When to throw my pitches?

Many of my pitchers have learned new pitches during winter training. Whether armed with a 2-seam, changeup, or a host of curve/drop/rise/screw balls... only the question is...

Q: When do I throw these pitches?

Answer: When you are ready.

Q: But how do I know if I am ready? Answer: If you already have at least one strikeout in the game, and can get an 0-2 on another batter, now it's time to start experimenting. When it comes to game time, throw only the pitches you have practiced and can throw well during practice.

See Saturday, April 11th's post "Effective Pitching" for a pitching gameplan.


Now go out and start trying the pitches you have worked so hard on developing! You will never know until you try them! So what if you throw a ball? If it doesn't work, try it another inning. If it still doesn't work, stick to those pitches that do work.

Athlete of the Week

My 7th Grade "Flame-Thrower," shown here in last weekend's tournament... we have been working together for 2 years now and she has a powerful fastball, deceptive curve ball and a pretty sick (circle) change up.

Stack Magazine

Online Training: Stack Magazine provides readers with online and print copy information regarding training techniques based on specific sports, as well as interviews with athletes, and motivational sport information. It is a great resource if you are looking for supplemental workouts, and is especially helpful to see what other (college) athletes are doing within their sport of choice!

Check out this week's feed: Softball - Improve Lateral (side-to-side) Movement:
http://magazine.stack.com/Sport/84/Softball.aspx

What is Your Level of Anxiety?

Follow this link to see your level of Anxiety before competition.

Core Training

For my beloved athletes. I was researching today and came across an online softball blog that aligns well with our personal training. The article gave research evidence that core strength increases pitching effectiveness. What a thought! Huh. Sounds like something we talk about at every lesson!

• Having a professional trainer is important to provide specific, appropriate workouts.
• Building a strong core can prevent injury.
• Core strength contributes to improved pitching and helps prevent bad mechanics (which develop mostly because of weak core muscles)
• Core strength and balance go hand-in-hand.

So.. Keep working on building strength by committing to your weekly workouts outside of pitching lessons! Both pitching and strength training go hand-in-hand.

To see the online blog that I am referring to click here

Effective Pitching

Some very important things for advanced pitchers to keep in focus, so you are able to pitch more effectively.

EFFECTIVE: adj to accomplish a purpose

1. Patience: Between.........every.........single.........pitch............ Take time to look around at the bases and your teammates and shout out the # of outs and where the play is.......... then return to the mound to pitch with energy and focus!

2. Keep this in mind: our priority is to change speeds constantly to throw off batters. So... Warm up all your pitches and use them. Fastball. Changeup. Curve Ball. Drop Ball. Using at least one off-speed pitch for each batter is important.

3. Keep this in mind: BALLS AND STRIKES contribute to outs. We have talked about pitching a strike on the corner, then pitching a ball to chase. If you can get batters to fish for bad pitches, the hits will be "dribblers" to the infield or easy popups. These are outs and well-placed pitches. If girls are swinging, don't give them strikes, but balls to chase.

Movement and speed change = effective pitching.
Movement and speed change = effective pitching.
Movement and speed change = effective pitching.
Movement and speed change = effective pitching.

Movement and speed change = OUTS

Now... Go Get Some Outs!

Watching Jenny Finch...

Here I am watching Jenny Finch pitch(click here to see the video)... I'm thinking back on a lesson I just had and how I am always pumping to my pitchers, even my high school athletes, that time is so important between plays. I am attaching a link to youtube for J.Finch. It takes her 2 seconds to actually pitch, and she takes a lengthy 20+ seconds to prepare for the next pitch... She doesn't come right back to the mound and toss the next pitch. She re-focuses after every single pitch and fires it with all she has. Impressive.

I want you to think about this. And implement this. 20 seconds of wait time contributes to a better, stronger, faster pitch. Does every pitch really matter to you? Practice it. Do it.
Make this YOUR routine!

Eating For Performance...

Suggested Pre-Exercise Foods
Eating before exercise is something only the athlete can determine based upon experience, but some general guidelines include eating a solid meal 4 hours before exercise, a snack or a high carbohydrate energy drink 2 to 3 hours before exercise, and...(sports drink) 1 hour before exercise.

1 hour or less before competition

• fruit or vegetable juice such as orange, tomato, or V-8, and/or
• fresh fruit such as apples, watermelon, peaches, grapes, or oranges and/or
• Energy gels
• up to 1 1/2 cups of a sports drink.

2 to 3 hours before competition

• fresh fruit
• fruit or vegetable juices
• bread, bagels
• low-fat yogurt
• sports drink

3 to 4 hours before competition

• fresh fruit
• fruit or vegetable juices
• bread, bagels
• pasta with tomato sauce
• baked potatoes
• energy bar
• cereal with low-fat milk
• low-fat yogurt
• toast/bread with limited peanut butter, lean meat, or low-fat cheese
• 30 oz of a sports drink

Information retrieved 3.15.09 from http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/sportsnutrition/a/EatForExercise.htm.

Overall, eating the right foods at the right times is crucial. While training my freshman year in college, I was training more than eating, and eating the wrong things when I had the chance. As you prepare for a game, double-header, or weekend tournament, it is time to start thinking what you are fueling your body with. I learned the hard way, by passing out after practice and ending up in the hospital. Now this is an extreme, but learn from my mistake and make sure to #1 HYDRATE as much as possible. Water is the BEST thing for you, no matter what the commercials say. And #2: eat the right foods before competition, pack peanut butter crackers or trailmix on-the-go. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to call or email me!

We've trained all year, make sure you prepare Game Day for your best performance!

Coach Jordyn

As the season gets under way...

As the warm weather begins to taunt us that softball season is here, or fast approaching, depending on what level you are playing, I wanted to remind my pitchers that I have practice workouts available to help you better prepare for your upcoming season. Practice outlines are a great coaching tool though Coach Jordyn cannot be present, you can still work on specific skills that are designed specially for you, helping you accomplish speed, direction, spin, etc. Call or email Coach Jordyn today to set up practice workouts specific to your needs; $40/wkout.

Happy Pitching!

Coach Jordyn

As the season gets under way...

As this season gets under-way, I wanted to remind those of you who are playing on multiple teams, and would like more of a breakdown of your mechanics, you can submit photos from you pitching that I will gladly analyze. Many athletes incorporate new habits while pitching with the stress of competition, and as they try to gain control throughout a long, strenuous game. Photo analysis is $10 and can be a very helpful coaching tool. I would be happy to talk with you about the analysis at your next lesson as well!


Happy Pitching!!
I'll see you Saturdays at L-S and weekdays @ B2B.

Coach Jordyn