She was one of the better pitchers I ever trained. Her speed was great and her movement was even more impressive. Her high school softball coach made it clear she would never reach her potential when he said, “All you need to do is throw fastballs to the right spot”.
I respect a travel ball coach who called with an observation. It occurred to him that pitch counts involve far more than just the number of pitches she throws in a game.
Recently we worked with one of the country’s top high school pitchers. Her riseball had a lot of potential. The spin was right, but we knew the movement could be far better, so we spent a couple of days working on the other components of the pitch and then turned her loose. At that point …
You just received your first college offer. Congratulations! Each year we see students so thrilled that someone wants them that they commit without doing the research. Within a year, they are in misery and looking to transfer.
The most heartbreaking part of my job is hearing from so many parents who are confused, frustrated, and realizing that their daughters are not getting better. They are going through this for the first time and not sure what is right and wrong. Let me give you an example through some emails we recently received.
Do you remember the third grade science fair project when the kid next to you brought in fully functioning rocket with atmospheric re-entry capability? Yeah, sure, he did it himself. Maybe just a tiny bit of help from a parent. Don’t be that parent.
We often see new kids wearing ankle or knee braces. When they show up in a brace, we stop the lesson and ask questions.
Every parent of every young pitcher has the same question at some point. When will her speed increase significantly? The answer can vary greatly.
One of our readers had a great question this week. With so many advances in training and medicine, why do we see increasing injuries?
Kids who perform well tend to carry themselves in a different way. They have a confidence that affects the way they handle themselves in the circle or in the batter’s box. But, can it work the other way? Does your body language enhance your performance?
Every year some truly talented kids decide to give up softball. It disappoints many people around them. Unbelievably, many of these kids had college scholarships, but simply walked away from the game. Think about it.
We see all types of parents because we are involved in the game on many levels. What do the great ones have in common? The first thing you should know is that there is no perfect parent and no specific way to support your daughter’s dreams.
Last week a parent called for advice on her daughter’s “mental game”. The girl would get upset very quickly. She was always expecting too much of herself. I asked for a video and the mother could not understand that request, but sent it anyway.
Maturity is the realization that I did not know as much as I thought yesterday, and the determination to know more in the near future. During the long drive home from an event last week, it occurred to me how much we have learned over the years and how naïve most of us are in …
If you have followed softball for long, you know the familiar story. Many of the pitchers who were burning it up in 12-U have fallen by the wayside. We often hear people talk about a pitcher who seemed to have all of the gifts early in her career, but came to realize she didn’t have …
