In order for a player to want to change for her team, or at least live up to her existing role, she needs to be encouraged. There are a bunch of ways to get her excited about the role that she has or the role she wants to accomplish. These are some ideas I have learned from college, travel, and high school coaches I have met along the way.
I hear it all the time, “Is there some kind of trick that I can use during a game to prevent me from going into a downward spiral?” It’s frustrating (and even more confusing) to start off well and then lose this “groove” later in the game.
While at first it seems sometimes coaches over-analyze what could have happened…”she got tired”, “she lost it mentally”, “she stopped performing her mechanics properly,” and so on, at second thought, I believe this is an under-analysis or a faulty analysis without proper work on the back end to diagnose issues and adjust practice accordingly. In order to identify the issue take a cue from college teams. They are always recording a huge amount of stats throughout the games. For them, there is no “guessing” when it comes to the issues they face during game time. They try to make it as objective, and therefore easy, as possible to make decisions.
Read MoreNo one on her team could throw a strike so the games were very long and uneventful. A number of parents started asking me to instruct but I saw myself as an executive in the corporate world. Now, as a small business owner running a pitching school with over 160 students, I’m often to help little leagues find a way to make the quality of pitching better. If girls can pitch strikes, then the batters can hit, and the fielders can field.
Read MoreI’d like a make a plea for parent-coaches to attend coach’s clinics. Here are 6 reasons why:
Leverage: I you send 12 kids on your team to a one-hour pitching clinic the total cost at $50 per kid = $600!! Also add 12 hours of your players’ time. Or, you go to a defensive clinic for one hour at the total cost of $50, with no extra time for the kids. Teach them what you learned during regular practice hours.
The most successful pitchers have involved parents. This can be tricky, because that means you’ll have to put a high percentage of effort as well. That’s why I call it a partnership. It’s best if you both decide to take on the challenge together.
If you want to give her the opportunity to reach her full potential, you'll have to catch for her - a lot. Here are a few catching techniques to get you through the times when you don't quite feel like getting out there with her.
Read MoreThe best pre-motions, or "take-aways" as I call them, are simple ones. Pitchers prepare themselves for success by performing a take-away that doesn't result in mistakes later in the delivery. When making up for a mechanical mistake during the motion, such as a crooked arm circle, the price she pays is a loss of speed.
Read MoreTo moms and dads who obsess over YouTube pitching videos: I’ve been there to. You love the “forearm fire,” Bill Hillhouse, and Amanda Scarborough’s Power Drive.
Bill Hillhouse promotes a cross-bodied follow through to the opposite-side shoulder. Below I will clarify what he means when he talks about this and why I teach something else. The follow through others teach is a straight-arm one with the hand pointing to the target at the end. I call this the “hand-shake” follow-through. I teach most players to point their elbows, not hands, to the target, referred to as “hello elbow.” I’ll discuss each follow throughs and what they mean to your pitcher.
Read MoreYou put in so much effort to be a pitcher. Going to lessons, practicing, and always being sore are tough things to commit to if you don’t get to play. If this hasn’t happened to you, consider yourself a very lucky pitcher. How, then, do you deal with this situation to your benefit?
1. Use it as motivation to better.
Overuse injuries make up 50% of all injuries in middle and high school. Three-sport athletes suffer less injuries than one-sport athletes. Plus, Dr. Middleton answered the common question, “Is the underhand pitching motion more natural that overhand, and as a result do less injuries occur?”
Read MoreWhen it comes to coaching your daughter on pitching mechanics, I highly recommend it. Sometimes. As an observer of the parent-daughter relationships for a number of years, I’ve been trying to develop my philosophy on this, then somehow communicate it with a tactful touch. While debate rages about over-bearing parents or how much is too much, I still find pitching kind of an anomaly. Pitchers need their mom’s and dad’s more than every other position. Quite possibly, every other position in most sports. Is this just culture or is it absolutely necessary? I’ll leave that for another blog.
But for now, here are some helpful tips to support your daughter's success while making developing as a pitcher a great experience for you both:
Read MoreFor those of you who read my blog back on February 11th, this is a second installment of how to "practice better" in your pre-season pitching workouts. Before diving into the nuts and bolts of this article, I recommend reviewing that first installment of this topic, as the information below builds on the concepts presented on Feb. 11th. A basic understanding of block, varied, and random pitching workouts is helpful knowledge to assist in "curing" the Pre-season Pitching Practice Plateau. For easy reference, I have hyperlinked that first article here.
As a Quick Review:
Pre-season pitching workouts mark Phase 2 in your yearly training regime (see #3 below).
Phase 1 is the "off-season."
I've always thought the offseason was a bit of a misnomer; frequently, the most gains can be mastered in the work that is invested during this October - December training period.
Strength increases, fundamental and mechanical fixes, and "new pitch" development are the BIG THREE of Phase 1: Offseason Training.
MIke Candrea, University of Arizona Head Coach
I certainly share this sentiment from coach Candrea. He said,“The word ‘coach’ is a very powerful word and I don’t take it lightly. I’m honored and blessed when a young person calls me ‘coach’.” He also said that he speaks to a lot of high school coaches who, in conversation, point out that they are “just” high school coaches or “just” travel ball coaches. “No!” he says. We are all equally valuable in what we provide young athletes.
Read MoreHere are the top 8 lessons we’ve found the most helpful so far. We think they will help you, too!
Coach Carol Hutchins, Michigan Head Coach
She spoke about her conversation with another top-level NCAA coach. She said (and this is before she ever one her National Championship), “ ‘So you mean to tell me if you never win the National Championship you will never feel successful?’ He said firmly, ‘No, absolutely not.’ ‘And I thought, wow, I hope my success isn’t based on that or that would be awful. It’s about the relationships we have.’ ”
You want more ways to get faster and you have the time. It’s the offseason so you have 7 months before your first spring game. While lifting is the best way to get stronger there’s another excellent way.
One of my favorite methods to increase speed is following a weighted ball workout. A weighted ball workout isn’t just throwing overweigthed balls. You need to pitch underweigthed balls as well.
Overweighted balls increase strength and help pitchers understand what full effort feels like. Unlike the heavy balls, underweighted balls train your arm to move fast. Notice when you are fake-pitching you are able to fly at warp-speed. Your fast-twitch muscles are being trained to twitch even faster. Light balls increase quickness and help pitcher feel how fast their arm has the potential to move.
Read MoreFor parents and players trying to learn more about pitching, gathering all information from online sources can be overwhelming. As a result, it gets demotivating. Every coach says something different. The key is to ask, “What are my goals and what are my daughter’s goals?”, and “What methods of learning would fit our lifestyle best?”
Read MoreI know I’ve sent a similar blog about high school tryouts a couple of times, but I’ve revised it based on interviews I’ve recently done with coaches in Chicago and the suburbs. Tryouts are this week so I wanted to make sure to pass along to you what I’ve learned so far. Coaches had common themes with what they were looking for in you.
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