Hello Passion for Pitching Family!!!
So we are currently on a five game win streak. Much more fun playing out in front of the bunch then playing tug-o-war and five hundred baseball. During the streak we have done an amazing job as a team to simply compete. Every AB, every inning, we have been right where we need to be with our focus. No matter if we are down during a certain part of the game or playing out ahead, we have done a very solid job of playing until the bell sounds.
Yesterday (July 29th) we had a young left handed pitcher go out to the mound. From the start he was having trouble commanding his fastball and working ahead of hitters. There were times where he would throw a ball in the dirt, then a ball way up in the zone and then a perfect strike. He basically had no feel for what was going on out there.
But here is the thing...
when you are a pitcher there are going to be all sorts of different feelings you have when you are on the mound. Some days you are going to feel amazing and nothing will bother you. Some days you will feel horrible the entire game and you are just going to have to deal with it the best you can. Some days you will feel amazing and then all of a sudden in the middle of the game you lose feeling. Some days it will be the opposite, where you start out feeling horrible but then little by little you gain that feeling place back and you roll through the rest of the game.
No matter what the situation is you MUST be able to compete without your best. That is exactly what our left handed pitcher did last night. He was able to battle, not get too discouraged where he was unable to make pitches when he needed to. There were specific times where he knew he needed to get a little extra focus to get out of a jam and he dug down deep and made it happen. This is something that is not always easy to learn or to deal with for young professional pitchers, but it is a huge part of their makeup and will allow them to play at higher levels and increase their chances of becoming big leaguers some day. Very rarely will a pitcher feel absolutely perfect on the mound. We want to strive for that but not let it discourage us or beat us up if we don't get that each time out.
Ok, all for now...just a friendly reminder from your friend here at Passion for Pitching. Hope all is well and happy pitching!!!
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Friday, July 27, 2012
Focus Before...Focus During!!!
Hello Passion for Pitching Family!!
So the other night we played a tough one in Princeton, WV against the Rays Organization. The game went into extra innings and we ended up pulling it out to the tune of 9 to 8. It was an exciting game and the guys battled back twice from deficits during the game. The pitching finally stabilized towards the back end of the game and put it away for us once we grabbed the lead in extra frames.
There were a couple things I noticed about not only the nights game but also the entire time I have been with the Cardinals Organization. The young starting pitchers are really not sure how to get themselves ready mentally or physically before a start. Sometimes they don't really even know what to do during a game as well.
My example is from the Princeton game. We had a young man go out to the mound where you could just see it in his face that he was not up for the challenges that the game was going to bring. I wish I would have had a camera in the dugout because he went through three different types of focus during the game and each one showed on his face like you were staring at yourself in the mirror.
First off, starting pitchers need to make sure that they understand that preparing yourself before the game is not just about physically moving your body and then starting to throw. There should be a build up of intensity, concentration and focus that happens throughout the day and into the start. Heck, there are even times where you hear of pitchers getting going the day or the night BEFORE their next start. There is a certain tuning that needs to be done so you are ready to commit your emotions and mentality to the battle you are about to take on.
In the rookie league you see young pitchers walking out of the clubhouse maybe 10 minutes before they need to start throwing. Then you see them do a couple tugs on their body and a couple light jogs and then they pick up a ball and start throwing. There is a lack of realization that the physical work is not just to prepare your body to start throwing so you can get on the mound. The physical work is also a fine tuning, a mental preparation to bring forth the focus and intensity needed to allow your body to perform how you want it to.
Let me get back to my example though.....ok, so during the bullpen prior to the game you could just see he wasn't into it. His body language was lazy, his focus was flat and because of that his bullpen session was below average at best. Before he threw a pitch in the game I knew he was in for a rough one. It had nothing to do with his physical ability whatsoever. It had everything to do with his facial expressions and his body language. So he went out in the first inning and was hit quite hard. He was lucky to get out of it with just two runs scoring in the inning. When he came back in the dugout you could see he looked defeated. That is the first point where I wish I would have taken a picture.
So the 2nd inning comes and out he goes. The first guy got on in this inning as well but he was able to calm down enough to start making some better pitches. Then he got the defense behind him to make a couple plays and you could see him starting to turn it around. When he went back out for the 3rd inning you saw a whole new pitcher out there. This was the second time in the ballgame where I wish I would have had a camera. The focus was there and the intensity was in his face. He sat quietly and confidently on the bench and at this time it was a 2-2 game.
