The Pitcher's Blog

This could be the most challenging task facing pitchers. After all, many of you added strength and size during the off-season. You do not want to lose it.  You won't - if you stick to the one day per week schedule.

As young pitchers get physically stronger each year, seeing fastballs getting into the 90's more often, the need to become MENTALLY stronger increases. Think about it.  So many young players are throwing their complete training efforts into finding elite level velocity.  Unlike increasing foot speed or raw lifting strength, which can more directly lead to first place trophies and championships, pitching throws the added challenge to your newfound speed and power - the batter. "That guy is turning on my best fastball, I'm not sure what I can do to get him out."  

What do you do when you throw a changeup, and it gets lined into the gap for a double?  Keep throwing it! It is difficult to throw a high-level curve and slider and cutter. Plus, you all need an effective changeup in order to continue advancing in your baseball career. Mastering the complete secondary arsenal is not an easy task.  It takes patience, adjustments, and time, and game experience to best gain the confidence to throw them.   For young teenage pitchers, it is possible that whatever technique or cue worked for you one year could be ineffective the next year - physical changes in your body will have you adjusting each year.  It is not uncommon to change a grip or hand position from season to season as you grow and gain strength.  

In the chase for 90mph, you will notice many examples of "max effort" pitching by High School and College prospects. There are more grunts, jumps, yells, back slaps, and celebrations in training facilities everywhere.  Social media is filled with video proof, as we know. In the 14 years of coaching college players I have noticed, more so in the past five seasons, pitchers comparing workout routines rather than talking about mechanics, or pitch execution and approach (although this past year I noticed more discussions on pitch shaping and sequencing, which is a stop toward thinking like a pitcher).  Let's put it this way, many young pitchers will not take a workout day off even when they know they could be pitching that evening.  The strength addiction is too strong.  Good or bad, it is a way of college baseball life in the 2020's.  There is a proper way to handle in season training and does not involve multiple reps and trying to gain strength - that is for the off season.  

The connection between a strong body and great arm is in your core mobility…In other words, stretch as often as you can.  If you like to lift weights, stretch more than you lift.  If you avoid lifting, don’t avoid stretching. 

Pitching Easy Pointer #3 —Jan 13, 2024 (Revisted on Sept. 23, 2024) Throw your curve ball with strong fingers and a ...

Football, cross-country, soccer, swimming, basketball, volleyball, hockey, track and field, lacrosse, golf, baseball, softball, field hockey. How many of our kids play one of these?  How many play two? Three? Four? It is an ongoing debate - sport specialization vs. playing multiple sports for young athletes.  Is there a correct answer? 

Pitchers Pitch, period,, part 2, NIL and the Transfer Portal  If you are coaching a baseball team between June 1 to around August 15, this is one phrase you do not like to hear from your players:  "It's just summer ball."   Granted, there is a natural let down from the rah-rah intensity of a college baseball spring to the more serene, developmental baseball experience of summer baseball.  It is a "winning at all costs" mindset vs. a "I'm trying to get better for next year" thought process of the summer baseball leagues.  What other time will a ballplayer be able to work on making adjustments with little pressure and ample patience while playing?  This is the minor league baseball model - compete hard but make adjustments which could send you to the big leagues.  It requires a balance between competition and development that many fans - along with players and some coaches - have a difficult time understanding.  It is a very important part of a college player's development.          

Baseball is hard enough to play when there is no stress.   I'm afraid that children's baseball success has increasingly become the life dream of their parents.  Our children still manage to find pockets of fun, but Mom and Dad - not as much. Here are three examples of parent conversations which illuminate how parent stress hampers a young players ability to play the game at his or her best...