The Reason We Do This
Today I had a pitching lesson w/ a young lady that is just learning to pitch. She was struggling to throw strikes and needed a few minor corrections to help her find the zone. The entire time she was there she was attentive, trying her best, and most of all SMILING! I told her I loved her smile, but she might want to get a little meaner as time goes on if she really wants to be a pitcher.
At the end of the lesson, her dad had called to check on how it went. She was ecstatic going on about how much fun she had and asking “could she do it again”. In the short time we were together, she went from throwing the ball all over the place, to honing in on the plate. It only took a couple minor adjustments as she is fairly athletic in the first place, but the look on her face after we were done makes all the effort we put into this worthwhile.
This, my friends, is why we do this. What is your best “feel good” story? We would love to hear about it.
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Mr. Supplement Your Perfect Training Partner
For years muscle training was discouraged in baseball. They thought it would actually take away from performance. The athlete of today knows better. If you are going to be a top level athlete, you have to work out and you have to do weight training. Mr. Supplement makes you get the most out of your training legally!
VERY IMPORTANT: In my prior league we used to have the Washington Redskins strength training coach come out and speak to us. He was VERY adamant that weight training not occur until AFTER puberty. His position was that weight training for younger kids damages their growth plate. I have no idea.
VERY VERY IMPORTANT: thelittleleaguecoach.com knows NOTHING about weight training and does not pretend to nor do we wish to portray that we do. We know how to coach little kids and teach them the game of baseball and life’s lessons that go along with it. WE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT WEIGHT TRAINING OR SUPPLEMENTS OR ANYTHING. You are personally responsible for ANY decisions you make for yourself or your child. DO NOT DEPEND ON US, do your own research.
That said, Mr. Supplement seems to be a great place to pick up sports supplements such as Redbak, Muscletech, and Hydroxycut. During High School soccer training we used to use vitamins and endurance enhancers and they worked very well. We simply wanted to be able to train longer and get better, and the supplements seemed to do that. It could have been completely mental, but it worked for us as we were 1 goal away from a championship.
Anyway, for all your supplement needs, should you choose to use them, check out Mr. Supplement.
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Craigs List Scam
Image via Wikipedia As most of you know, I provide individual training during the times that I am not working my day job or coaching one of my teams. This is typically pitching practice or hitting, or something specific that the child needs to improve. As such, I ran an ad on Craigslist to attract some more students. Instantly I was contacted by a gentleman that wanted to book 3 hours of my time a week for his son.
OK, all excited, I emailed him back. The weird thing is he said he was an engineer from Kentucky, stationed in Paris, France, yet he could barely communicate the language. RED FLAG! So, I played along. I responded, gave him a price and waited.
He replied that the price was fantastic! He wanted to book a month’s worth of lessons, but he needed my address, phone number, etc., to send a check. He was going to send a check for an additional amount because he wanted to make sure his son had spending money when he was in the states. I was to cash the check, take my amount, and wire the rest to his bank account. RIGHT!
This is the classic internet scam, only with quite a deceptive twist. I responded that I would not need the money now and that he can pay me at the first lesson, I have no problem with that. Think he will respond?
Obviously these scams must work, but have you ever heard of anyone falling for them? Please let us know.
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Individual Training Requested
Image via Wikipedia
I am Honored
I am honored to announce that today a parent requested that I provide individual training for their child. I will be teaching her pitching and helping to develop her delivery, release, and general growth as a pitcher . She has a good core to start from and she is a hard worker. I am honored that they feel I can help her develop.
Soliciting More Clients
This is a natural extension of this blog and I would consider accepting additional clients. If you wish to discuss individual training and work out a schedule to do so, please contact me at rick@thelittleleaguecoach.com and we will hash out the details.
I look forward to working with you!
How many of you feel a personal coach is an effective way to advance your career?
Get Their Arm Back First!
More than One Way to Skin a Cat
There is a lot of controversy out there about teaching pitching to children. First, there are a number of ways to skin a cat, and I don’t portend to be the end all be all for pitching. I do have 18 years experience teaching pitching to young children though and have tried a number of different methods to teach them.
This article refers to the initial training of the pitcher, the first step.
Spring Training
First we must agree that separation of the arm must occur and the arm must be back to properly throw over the top. This we can all agree on, how we get there is open for debate. To look at this objectively, we must first look at how we teach them to throw in the first place.
Step 1: Put them on a knee w/ their arm back
Step 2: Have them throw across their body
Step 3: Have them stand up sideways, separate and throw w/ thumb first to thigh, then the sky (and back)
Step 4: Have them step and throw
This is a quick synopsis of just about every Little League Coach’s first practice around the league. (or at least it should be!)
Then we step aside, and have them throw. What happens? They stop getting their arm back almost immediately! If we all had a dollar for how many times we said “get your elbow up when you throw” or “get your arm back” we would all be rich! We, of course, are all volunteers so we are all broke! But we know how they should be throwing! lol.
Avoid Arm Stress
At the younger ages, during the initial development of their pitching, they almost always don’t get their arm’s back. This means they are not throwing over the top and they are actually incurring undue stress on their arms. Therefore, the initial focus has to be on getting their arms back.
The way to accomplish this is to have them stop at their balance point. Then get their arm back bent at a 90-degree angle with their palm pointed towards center field. Once in this position, have them throw to the plate. They will instantly improve their velocity and accuracy.
Controversy
Here is where the controversy comes in.
The fact is, you want them to lock at the top and the bottom and separate while falling towards the plate. This is true, but this step comes AFTER they learn to get their arm back. Failure to initially teach them to get their arm back in the first place will result in them always throwing w/ what I call “Dinosaur Arms” (Tight, unextended arms). Minor league coaches should focus initially on getting the pitcher’s arm back, then having them separate later.
Success the Greatest Teacher
I have had very much success teaching this way. If you don’t teach them to get their arm back first, they struggle to learn it later. If you teach them to get their arm back at a young age, transforming the point at which they actually separate is easy for them to comprehend as they get older and the transition is easily made.
Failure to teach them to get the arm back in the first place risks injury and undue stress at a young age.
Do you have a trick to teach a young pitcher to get their arm back? If so, please share.
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