But then came the top of the fourth and we scored three runs. This is the third point in the game where I wish I had my camera. You should have seen this kids face. He went from out in the ozone, to intently focused, to overly cocky and not paying attention, all in a time frame of just four innings. When we were scoring runs for him in the fourth he was joking with teammates and basically not realizing he still had a job to do.
So what do you think happened next??? Well, he went back out for the bottom of the 4th and we were up 5 to 2. He never made it out of the inning and we ended up giving up the lead in that very inning.
Focus is a goofy thing. You either have it or you don't. You either understand it or you don't. You either feel it or you don't. But either way, you better be able to understand how you lose it and how you get it back if you want to survive as a pitcher in professional baseball. There are way too many things that can go on in a ballgame that can turn you all different ways. You must be able to focus on your job and your job only. You must be able to know how to prepare yourself before the game and then maintain that preparation and focus during the game, no matter the circumstances.
The next time you go to a major league game or watch one on TV check out the starting pitcher. See what he does before the game and during the game. See what his facial expressions are. See if he is hooting and hollering in the dugout or if he is cool, calm and collected and mainly keeping to himself to maintain his concentration and focus.
That's all for now Passion for Pitching!!!
Happy Pitching!!!
So the other night we played a tough one in Princeton, WV against the Rays Organization. The game went into extra innings and we ended up pulling it out to the tune of 9 to 8. It was an exciting game and the guys battled back twice from deficits during the game. The pitching finally stabilized towards the back end of the game and put it away for us once we grabbed the lead in extra frames.
There were a couple things I noticed about not only the nights game but also the entire time I have been with the Cardinals Organization. The young starting pitchers are really not sure how to get themselves ready mentally or physically before a start. Sometimes they don't really even know what to do during a game as well.
My example is from the Princeton game. We had a young man go out to the mound where you could just see it in his face that he was not up for the challenges that the game was going to bring. I wish I would have had a camera in the dugout because he went through three different types of focus during the game and each one showed on his face like you were staring at yourself in the mirror.
First off, starting pitchers need to make sure that they understand that preparing yourself before the game is not just about physically moving your body and then starting to throw. There should be a build up of intensity, concentration and focus that happens throughout the day and into the start. Heck, there are even times where you hear of pitchers getting going the day or the night BEFORE their next start. There is a certain tuning that needs to be done so you are ready to commit your emotions and mentality to the battle you are about to take on.
In the rookie league you see young pitchers walking out of the clubhouse maybe 10 minutes before they need to start throwing. Then you see them do a couple tugs on their body and a couple light jogs and then they pick up a ball and start throwing. There is a lack of realization that the physical work is not just to prepare your body to start throwing so you can get on the mound. The physical work is also a fine tuning, a mental preparation to bring forth the focus and intensity needed to allow your body to perform how you want it to.
Let me get back to my example though.....ok, so during the bullpen prior to the game you could just see he wasn't into it. His body language was lazy, his focus was flat and because of that his bullpen session was below average at best. Before he threw a pitch in the game I knew he was in for a rough one. It had nothing to do with his physical ability whatsoever. It had everything to do with his facial expressions and his body language. So he went out in the first inning and was hit quite hard. He was lucky to get out of it with just two runs scoring in the inning. When he came back in the dugout you could see he looked defeated. That is the first point where I wish I would have taken a picture.
So the 2nd inning comes and out he goes. The first guy got on in this inning as well but he was able to calm down enough to start making some better pitches. Then he got the defense behind him to make a couple plays and you could see him starting to turn it around. When he went back out for the 3rd inning you saw a whole new pitcher out there. This was the second time in the ballgame where I wish I would have had a camera. The focus was there and the intensity was in his face. He sat quietly and confidently on the bench and at this time it was a 2-2 game.
But then came the top of the fourth and we scored three runs. This is the third point in the game where I wish I had my camera. You should have seen this kids face. He went from out in the ozone, to intently focused, to overly cocky and not paying attention, all in a time frame of just four innings. When we were scoring runs for him in the fourth he was joking with teammates and basically not realizing he still had a job to do.
So what do you think happened next??? Well, he went back out for the bottom of the 4th and we were up 5 to 2. He never made it out of the inning and we ended up giving up the lead in that very inning.
