I 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 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.
Being 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!
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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