Little Girl, Big Dreams, Happy Endings

Sometimes you have to pay careful attention to the warning signs. When 10-year-old Hannah Navarro began pitching lessons with our Certified Instructor, Nikki Thomas in Delaware, there were some challenges. Things went well in lessons, but when she entered games she tried a little too hard, that led to some bad habits, and she found herself twisting during release. A little bit of pain resulted in the lower back.
Determined to push through it, Hannah didn’t feel an urgency to focus on form issues until she experienced significant pain following a ride down a water slide. Nikki and her parents realized it was time to be aggressive in addressing the problem. After taking a break from pitching and working hard on a core strengthening program, Nikki was ready to push for needed changes.
The focus was on core stability. The core must remain stable, stacked, and strong to maximize performance. An unstable core forces energy into weak parts of the body instead of transferring it into the ball. With the help of Hannah’s parents, they moved slowly and systematically, concentrating on each movement, moving forward only when each phase was mastered. Patience does not come easily for a 10U pitcher, but Hannah did the work and put her trust in Nikki. Recent studies have revealed that most of the injuries experienced by older teens actually result from improper movements when they are 9 or 10, so a long-term vision was emphasized.
The pre-motion, the takeoff, the landing, the release, and everything along the way had to be broken down and analyzed. Hannah’s mother, Melissa, soon saw the difference, saying, “Hannah can now recognize the difference in how she feels when pitching with the correct mechanics. She has not complained of any lower back pain in the few months that she has been back on the mound. Hannah is continuing to work on perfecting her form. We have noticed that when Hannah’s motion appears to be “effortless” is when her ball comes in the fastest. “
The work is paying dividends. Hannah and her teammates have reached the championship game (winning 3) in every tournament they have played this spring. Most importantly, Hannah now realizes that pain is a warning sign, trying to take shortcuts actually makes the journey much longer, and it is much more fun to finish a tournament holding a trophy than holding your back.

*Note:  Denny will be visiting a lot of areas in June.  Plans now call for stops in the Atlanta area, one day college camp at UNCW, Wisconsin, south of Chicago, northern Virginia, and more.  To learn about any of these, contact us.