Focus is a goofy thing. You either have it or you don't. You either understand it or you don't. You either feel it or you don't. But either way, you better be able to understand how you lose it and how you get it back if you want to survive as a pitcher in professional baseball. There are way too many things that can go on in a ballgame that can turn you all different ways. You must be able to focus on your job and your job only. You must be able to know how to prepare yourself before the game and then maintain that preparation and focus during the game, no matter the circumstances.
The next time you go to a major league game or watch one on TV check out the starting pitcher. See what he does before the game and during the game. See what his facial expressions are. See if he is hooting and hollering in the dugout or if he is cool, calm and collected and mainly keeping to himself to maintain his concentration and focus.
That's all for now Passion for Pitching!!!
Happy Pitching!!!
Saturday, July 21, 2012
More On Mindset....
Tonight we had a solid win against Elizabethton. The same team who put up a 7 spot on us in the game yesterday. You guys at home are getting these blogs on tape delay...LOL. I am writing these as though they are being published daily even though they are not. So if you actually care and start following the Johnson City Cardinals, I apologize for confusing you!!!
Anyhow...tonight we won a 6-4 game. We pitched decently the entire evening and did some things better tonight then the night before. A couple times we did better with not paying attention to the umpire and using the next pitch in the sequence that we wanted to use. We also did a bit better at not paying attention to how bad or good the umpire was at any given point in the game.
But I wanted to add some more thoughts to my Umpires Don't Exist blog. I wanted to expand some more on the idea of mindset and how important that truly is. Now I can easily call mindset by other terms such as perspective or perception so please don't get caught up in logistics. This topic really plays off of the Law of Attraction series I have started and actually still need to finish, but if you are at all curious you can go back and read them after finishing this blog.
So let's get to it...ok so the last blog I talked about how a pitcher was stuck on how an umpire was making bad calls on balls and strikes. And I talked about how I felt he let those bad calls basically ruin his outing and put him in a state of mind where he was no longer effective and able to compete. My whole point in the topic of mindset or perspective is that the better your mindset is or perspective is, the more successful you will be. Absolutely, no doubt about it!!!
Let's look at it two ways. You are pitching in a game. The game is close. The umpire is not consistent with his strike zone. He is calling balls where you feel they should be strikes. What do you do??? How is your mindset??? Do you look at the experience as a way to become a victim and make excuses of why you are not able to compete? Or do you not even respond to the umpire's calls because you are so focused on the next pitch you don't even respond with a thought of "I can't."
You see, in the game of baseball, you can actually create your outings. You can create how you are going to pitch, how you are going to respond and how your game is going to end up. The reason why people make it to the big leagues and thrive is because their mindset is automatically set to succeed. They don't listen to excuses, they don't make excuses, they don't blame anyone else for their tough days and they certainly don't give up or give in when outside circumstances may make it a bit tougher for them.
If you are in a baseball game and an umpire doesn't give you calls you feel you deserve and instantly your reaction or habit of thought takes you towards the road of being a victim or making excuses or it enables you to compete, then guess what, you will never be the pitcher you want to be. But if you can be aware of how you think or react to adversity when you are on the mound then you can start working towards the mindset and perspective you need to be a successful pitcher, a big league pitcher.
As you get better and better in becoming non-reactive to adverse situations and you are becoming better and better at immediately focusing on solutions instead of problems, the momentum builds and you actually breed yourself into success. The mindset becomes a feeling place and it follows you wherever you go.
Have you ever been in a game and FELT so confident you knew good things were going to happen? Have you ever been in a game and you FELT scared or worried and you were not sure what was going to happen next? Well, what happened in those two situations???? In my brief professional career I knew exactly when I was going to have a solid outing and when I was in serious trouble.
The mindset you have and create in your career will absolutely create your outings and your career so please start to think about how you feel and think when you are on the mound and competing.
Ok, all for now....Happy Pitching!!!!
Anyhow...tonight we won a 6-4 game. We pitched decently the entire evening and did some things better tonight then the night before. A couple times we did better with not paying attention to the umpire and using the next pitch in the sequence that we wanted to use. We also did a bit better at not paying attention to how bad or good the umpire was at any given point in the game.
