When 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 MoreLet’s say your daughter decides she wants to be a pitcher. She’s really going to put the work in this time. Unfortunately, she’s pursuing this position later than all of her teammates. In fact, everyone else has been working hard at pitching for 2 or 3 years. She’s quite far behind in all aspects including accuracy and speed. She doesn’t know any movement pitches.
However, your daughter ends up growing to like it more than you thought she would. She’s doing all the practices, going to every pitching school class, and even getting some innings in her house league.
In fact, she’s so into this softball thing that she’s going to try out for her high school team. She wants to go all-in on softball and quit her other sport. She’s so excited that by the time she gets to high school her “like” for pitching turns into love.
You know something she doesn’t, though.
Read More*As Published in Fastpitch Magazine
The stronger your reason for doing something the more likely you are to do it, especially for pitchers. Often students come to pitching lessons with vague goals. Young players might come because their parents want them to learn how to throw it over the plate so the games go faster. Experienced players come because they want to simply "get better."
I'd like to offer you a little help on figuring out your "why" for taking pitching lessons. That is, for going week after week, year after year, throwing game after a game, before practice, after practice, or even when you have a ton of school work. What are you doing here anyway?
Your pitching coach's job is to help you develop a repeatable motion as soon as possible.
I'd like to offer you a little help on figuring out your "why" for taking pitching lessons. That is, for going week after week, year after year, throwing game after a game, before practice, after practice, or even when you have a ton of school work. What are you doing here anyway?
Your pitching coach's job is to help you develop a repeatable motion as soon as possible.
Read MoreThree weeks earlier I was teaching a clinic of 8 and 9 year olds in Chicago and I said, “You have to be brave when you pitch and in life. I am brave because I just quit my job to be a pitching coach and teach you ladies full time.” “What?!!! You did???!! Wait. You get paid for this?”
Read MoreLet's face it; there are no shortcuts to pitching perfection. It's like diet and exercise. You can't be Arnold Schwarzenegger by pumping iron once a week for two years. You can't lose those 10 pounds by reading a couple of health articles and including celery into one meal a day. You're not going to be the first 8 year old in the history of all post coach-pitch leagues to throw the ball anywhere near the plate by pitching once a week in games. Don't fret though!
Read MoreTonight at 7 p.m. we’ll be releasing an interview I did with Wright State Head Coach Laura Matthews and DePauw University Head Coach, Erica Hanrahan (yes, we’re related) in a live Zoom meeting. How good does a player need to be if she wants to play in college? How fast? How accurate?
Maybe there’s even a bigger question - why would i want to play softball in college, anyway?
Both stressed the importance of having at least one thing you are exceptionally good at. Coach Erica calls it your “Wow!” factor. Coach Matthews said at the very least, have enough command to work both the inside and outside of the plate. You can’t get stuck on one side.
What’s your WOW factor? When you go to a camp or play in an exposure tournament, what will make you stand out from the crowd? Is it….
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 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 MoreI 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.
Read More*As published in Fastpitch Magazine
I stood on the mound my sophomore year in college as the opposing team cheered in the dugout. The hitter looked confident strutting up to the batter's box. She took extra time to knock the dirt off of her cleats before she put the bat up to her shoulder. Then she settled in and stared me in the eye. I stood up taller, followed my pre-pitch routine, and delivered my blazing fast curve ball right towards the - “BALL ONE!” Okay, no problem. I beared down, focused on my catcher’s mitt and fired again. “BALL TWO!” Although two balls in a row were not ideal, it is nothing that any good pitcher can not handle. When the next two pitches buzzed in as “BALL THREE!” and “BALL FOUR!” the cheers from the opposing dugout resounded even louder. As the good Brian Cain says, “So what, next pitch,” that saying formulated then in my brain.
Read MoreHere is a cheat sheet with videos for the pitching basics. There are five basic pitching fundamentals, A take away, or pre-motion, sets you up for the rest of your pitch. Both hands need to propel forward to the target. The arm circle is fast and loose, your back leg drives towards the target.
Read MoreAs a young athlete, I had an average work ethic. I went along with what my coaches said to do. Although my parents took me to lessons with my uncle who was a pitching coach once per week, I only practiced maybe once per week, if at all, in an unfocused and purposeless way. I felt bad for my catcher. Wasn’t I “putting her out” by asking her to catch for me? Sometimes I felt sorry for myself because I had to throw to a wall and bend down to field it. My dad was supportive but not pushy. If I asked him to catch me, I’m sure he would have; but I never felt like practicing so I didn’t ask. Mom and Dad came to my games and were proud of my “efforts,” like most other parents.
Read MoreIn October, Kevin Connors, ESPN sportscaster and Ithaca College graduate, interviewed me and 7 other inductees into the 50th class of the college’s Athletic Hall of Fame. It was a very fun (and nerve-racking) experience, but I wanted to share what I talked about. The reason I’m sharing this is because I think it’s important for young athletes to see what’s possible in the sport of softball. After all, many 8-12 year olds don’t know there is a professional softball league, that college softball is televised, or that they might have enough talent to play beyond high school. I’ve also added the introduction video they showed the audience before my interview to give some background on what we had to do to achieve at a high level.
Read MoreAlthough your daughter might feel the urge to use her practice to turbo-pitch balls to your shins pitch after pitch at lightning speed without thinking much about it, players should pitch with focus and intent. There are no other ways to build muscle memory and consistency.
Remember from the last two blogs that during practices and lessons we are trying to accomplish two things. 1) Improve by forming muscle memory (building neural pathways in the brain). Once they are built, games become a competition instead of constant mechanical corrections, which leads us to number two. 2) Mentally prepare for games by pretending practices are like games.
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.
I 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.
Read MoreBeing a pitcher is a year-round commitment. As you know the learning curve is steep! If you want to contribute to your team and see playing time, your best bet is to practice multiple times a week, get professional instruction, and take planned breaks (not breaks where you don't quite "feel like it today").
Unlike a shortstop or a left fielder, you hold the ball every single play in the game. You have the power to strike everyone out or walk everyone. You have the power to affect the attitude of the rest or your team, whether you stay positive after an error or lose faith when a run scores.
You hold the most power in your hands and with this "power comes great responsibility." - to quote my favorite comic book hero, Batman.
Make the time to practice year-round and you might save the day, too!
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