How People Make the Most of Their Training - Alone

I know many pitchers are wondering how the Coronavirus outbreak will affect their softball seasons. How many games, practices, and lessons will get cancelled? Will they get behind? Will they lose command and speed? Let’s be honest, it will affect them. But quite possibly….for the better.

There are more ways to build neural pathways for a good pitching motion than throwing a pitch to a catcher from 43-feet. She can do drills, pitch into a close net, watch other pitchers, or visualize. In fact, if I had my way I’d have every player learn fundamentals by pitching into a close net 100% of the time. By the time she moved back with a ball the muscle memory would be built and her mechanics would be great.

If I did that, though, most young players would lose interest pretty quickly. We have to mix up the way we teach. At pitching school we ask players to “do something every day.” Each of the above methods count for practice. As long as a pitcher knows what to visualize, this can be an effective method for improving. Great news! She can do it when tired or sick.

A study done by Dr. Biasiotto in 2014 at the University of Chicago demonstrated how visualizing is effective in improving skills. He split basketball players into three groups and conducted a 30-day study. The first group practiced shooting free throws every day for an hour. The second visualized themselves making free throws. The third did nothing.

As you can expect, the third group did not improve. The first group who practiced free throws improved by 24%. But get this - the second group improved 23% without ever touching a basketball!

When visualizing, one must picture everything from the first-person perspective for it to be effective. She must think about what it looks, feels, and sounds like to pitch a strike with a powerful motion. A pitcher can do this while pitching into a net as well. She feels and hears what she does, then visualizes the pitch being a strike.

Have you watched what happens when a girl “shadow pitches”? Her motion is perfect. She leans back, performs a quick banana, and ends balanced. Yet, the moment you give her a ball she reverts back to old habits. Usually, focusing on sight, feel, and sound in a real life-setting is too difficult.

So, if pitchers would like to build neural pathways, pitch into a net (3 feet in front of them) a lot and visualize a lot. Take advantage of the time you have alone and make the best of it, no excuses.