The Things That Got You There…..

…won’t always get you to the next level. So many times new students come to us at age 13 and up and their parents talk of dominance in the circle when they were younger. After we watch one pitch we are shocked at some of the terrible habits nobody identified.

Even if they identified problems they had no idea how to fix them or did not bother with them since the kid was effective at the time.
A couple of years ago a kid came to me for no particular reason. She was already winning. After a few pitches I told her she could be great. She was shocked, asking if I thought she could pitch in college at some level. My response was that she could pitch at the highest level if she would trust me to help her develop. It wasn’t long before an SEC team made her dream come true.
This kid did not know “what she did not know”. She did not realize the potential within, believing she had peaked early. The greatest advice I can give you is this. You do not get “do overs”. Help her do it right the first time. Do not wait to see if the things she is doing at this level will take her to the next level. Focus on two levels higher and begin making the adjustments she will need to succeed there. Find someone who has repeatedly developed pitchers at the level she dreams. Don’t just take their word for it, but do your research. Find someone who can tell you “what you do not know” and who speaks from experience.
As we develop kids, we like to say, “If you are good, we want to make you great. If you are great we want to make you amazing. If you are amazing, we want to build an All-American. Too many kids are driving with the headlights on dim. Let’s put them on bright and see what is out there for you”.