Thought I would share an experience from today. I make fun of HS ball and the problems I have seen associated with it the last couple years…so I want to give credit when something good is done.
HS practice started again this week and they do try outs all this week. I had my dd invite the HS pitching coach… to come my dd’s workout with me…to show her (PC) what we do. The HS PC is a former college player. She is a closed hip-power elbow pitcher. We only spoke only a few times last year…as I like to stay out of it as much as possible when dd is being coached.
The first thing she mentioned was she knew I disagreed with the process of how they ran before pitching practice last year. It wasn’t the running but the whole process of conditioning they did… that just didn’t make sense and was not useful. Basically dd had weights during last 2 hours of school every day. When they weren’t lifting they were running. They also were doing weights to increase strength rather than maintain strength during softball season etc.
Then dd went straight to softball practice or games every day… where the pitchers ran a couple more miles before pitching practice. If your dd is in HS you know how busy the schedule is. There is little to no rest time…and it caught up with my dd. By the last few weeks…dd was having back soreness, sore shoulder, huge blisters on the bottom of both feet and one ball of the foot had huge bruise across the ball of foot. She was stiff as could be…and it affected her technique…of course.
After one game…I could see from center field that dd was way off the powerline…I spoke to the AC and PC that night…PC thought she wasn’t closing her hips. I explained how beat up she was and showed them the dirt that clearly showed… she was striding nearly a foot to the left of the power line which was unlike her…all because her body had hit some limits with the way things were done. I wasn’t rude or obnoxious…I simply calmly stated my thoughts.
I am sure…the PC had doubts about coming to our practice…as you never know what you will get with a daddy…just like you don’t know what you will get with meeting a coach.
She started to go into the running thing and I explained that I wanted her to see …where we were with dd’s pitching… and explain to her what we do and why.
I explained our process and why…..and showed her IR. I asked her if she watched Baylor play in the worlds series and she said yes. And I explained that Whitney Canion is a great example of how we are trying to pitch. She even said she also noticed that many of the pitchers did not do… what she had learned. But she wasn’t sure what they were doing. We talked about it and I suggested Hillhouses videos and this forum.
We had my dd’s boyfriend there to catch and I explained our workout as they went to the pitching session. We talked about our process, IR, dd’s weakness and strengths…and where I thought dd was at …where we were having problems... and what process we used during TB series to get some rest. We simply talked and watched. She was picking up on what she saw dd doing pretty fast.
We even threw the football together afterwards… for her to feel the elbow slotting and staying open.
She thanked me for inviting her and how I approached it. It was a very good exchange and I feel we are all more on the same page now.
I share this because many people post…they are concern to talk to a coach and I can understand that there are some people that are not easily approachable. But sometimes you need to talk to your coaches…to get on the same page. You do have to approach it in a friendly…non threatening demeanor.
If they are a decent person…and you approach it correctly…it can be a useful exchange for all. I will not show up at practices and try to help…I will not be in her ear the rest of the season. I will let her coach. I also let her know that she can contact me anytime she wanted to…and that I would be staying out of it from here… unless she asked. I think she and my dd will communicate much better and they can develop a relationship.
This worked out great today…and we now have a HS pitching coach that I am sure will be studying a style that is new to her…that will benefit everyone. Incase she does show up here...I thank you coach for being that kind of coach and that kind of person!
HS practice started again this week and they do try outs all this week. I had my dd invite the HS pitching coach… to come my dd’s workout with me…to show her (PC) what we do. The HS PC is a former college player. She is a closed hip-power elbow pitcher. We only spoke only a few times last year…as I like to stay out of it as much as possible when dd is being coached.
The first thing she mentioned was she knew I disagreed with the process of how they ran before pitching practice last year. It wasn’t the running but the whole process of conditioning they did… that just didn’t make sense and was not useful. Basically dd had weights during last 2 hours of school every day. When they weren’t lifting they were running. They also were doing weights to increase strength rather than maintain strength during softball season etc.
Then dd went straight to softball practice or games every day… where the pitchers ran a couple more miles before pitching practice. If your dd is in HS you know how busy the schedule is. There is little to no rest time…and it caught up with my dd. By the last few weeks…dd was having back soreness, sore shoulder, huge blisters on the bottom of both feet and one ball of the foot had huge bruise across the ball of foot. She was stiff as could be…and it affected her technique…of course.
After one game…I could see from center field that dd was way off the powerline…I spoke to the AC and PC that night…PC thought she wasn’t closing her hips. I explained how beat up she was and showed them the dirt that clearly showed… she was striding nearly a foot to the left of the power line which was unlike her…all because her body had hit some limits with the way things were done. I wasn’t rude or obnoxious…I simply calmly stated my thoughts.
I am sure…the PC had doubts about coming to our practice…as you never know what you will get with a daddy…just like you don’t know what you will get with meeting a coach.
She started to go into the running thing and I explained that I wanted her to see …where we were with dd’s pitching… and explain to her what we do and why.
I explained our process and why…..and showed her IR. I asked her if she watched Baylor play in the worlds series and she said yes. And I explained that Whitney Canion is a great example of how we are trying to pitch. She even said she also noticed that many of the pitchers did not do… what she had learned. But she wasn’t sure what they were doing. We talked about it and I suggested Hillhouses videos and this forum.
We had my dd’s boyfriend there to catch and I explained our workout as they went to the pitching session. We talked about our process, IR, dd’s weakness and strengths…and where I thought dd was at …where we were having problems... and what process we used during TB series to get some rest. We simply talked and watched. She was picking up on what she saw dd doing pretty fast.
We even threw the football together afterwards… for her to feel the elbow slotting and staying open.
She thanked me for inviting her and how I approached it. It was a very good exchange and I feel we are all more on the same page now.
I share this because many people post…they are concern to talk to a coach and I can understand that there are some people that are not easily approachable. But sometimes you need to talk to your coaches…to get on the same page. You do have to approach it in a friendly…non threatening demeanor.
If they are a decent person…and you approach it correctly…it can be a useful exchange for all. I will not show up at practices and try to help…I will not be in her ear the rest of the season. I will let her coach. I also let her know that she can contact me anytime she wanted to…and that I would be staying out of it from here… unless she asked. I think she and my dd will communicate much better and they can develop a relationship.
This worked out great today…and we now have a HS pitching coach that I am sure will be studying a style that is new to her…that will benefit everyone. Incase she does show up here...I thank you coach for being that kind of coach and that kind of person!