As the DI NCAA Softball Championship tournament begins, you’ll see amazing pitchers firing the ball the upper 60’s, low 70’s with extreme movement and devastating change of speed. How do they get to this level? Each began where many of you are today and slowly put in the work to be great. Here are five things it takes for you to do the same.
Read MoreI explain quickly, "Not exactly. I suggest you tell the coach that you know you can get the next girl out so give me another chance!" Although I understand Emma's logic, that players think they are helping the team by removing their poor-performing selves from the game, I explain several different concepts. You only fail when you give up. You always have to believe that the next pitch is going to be a great one. A good attitude regardless of the circumstance raises performance. And finally, it’s your coach's decision on who should be put in or taken out, not yours - even if she asks.
Read MoreIn 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 MoreJim Rohn is one of my favorite motivational speakers. Aside from his exceptional rags to riches story of working his way up from a store clerk to a mentor for self-improvement greats like Tony Robbins and Jack Canfield, he is an extremely quotable person, perfect for coaching. As a pitching instructor, I only have one hour per week to make an impact on the way players think and act, so I have to it right Plus, we instructors like to hear ourselves talk quite a bit, so Jim is inspiring me to improve on being succinct.
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 MoreDo you ever notice when a pitcher sometimes falls over forward after she pitches? She looks like she’s off balance. You’ll hear a coach yell out after every few balls, “Stand tall!”
This has to do with her stride and how she is failing to harness all of the power she created through her drive off of the mound. Harnessing your power with your stride is equally as important as gaining momentum. Strides are for resistance, balance, and accuracy. If, you want to gain velocity, you must practice a great stride.
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 MoreFor example, when throwing a rise ball, a pitcher must deliver the ball on the “upswing” of her arm circle, meaning a little bit later. To make it easier to get her palm underneath the ball and facing the sky, she must lean her body back towards second base at delivery. The reverse is true for a drop ball. She must lean forward to get her hand on top of the ball, palm facing downwards.
Once her body position and ball trajectory is correct, the Magnus Effect becomes relevant.
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.
Whether your daughters is a beginner or a college-bound pitcher, she'll benefit from learning a pre-pitch routine. I call it the think/play box concept, which I borrowed from Annika Sorenstam's (regarded as one of the best female golfers in history) sports psychologist team, Pia Nilson and Lynn Marriott. They wrote a book called Every Shot Must Have a Purpose.
Read MoreOveruse 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 MoreHow many goals have you made in which you didn't take action on? How many of those goals without action have you accomplished? None, obviously! Jim Rohn, legendary author and motivational speaker said "Goals without action are nothing." You need to form habits to help you take action.
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.
The preseason is the second phase during your training year. If this seems like news to you, you might have missed the first phase: the offseason.
The offseason takes place October through December. Its’ when you add to your pitch repertoire, increase strength, and make big mechanical changes. It’s like gathering the ingredients for a cake, as Cheri Kempf says in her book, The Pitching Edge.
We are currently in the preseason session. It goes from January through March. It’s when we take all the ingredients we’ve gathered and “bake” them, forming them into something edible. A pitcher will work on endurance and accuracy, making minimal changes to her mechanics.
Read MoreMIke 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.’ ”
Powered by Squarespace
![Drills & Tools For Success [Video]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56a0f458b204d5ee03895a17/1624042258572-AKZDNQ89CHS7KZ3GVOOF/thinkplay.jpg)