But I wanted to add some more thoughts to my Umpires Don't Exist blog. I wanted to expand some more on the idea of mindset and how important that truly is. Now I can easily call mindset by other terms such as perspective or perception so please don't get caught up in logistics. This topic really plays off of the Law of Attraction series I have started and actually still need to finish, but if you are at all curious you can go back and read them after finishing this blog.
So let's get to it...ok so the last blog I talked about how a pitcher was stuck on how an umpire was making bad calls on balls and strikes. And I talked about how I felt he let those bad calls basically ruin his outing and put him in a state of mind where he was no longer effective and able to compete. My whole point in the topic of mindset or perspective is that the better your mindset is or perspective is, the more successful you will be. Absolutely, no doubt about it!!!
Let's look at it two ways. You are pitching in a game. The game is close. The umpire is not consistent with his strike zone. He is calling balls where you feel they should be strikes. What do you do??? How is your mindset??? Do you look at the experience as a way to become a victim and make excuses of why you are not able to compete? Or do you not even respond to the umpire's calls because you are so focused on the next pitch you don't even respond with a thought of "I can't."
You see, in the game of baseball, you can actually create your outings. You can create how you are going to pitch, how you are going to respond and how your game is going to end up. The reason why people make it to the big leagues and thrive is because their mindset is automatically set to succeed. They don't listen to excuses, they don't make excuses, they don't blame anyone else for their tough days and they certainly don't give up or give in when outside circumstances may make it a bit tougher for them.
If you are in a baseball game and an umpire doesn't give you calls you feel you deserve and instantly your reaction or habit of thought takes you towards the road of being a victim or making excuses or it enables you to compete, then guess what, you will never be the pitcher you want to be. But if you can be aware of how you think or react to adversity when you are on the mound then you can start working towards the mindset and perspective you need to be a successful pitcher, a big league pitcher.
As you get better and better in becoming non-reactive to adverse situations and you are becoming better and better at immediately focusing on solutions instead of problems, the momentum builds and you actually breed yourself into success. The mindset becomes a feeling place and it follows you wherever you go.
Have you ever been in a game and FELT so confident you knew good things were going to happen? Have you ever been in a game and you FELT scared or worried and you were not sure what was going to happen next? Well, what happened in those two situations???? In my brief professional career I knew exactly when I was going to have a solid outing and when I was in serious trouble.
The mindset you have and create in your career will absolutely create your outings and your career so please start to think about how you feel and think when you are on the mound and competing.
Ok, all for now....Happy Pitching!!!!
Friday, July 20, 2012
Umpires Don't Exist
We lost a tough one tonight in Elizabethton against the Twins Organization. One long, rough inning sealed our fate. Isn't that funny in the game of baseball? You could score three separate times in three separate innings but if the other team gave you an ass whooping in just one of the 9 innings, you will still lose the game. That is what happened to us tonight. We jumped on them quick in the first 2 innings by the score of 3-0. But in the 4th our pitcher had a tough time recovering and ended up giving up 7 runs in one inning. Definitely a tough one to swallow when you are on the bench and not able to do a thing about it. They did not score in any other inning but obviously they didn't have to when you score 7 in just one inning...LOL!!
But it brings up an amazing learning experience I wanted to share with you. The title of this Blog is Umpires Don't Exist for two reasons. One, is an effective velocity reason which I will explain shortly. The other, is a focus and mindset reason which I will also expand upon.
Ok, so first one is the effective velocity topic. Effective velocity is a more scientific way to look at the strike zone and how it effects the hitter. So for example, if you are a pitcher that throws 90mph and you throw it right down the middle of the plate, it looks and feels like 90mph to the hitter. No secret there, right? But if you throw that same pitch, which reads 90mph on the radar gun, but now throw it inside and high it looks like a different velocity to the hitter, it looks faster, it has an effect of being faster. The same goes for the ball low and away. It looks slower then 90mph to the hitters eye. Does that make sense???
So as a pitcher your job is to make sure and keep the hitters attention where you want it so you can cause the least solid amount of contact possible. This way you can get some pop-ups and some easy groundball outs.
When you are a pitcher throwing in a game, there are going to be plenty of times (especially at the college and high school levels) where the umpire does not call pitches strikes that you believe are just that, strikes. Well, this is how you want to handle this situation. If you feel like you got the attention of the hitter with the pitch you just threw, no matter if it was called a ball or a strike, move on to the next pitch in your pitch sequence. Remember, your job as a pitcher is to pitch to contact, soft contact hopefully. So if you have command of your pitches and are confident in what you throw, you really never have to worry about the umpire at all.
