5 Ways To Harness Your Power

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5 Ways To Harness Your Power

Do 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.

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More Survival Tips for Parent Catchers

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More Survival Tips for Parent Catchers

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.

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This Thing Can Ruin Your Pitch

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This Thing Can Ruin Your Pitch

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.

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Drills & Tools For Success [Video]

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Drills & Tools For Success [Video]

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.

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Lessons from College Coaches

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Lessons from College Coaches

Overuse 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?”

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Now You Can Have A Winning Relationship

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Now You Can Have A Winning Relationship

Parents, if you’ve ever come to a big pitching clinic that we’ve put on, or been a part of pitching school, you know about all the work you have to put in to pitching. It turns out it’s not just your daughter who must put in all the effort. You have to be an athlete, too!

As an adult I find it interesting that I constantly re-learn what I am trying to teach young players. Mainly, the more we put into something, the more we get out.

Becoming a pitcher requires a strong partnership between players and their parents. This leadership position requires two hugely important commitments from you both - a physical commitment and an emotional commitment.

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How You Changed "Life as We Know It"

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How You Changed "Life as We Know It"

As we approach the year-mark when the CoVid-19 pandemic blew the top off of “life as we know it,” I’ve taken some time to reflect on how this unimaginable situation has impacted our sport – and more specifically – the pitchers that I coach within this sport: you.

Remarkable events at the national and global level impact more than just the history books. They create pivotal turning points for the people who experience them at the deepest level. They create identities within the generations that endure them. Just take a look at the last 100 years: Major Wars (I, II, Cold, Korean, Vietnam), the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Movement, Iconic Leader Assassinations (MLK, Martin Luther King Jr.), Landing on the Moon, the AIDS epidemic, School Shootings (Columbine, Sandy Hook, VA Tech), 9/11, and now the global CoVid-19 pandemic.

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How to Practice in the Preseason

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How to Practice in the Preseason

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.

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Part 2: This Week's Top Lessons About Pitching

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Part 2: This Week's Top Lessons About Pitching

MIke 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.

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So You've Bought Weighted Balls....Now What?

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So You've Bought Weighted Balls....Now What?

You want more ways to get faster and you have the time. It’s the offseason so you have 7 months before your first spring game. While lifting is the best way to get stronger there’s another excellent way.

One of my favorite methods to increase speed is following a weighted ball workout. A weighted ball workout isn’t just throwing overweigthed balls. You need to pitch underweigthed balls as well.

Overweighted balls increase strength and help pitchers understand what full effort feels like. Unlike the heavy balls, underweighted balls train your arm to move fast. Notice when you are fake-pitching you are able to fly at warp-speed. Your fast-twitch muscles are being trained to twitch even faster. Light balls increase quickness and help pitcher feel how fast their arm has the potential to move.

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Her Worst Nightmare About Softball Come to Life

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Her Worst Nightmare About Softball Come to Life

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.

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Do You Need A Backup Sport?

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Do You Need A Backup Sport?

Let’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.

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How to Do Lessons

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How to Do Lessons

*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.

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Pitching Guide for the Wary Player

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Pitching Guide for the Wary Player

Let'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!

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What's Your "Wow" Factor?

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What's Your "Wow" Factor?

Tonight 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….

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Will Virtual Lessons Ever Rule the World?

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Will Virtual Lessons Ever Rule the World?

For 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?”

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