I think the pitching position is a bit of a draw for perfectionistic people. While I doubt any pitcher can be a total perfectionist, since they'd definitely quit after one week of trying it out. You know about the grounders and hit batters and all. I think this is a subject that deserves some attention and have come across tools that have helped me and others. Please remember, I have quite a few of these qualities too so I'm writing out of an affinity with my fellow pitchers.

According to Oxford English Dictionary, a perfectionist is "a person who refuses to accept any standard short of perfection." Isn't it annoying when they use the word in the definition? Nevertheless, as I'll discuss below this definition is helpful after all. I added a little more context with information in the Harvard Business Review from an article called "How to Manage Your Perfectionism." I paraphrased the article here

What is more exciting than World Series softball? NOTHING tops it in my world. And this year in 2022, I was especially excited about Northwestern making it to OKC. It’s fun to see MidWest teams representing softball on the biggest stage - especially because it’s not as prevalent as the southern and western teams who make it to Oklahoma City year after year.

Joan Joyce - Not just the best female pitcher in fast-pitch softball history, but the best female athlete who ever lived.

If you have ever seen the likes of Monica Abbott, Cat Osterman, or Yukiko Ueno on the mound, it may be hard to believe that a woman who is over double their age was once a better and more accomplished pitcher. And what’s more, she did it with a slingshot delivery - not a windmill motion.

Who is this incredible softball pitcher, you ask? It is none other than the recently deceased Joan Joyce, 81 year old Head Softball Coach of Florida Atlantic University, where she resided at the helm for 28 years while also coaching Women’s golf for much of that time. You also may have heard of the Brakettes. Joan Joyce put them on the map.

In our lives, there are very few things that can fit everyone’s definition of fun.

Some people LOVE amusement parks while others loathe the thought of steep drops and fast coasters. Some people love risky adventures like sky diving, bungee jumping, parasailing, and zip lining while others think these activities are horrifying. Some people think an evening snuggled in front of the TV with a bag of popcorn is the perfect Friday night while others would call that kind of weekend boring.

Are “things” just fun or not fun? Or is personal perspective the denominator? I would argue that a person’s mindset determines fun more than any other predictor. So how does this apply to practicing pitching and performing during pressure filled games? I believe: Everything.

The Little Engine that Could, so he did!

Most of us learn the story of The Little Engine that Could from a young age. “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.” Making his way up a steep mountain with hardly any steam left to get to the top, it took a mindset that Yoda from Star Wars teaches us: “Do or do not. There is no ‘try’.” The power of the human mind can be extraordinary. At its best, it leaves no room for failure or excuses. When the mind meets the will and becomes singular in their focus, achieving even the most unlikely of goals becomes more than just possible, but probable. Ted Lasso says, “BELIEVE,” and Yoda says, “DO.” The combination of those two entities is magical. Just ask that Little Engine who finally made it to the Top.

And for you sports fans out there, another “Little Engine” made history last night in the men’s basketball March Madness playoff games. Did you fill out a bracket? If so, it is likely that this little miracle team just unraveled some of your predictions.

There are two very powerful schools of thought for how pitchers ought to attack the strike zone to be successful.

1. Attack the strike zone directly

2. Paint corners and live in the rivers

How can both be correct when they are in direct contradiction to one another? Which option ought pitchers pay heed?

To get to the bottom of this question, since I work with all of you at lessons instead of games, I went back to all of my notes from previous pitching conventions where I was able to listen to philosophies on pitch calling from the elite coaches in our game: Lonnie Alameda (Florida State), Larissa Anderson (Missouri), Beth Torina (LSU), Missy Lombardi (Oregon), Karen Weekly (Tennessee), and Stephanie VanBracklr (Alabama) just to name a few.

For years, nothing has “wowed” the crowds quite like a fastball coming in at 70mph+. There is no doubt that a pitch thrown that hard (by the likes of Monica Abbott, Rachel Garcia, and Montana Fouts for example) will turn the heads of every Power 5 collegiate program in the nation. If you also have total control over the location of that 70 mph+ pitch, like Abbott, Garcia, and Fouts do, you have the potential to be one of the elite. But there are VERY few pitchers who will ever be able to hit 70+. So the new kid in school that is garnering all of the attention is “the movement pitcher.” And not just any movement pitcher, the one who amasses swings and misses with regularity. And creating true movement on a pitch (that will cause many hitters to swing and miss) is a skill that any pitcher can learn.

I want you to read that last sentence again: “Creating true movement on a pitch (that will cause many hitters to swing and miss) is a skill that any pitcher can learn. “

The episode was released after my last blog, so I broke it down for you below to make it easy to listen to the best parts. A lot of this will seem quite familiar to you, since I borrow most of DePauw University’s material for pitching school :) Guess where I got the idea of “The game of 5?” and “The Hit/Miss game?” Listen to find out!

If you're wondering why your pitchers keep throwing inside or why so many players are charging the mound on her, a bad arm circle is likely the culprit. 

Poor accuracy most commonly comes from an arm circle that is off-line and varies every time.  To be a consistently accurate pitcher mechanics must be exactly the same pitch after pitch.  You can accomplish this by building a simple easily-repeatable motion (come to lessons) and then try to duplicate it outside of games (practice).

If you have followed some of my blog articles in the past, you may remember that my cousin Erica, Head Coach at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, is also a former high school and collegiate pitcher like myself. She and I have a lot of great conversations, especially surrounding pitching: development, fundamentals, coaching, training, recruiting. Erica was interviewed by NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) Director of Education, Joanna Lane