If you are coaching a team you know how hard it is to evaluate a big group of pitchers at tryouts. First, there's never enough time. Second, it's impossible to tell how a pitcher will perform in games. Third, it's difficult not to get swept up in the lure of a pitcher who seems fast and can throw strikes. Will fast and down the middle be enough at your level?
Read MoreIn a blog post from last year, I went over how to differentiate good pitchers from great pitchers while discussing all of the things within our control to make that leap.
In a blog post I wrote last year, I delved into the art of distinguishing good pitchers from great pitchers, exploring all the factors within our control that facilitate this leap.
Today, I aim to delve further into an aspect of competition beyond our control: adrenaline. Let's explore how we can harness this natural force within our bodies to our advantage. I use the term "venom" to emphasize that adrenaline can either be a potent poison to our opponents or a detrimental toxin to ourselves. Thus, I invite you to consider strategies that transform your moments of heightened adrenaline into unfortunate encounters for your adversaries. Why is this crucial? Because chances are, you have experienced or will experience these "nerves" or "jitters" that sneak up on us during critical moments.
Read MoreThe main indicator or arm speed is hand speed. Obviously, it's the only part of a pitcher's body that touches the ball and it has to be equally as fast as the speed she wishes to deliver it. If you follow even one pitching coach on social media besides me you’ll see the main topic discussed is something called “internal rotation.”
Read MoreI see the pain in parents’ eyes. Their daughter is finally getting her chance to pitch and she’s throwing ball after ball, nowhere near strike zone. They wonder how this can be...in practice yesterday she pitched great! In last week’s game she seemed to be more accurate. There must be something wrong with her mechanics, they think.
What can parents say to help a pitcher throw more strikes during a game, especially when they know she is capable of it?
Firstly, sometimes parents get the last part of this concept wrong. Here is a blog I wrote to help you & her decipher objectively what she is capable of at any given moment. Once this is sorted out, most of the stress goes away for everyone. Improper expectations is the largest source, in my opinion, of disappointment, anger, and failure during performances.
Read MoreThis week we were able to do something we’ve never done before - start a speaker panel series! The stay-at-home order has surprisingly benefited our pitching school in many ways, including making it easy to host events and bring in speakers. When travel times are minimal, schedules are clear, and facility spaces are free we become ultra-flexible! We will continue to host these learning experiences for our pitching school so take advantage of this unique time.
What do they wish they would have known? What made them great pitchers? What were failures that they overcame? I took the top 20 lessons learned from these great athletes and made it easy for you to digest here.
You’ll hear from Julia Youman ‘20 OPRF and IHSA State Champion, Mackenzie Janes ‘20 Jones Prep and 4-year Varsity Letter winner, and Molly Murray ‘19 Lane Tech Conference CHamp and Sectional Runner-up.
Read MoreWhen I tried out for my high school softball team I simply showed up on the prescribed date and time. I carried my spikes and glove in my hand. I did what I was told. I observed the skills of the other girls and measured myself against them. What chance do I have? How hard are the coaches making me work? Do I like this? Are the girls nice?
Never once did I think bigger than that. I didn’t think about winning a championship. I didn’t ponder what made a good team, or what I could do to be a good leader. In hindsight I wish I would have. To those of you who are reading this, I’d suggest thinking of these things. Whether you are in 5th grade, going to college next year, or in high school, the following will be valuable.
We had the opportunity to interview the Whitney Young Coach, Mike Hinrichs and the Ridgewood Coach, Ken Juarasz about how they’ve built their program, what they expect of players, and how to buy in.
Read MoreWhen learning, a lot of players look like this the pitcher on the right: leaning forward and her back leg has not moved towards the target by the time the ball is being released. When a pitcher throws “all arm”, this is what is happening mechanically.
What’s more powerful, sprinting forward or jumping sideways? Just as a sprinter leaves the block, pitchers are sprinters leaving the mound. The fastest way to run to the finish line is forward, not sideways.
If a pitcher can put herself in a good position at 3 o’clock (top pictures), she sets herself up for the rest of the motion. If not, it can be very difficult to correct her mistakes mid-pitch.
Read MoreHas your daughter ever been afraid to change something in her motion because it will mess up her accuracy for the upcoming game? Well, she should be concerned because there are only certain times of the year when she should or should not be majorly altering her fundamentals. Last week we talked about how to break down practices and seasonality. This week I will give you examples of fun games and challenges to include in your seasonal practice.
Read MoreFor experienced pitchers, year-round training should be divided into sections including the off-season, pre-season and in-season. They each serve their specific purpose. In the offseason (October through December), experienced athletes should learn new movement pitches and make major changes to mechanics if necessary. These two things affect accuracy, so the offseason is the best time to adjust.
