What is the “Middle Ground”?

Every pitcher and every hitter is different, right? In some cases their form is poor, but they get results. So, let’s just leave it alone, right?
First of all, you must differentiate between form and style.

In Major League Baseball, you will see a variety of styles among hitters. One starts with feet together, one has a foot very open while another is closed, and some wave the bat far above their heads. However, when the ball is delivered, almost all of them “get to the same place”.
That is the key. Is she “getting to the right place”? Recently I had a discussion with a college pitching coach who asked if certain things in a kid’s form were important to fix. Some things are, and some are not. How do we know the difference? The things that actually affect performance are important. If she waves the glove around like she is chasing flies, then winks at the catcher before beginning her first move, that may not bother me. But, once the motion starts, we want to scrutinize everything. A good instructor needs to know which movement patterns will become barriers as a kid ages. If we overlook those, they will fall into the category of the vast majority of pitchers across America, peaking early and then regressing until they are no longer effective.
Are there exceptions? Yes. A superior athlete can do things in a way that we would never teach a normal human being. Some people are blessed with talents that allow them to do things in unconventional ways and still find success. Do you want to bet your daughter’s future that she may be one of those?
Earlier this month we had three different kids come to us for the first time. All arrived on the same day and all were from another state. Each was fighting injuries and constantly pitching in pain. A lot of new students come to us for that reason, but it was unusual to have three back-to-back.
Each of these new kids was doing something in her motion that I felt was very inefficient and unnatural. It led to the core being very unstable. If your core is not stable and strong, in any athletic move, the risk of injury increases and efficiency decreases.
We were not concerned with their pre-motion, but whether they were “getting to the right place” once the action started. For two of the pitchers, the pitching motion itself was very much out of sync due to some things they had been taught that pulled the core in several different directions during the pitch. Ouch, that hurts. And, wow, that is slow. As we cleaned up those problems, the pain immediately stopped. They were thrilled, but they were each surprised that their speed, consistency, and movement suddenly increased.
In one case, the pre-motion was so dramatic it was impossible for her to “get to the right place”. Her body had to do a lot of contorting to deliver the pitch. That destabilized the core. Someone had gone overboard in trying to teach her to “hide the ball”. Her pre-motion was affecting the motion so negatively that it had to be changed. Yet, we sometimes see pitchers do the same thing and stay injury free. The difference is that some pitchers may start in that way, but they are so athletic that they are able to slide into a comfortable motion that keeps the core stable. Our new kid was unable to make that distinction. We simply changed the pre-motion and that cleared the obstacles.
As your athlete performs, look at the core first. If it is comfortable, stable, and strong, chances are that she is in a good place. All things come together at the right time for great players. If the core is unstable, unbalanced, or tight, she is doing something with other parts of the body which prevent the core from doing the work properly, or the core may not be strong enough to support the action. Find an expert who can help you decide which is the issue.
Whether it is hitting, pitching, or fielding, the goal is to help your player find the easiest and most natural way to “get to the right place”. Simply put, once she explodes into action, whether pitching, hitting, or fielding, the core should stabilize and support the action. If that is happening and she seems to be delivering an unnatural amount of power for the effort she is putting into it, she is probably off to a good start.
If you, or your pitching instructor, have questions, feel free to contact us.