The example I will give you was in tonight's game in the 3rd inning. Our pitcher threw a first pitch fastball on the inside part of the plate, right where he wanted it. However, the umpire called it a ball and our pitcher clearly did not agree. But instead of having confidence in his ability to be able to throw a strike on the next pitch and let it be the pitch he wanted, the change-up, he listened to the umpire, saw the count was 1-0 and felt he was locked into a fastball count. Now the at bat ended up just fine and he got out of the jam he was in, but he carried it with him to the dugout and was complaining about the umpire.
This takes us right into the second topic of focus and mindset. When our pitcher went back out in the fourth he was still reeling from the inning before and you could tell his intensity level was not the same. He let the jam that he got into (and he felt the jam was caused by the umpire) totally change his mindset and it took him mentally out of the game. The funny thing was that he didn't even give up a run in the 3rd inning but still let the umpire take him out of his mindset.
Now he goes back out for the fourth inning with a loss of focus and a "poor me" attitude and well....you know the rest....7 runs and he is out of the game.
You young pitchers at home, please pay attention to this. Focus is a choice. Mindset is a choice. What you allow to effect you positively or negatively is a choice. Whether you choose to let things effect you that you are not in control over is totally up to you. In the game of baseball (as in life) there are going to be plenty of times where things may not be going the way you want them to be going. In that moment of time you have two choices, fuel the fire (make yourself more upset) or move on and let it go.
In pitching, it is such a mental/emotional position that you are challenged almost on every pitch to maintain your focus and mindset. You are asked to not allow any so called "obstacles" that are thrown in your way to bother you. You must pitch with blinders on and never let the outside stuff, such as umpires, fans, the other team, bother your focus and concentration. I know this is easier said then done, but if this is not something you practice or are aware of when you are on the mound, then you simply will not last that long in the game of baseball, especially professional baseball.
Ok, that is all for now. Happy Pitching and talk to you all soon!!!!
But it brings up an amazing learning experience I wanted to share with you. The title of this Blog is Umpires Don't Exist for two reasons. One, is an effective velocity reason which I will explain shortly. The other, is a focus and mindset reason which I will also expand upon.
Ok, so first one is the effective velocity topic. Effective velocity is a more scientific way to look at the strike zone and how it effects the hitter. So for example, if you are a pitcher that throws 90mph and you throw it right down the middle of the plate, it looks and feels like 90mph to the hitter. No secret there, right? But if you throw that same pitch, which reads 90mph on the radar gun, but now throw it inside and high it looks like a different velocity to the hitter, it looks faster, it has an effect of being faster. The same goes for the ball low and away. It looks slower then 90mph to the hitters eye. Does that make sense???
So as a pitcher your job is to make sure and keep the hitters attention where you want it so you can cause the least solid amount of contact possible. This way you can get some pop-ups and some easy groundball outs.
When you are a pitcher throwing in a game, there are going to be plenty of times (especially at the college and high school levels) where the umpire does not call pitches strikes that you believe are just that, strikes. Well, this is how you want to handle this situation. If you feel like you got the attention of the hitter with the pitch you just threw, no matter if it was called a ball or a strike, move on to the next pitch in your pitch sequence. Remember, your job as a pitcher is to pitch to contact, soft contact hopefully. So if you have command of your pitches and are confident in what you throw, you really never have to worry about the umpire at all.
The example I will give you was in tonight's game in the 3rd inning. Our pitcher threw a first pitch fastball on the inside part of the plate, right where he wanted it. However, the umpire called it a ball and our pitcher clearly did not agree. But instead of having confidence in his ability to be able to throw a strike on the next pitch and let it be the pitch he wanted, the change-up, he listened to the umpire, saw the count was 1-0 and felt he was locked into a fastball count. Now the at bat ended up just fine and he got out of the jam he was in, but he carried it with him to the dugout and was complaining about the umpire.
This takes us right into the second topic of focus and mindset. When our pitcher went back out in the fourth he was still reeling from the inning before and you could tell his intensity level was not the same. He let the jam that he got into (and he felt the jam was caused by the umpire) totally change his mindset and it took him mentally out of the game. The funny thing was that he didn't even give up a run in the 3rd inning but still let the umpire take him out of his mindset.
