The 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 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 MoreWhen I went to the NFCA conference I listened to a panel discussion featuring Cat Osterman (Olympic Gold and Silver Medalist, 1000 Career NCAA strikeouts, ERA under 1.0) and she said something about hard work that I found interesting.
Read MoreDid you ever notice that when you put a concept into the context of a story, you bring it to life? It becomes interesting and memorable.
Here is a short story that I'm sure you can relate to, especially if it's after the end of your first season as a softball parent/coach. If you read through to the end of this story you will find out how to avoid some big mistakes in the future.
It's your daughters first kid-pitch game. She's seen her friends pitch a few times and has maybe tried it with you in the backyard once. Today is a big game with the rival team: Reliable Auto vs. Rose Salon. The inning starts and she nervously creeps out of the dugout and dawdles up to the mound. All eyes are on her as she feels small out there on the big field. She throws her first pitch - a grounder.
Read MoreIn the softball world, obsession about finding the “edge” over the competition or trying to find the “motivation” to get out and practice, causes us to overlook the important role of inspiration.
How are motivation and inspiration different? I think inspiration has to do with feelings, excitement, and creativity. It has to do with a person allowing an outside force to act within him or herself.
Motivation, on the other hand, is about will. It’s about habits and is self-imposed through some sort of discipline.
I was inspired to play as a young girl by my uncle, who’s passion and joy around the sport became contagious. His daughter, my cousin, had the same drive . All the games I had to watch inspired me with her competitiveness. It seems cool to care.
Read MoreThis summer we held class at a beautiful personal training and yoga studio called “Practice Chicago” in Lincoln Park. What a fitting name, right?! As you know, I love when pitchers practice, but I never looked at practice the way described in @practicechicago’s recent Instagram post:
“When an activity becomes a practice it shifts from something you are doing at a point in time to an ongoing process of becoming. The former lends itself to “good” or “bad” judgments, forgetfulness, and discontinuity. The latter lends itself to integration, continuous learning, and wholeness.”
Read MoreEveryone needs consistent human support when attempting difficult physical activity. Before I got a personal trainer and started attending scheduled classes at the gym in 2014 I just wandered over to Lakeview YMCA 2 or 3 times a week and completed my old college lifting workout. That's right, I did my old college workout for ELEVEN years because I didn't know what I didn't know. Seemed like a totally awesome workout because it was totally awesome in college.
One take-away I got from her presentation explained the importance of the grip. Did you ever notice that when you throw a curve ball it slides out of your hand and goes straight? I know, it happens all the time! You need to slide your thumb up on the ball and put extra pressure on your fingertips and thumb equally. Voila!
Read MoreDid you know that a great deal of the power a pitcher generates comes from her hips and core? The arm is not entirely responsible for generating hand speed. Hand speed is the ultimate indicator of the speed of ball speed.
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