Read MoreMaking the ball move is one thing, but making it move with late break is a whole separate animal. “Late break” means that your pitch travels straight and then changes direction very close to the hitter. About ten feet is about the standard for excellence.
You need to be able to know the truth. Was that lake break? Or was it gradually moving to one side? You don’t want to wait to find out in a game. If you haven’t seen too many pitches that actually break before, you might be judging incorrectly. You need feedback.
If your breaking balls gradually move from one side to the other, rather than late break, it is because one of the following problems:
1. Not enough rotation on your ball
2. Incorrect axis - the ball is not rotating on the correct plane
3. Incorrect body position/release point - your arm trajectory is going the opposite way of the intended ball movement.
As the season is underway pitchers everywhere stand on the mound hoping to throw a strike. There is a special group of pitchers that aren’t just hoping to throw strikes. Those are the ones you’ll be watching on TV. Right now top teams are battling for the NCAA World Series title. Those pitchers aren’t just hoping to throw strikes with a really quick fastball. They are fooling the batter by moving the ball almost every pitch.
Read MoreIn our pitching school, we give away pins every session to a select few students. They say, “Commit to the Process.” To earn one, a pitcher must do any sort of pitching practice every single day between lessons to earn a star for her team. Then, over the span of a 10-week off-season, if she’s able to accumulate all 70 days of consistent work, she earns the pin. This is quite a feat, to say the least.
Read MoreOne of the least effective ways to help a pitcher develop better accuracy is to instruct them to "release sooner" or "release later." Her arm is moving too fast to make such small movements intentionally, especially for a young person who has little body awareness. Secondly, athletes respond better to “external cues” which are conveyed by relating their body to something outside of themselves, like a target in the distance, or the ground, or the sky.
Read MoreWerner has the following suggestions on pitch count. She is much more conservative than Bristow. In a perfect world, with exceptions for weekend tourneys, she believes the following pitch counts would be the best, when possible.
10U - 60 per day with one full day rest after each of these days. A pitch includes anything where your arm is spinning. 60 every other day equals 240 pitches per week.
12U - 70 per day, every other day (280/wk)
14U - 80 per day, every other day (320/wk)
16 - 90 per day, every other day (360/wk)
18 and older - 100 per day, every other day (400/wk)
Are you trying out for a travel ball team this summer? Most tryouts are within the next month or so, and you’ll have to be prepared with questions before you commit. Too many parents and players sign up for a year-long obligation are left feeling dissatisfied with their choice, only because they didn’t know what things to consider before they tried out.
The first thing to do is have a discussion with your daughter. Share ideas with each other about what her long-term softball goals are. As you know, pitching requires a parent/player partnership. Your support and advice is imperative to your daughter's success. If you aren’t into it, she won’t have a chance of reaching her potential. You can get a good idea of her ambitions if she talks more about hanging out with friends than trying to get more playing time.
Read MoreThink 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 the 5 and 6 iron? Are you just trying 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 skill development, without knowing what skill needs to be developed. She just knows she has to get the ball over there, with no idea how.
Without mechanical competence, your daughter's only thoughts will be, “Please throw a strike and don’t embarrass myself!” as opposed to, “I’m going to strike this girl out with a low fastball then and outside change.” Unfortunately, pitchers will go through this thought process their whole career unless they learn and practice. As a young player, I received instruction on how to pitch, but did not practice. So my “worried” thinking went all the way through the end of high school. Not until college did I put the work into grooving my mechanics.
So, in an effort to help girls of all levels learn to actually “play” softball, here is a list of 9 circumstances when you know your daughter needs mechanical help.
You think your daughter can pitch without learning how to do it.
Last week I shared with you the new things I learned at the National Fastpitch Coaches Association’s annual convention in Atlantic City. I don’t want you to forget all the good information on pitching from years past so here are more great jewels to help pitchers dominate on the mound this season.
Read MoreI was working with my personal trainer, Mondale, on posterior chain strength. He explained the short circuit of exercises I was going to do, then told me to go ahead and start. I did the first one, then completely forgot the other two exercises and looked at him with an “uh-oh emoji, help” face. Was I not listening? Was it too much information for my brain that only got 5 hours of sleep?
Read MoreI remember I loved checking my game stats when I pitched for Ithaca College. The sports information department would put up the box score with more information than ESPN does for the MLB! As soon as I got back to my dorm room after a game I'd hop on the computer and look up my ERA. My goal was to stay under 1.0. Being able to see the eb and flow every day really motivated me. The best softball pitchers at the time were under 1.0 ERA and I knew that if I could do that I'd be a great pitcher.
Read MoreAs 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.
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