Now he goes back out for the fourth inning with a loss of focus and a "poor me" attitude and well....you know the rest....7 runs and he is out of the game.
You young pitchers at home, please pay attention to this. Focus is a choice. Mindset is a choice. What you allow to effect you positively or negatively is a choice. Whether you choose to let things effect you that you are not in control over is totally up to you. In the game of baseball (as in life) there are going to be plenty of times where things may not be going the way you want them to be going. In that moment of time you have two choices, fuel the fire (make yourself more upset) or move on and let it go.
In pitching, it is such a mental/emotional position that you are challenged almost on every pitch to maintain your focus and mindset. You are asked to not allow any so called "obstacles" that are thrown in your way to bother you. You must pitch with blinders on and never let the outside stuff, such as umpires, fans, the other team, bother your focus and concentration. I know this is easier said then done, but if this is not something you practice or are aware of when you are on the mound, then you simply will not last that long in the game of baseball, especially professional baseball.
Ok, that is all for now. Happy Pitching and talk to you all soon!!!!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Playing Catch
Another day of rain with the boys up here in Tennessee. We will be playing two games tomorrow, hopefully the rain will stay away so we can get going again tomorrow. Whenever I get going during a season it is always nice to play almost everyday. There is a reason why I leave San Diego and leave the beautiful weather and the waves and all that good stuff. Not playing because of rain is not one of those things....lol!
Today's topic is Playing Catch. What I mean by playing catch is being able to throw all of your pitches, as a pitcher, while you are playing catch. At this level it is all about developing pitches that will be there for you as you move up levels and when the going gets tough. There are a lot of young pitchers who get lost in results and never truly gain ownership of their pitches because they are skipping steps in the process. You must crawl before you walk, right?
When you go to a major league game and you watch pitchers warm up in the outfield and practice all their pitches you see guys owning the movement to all that they throw. I will give you this example...when you go to a professional basketball game and guys are warming up before the game I am sure you witness almost every guy on the court shooting prior to the game. How many shots do you see those guys miss??? Not too many!! Most of the shooters hit every shot from every spot on the court during warm-ups. This is the same for pitchers. How would you expect to throw all your pitches in a professional game with the pressure turned up when it is tough to even throw all your pitches in a game of catch?
Start with catch and then build from there. If you can spin the ball properly to your breaking ball, if you can throw the change-up with the same arm speed as your fastball, if you can create consistent angle and plane to your fastball when you are throwing to your partner, now you are ready for the next step. But if you are not able to do all these things consistently, over and over and over, there is no need to move on to flatground or to bullpen work or to a game. It only is going to get tougher as you add in the steps. Take your time in the process. No need to rush it because if you take the time and do it right, you won't ever go backwards. Plus you will always have a process to get back to where you want to be just in case you lose your way just a bit.
Ok, that's all for now...Happy Pitching!!!
Today's topic is Playing Catch. What I mean by playing catch is being able to throw all of your pitches, as a pitcher, while you are playing catch. At this level it is all about developing pitches that will be there for you as you move up levels and when the going gets tough. There are a lot of young pitchers who get lost in results and never truly gain ownership of their pitches because they are skipping steps in the process. You must crawl before you walk, right?
When you go to a major league game and you watch pitchers warm up in the outfield and practice all their pitches you see guys owning the movement to all that they throw. I will give you this example...when you go to a professional basketball game and guys are warming up before the game I am sure you witness almost every guy on the court shooting prior to the game. How many shots do you see those guys miss??? Not too many!! Most of the shooters hit every shot from every spot on the court during warm-ups. This is the same for pitchers. How would you expect to throw all your pitches in a professional game with the pressure turned up when it is tough to even throw all your pitches in a game of catch?
Start with catch and then build from there. If you can spin the ball properly to your breaking ball, if you can throw the change-up with the same arm speed as your fastball, if you can create consistent angle and plane to your fastball when you are throwing to your partner, now you are ready for the next step. But if you are not able to do all these things consistently, over and over and over, there is no need to move on to flatground or to bullpen work or to a game. It only is going to get tougher as you add in the steps. Take your time in the process. No need to rush it because if you take the time and do it right, you won't ever go backwards. Plus you will always have a process to get back to where you want to be just in case you lose your way just a bit.
