somewhere you don’t need to win that day — you’ve got to make sure that you’re making every player better.”

We need to look long term. And by golly it is looooong term.

If you've ever struggled with how to talk to your pitchers I've attached a guide with links to help you!