Ok, that's all for now...Happy Pitching!!!
Monday, July 16, 2012
Yellowpad
Hello again passion for pitching!! I know it has been quite some time but I am back again and ready to roll. It has been quite an exciting year so far and I have had lots to do. I was waiting to be inspired to write a post and waiting for a refreshing idea to assist the folks who join in and read these blogs. So, it happened, finally....LOL!!
Because I am in the middle of a season there are tons of subjects that I could discuss on this blog. What I do with the pitching staff almost on a daily basis is something we call YellowPad. What this is is a daily review of the game the night before along with other topics we may need to review or learn as a staff. The topics could be anywhere from focus and being present, all the way to holding runners at second base. So I thought it would be great to let you guys in on some daily conversations I have with the pitching staff and the different things we encounter during a Rookie League season.
So here it goes....
Thus far in the season we are right at .500 with our record. We are playing inconsistent baseball but just well enough to keep us in the race for the playoffs and give our guys something to be reaching for. In this last week we had a day off and then back to back rainouts. For the rookie league season you play 68 games in 71 days, so the days off are far and few between. They come about every two to three weeks. It is perfect for me though, because it allows me to push a certain focus on certain things they need to learn at this level and then build upon those things as the season progresses. For the first part of the season it is usually the same every year. These pitchers need to learn about FB command with good plane out of the hand and good angle to both sides of the plate. They also need to learn how to control the running game. There are specific plays that we have as an organization that the pitchers at this level need to have memorized like the back of their hand by the end of the season. All the things they learn here, this year, will be just about the same thing they will always have to do their entire career, especially if they stay with the Cardinals. So it is very important they learn it now so they can move on to other things as they move up in levels.
So after coming back from the day off and having a couple of rainouts I wanted to make sure the guys were still all on task and realize what we need to keep striving for in these next couple weeks until the next day off. We had a quick review of what we have learned so far and then I added a couple items to it...
The first item was focus. We need to keep doing the same physical things we are doing now, such as a proper long toss program, solid flatground work, good bullpen work, etc...but with that we need to tighten up our focus while we do these things. It is one thing to show up each day and just have someone tell you what to work on each day. It is a total other thing to realize why you are doing those things and then bring the proper focus with you to your work so that each rep is making you a better pitcher.
The next item was remembering your passion. Sometimes in a professional baseball season, especially when it is new, you forget why you are there and what your goals are. You forget that there is a reason why you live in a small town, get paid no money, travel in buses weekly, and show up to the field daily with almost no days off. The reason is because you LOVE to do it. It is NOT a job, it is a LOVE, a PASSION. If you can come to the field each day and remember why you are here, why you do what you do, it brings things back into perspective and allows you to keep things fresh. The ultimate focus behind a season needs to be fun. If you come to the field every day and it is a grind and it is tough or hard work it is probably not going to be something you will stick with or enjoy and so you will be pushed out like most. But if you can remember the love you have for the game and the reason why you play, it helps alleviate some of the pressures and some of the grind so you can develop and produce.
The funny thing about playing professional baseball and I would figure all professional sports is that most people would feel it is a very physical thing and the most talented survive. For me that couldn't be further from the truth. The people who stick around are the ones who "get it." The guys who stick around are the ones who have a perspective about their day that allows them to evolve and grow and move onward and upward. They take their mistakes and make them their successes. There is a fine line to it but once you figure this out people really take off quickly. You will see some guys struggling at the rookie league level one year and then climbing through the ranks the next year just because they figured it out....they "get it"
Ok, all for now...hope this is of some assistance for you all out there in pitching land. More to come.....
Happy Pitching!!
Because I am in the middle of a season there are tons of subjects that I could discuss on this blog. What I do with the pitching staff almost on a daily basis is something we call YellowPad. What this is is a daily review of the game the night before along with other topics we may need to review or learn as a staff. The topics could be anywhere from focus and being present, all the way to holding runners at second base. So I thought it would be great to let you guys in on some daily conversations I have with the pitching staff and the different things we encounter during a Rookie League season.
So here it goes....
Thus far in the season we are right at .500 with our record. We are playing inconsistent baseball but just well enough to keep us in the race for the playoffs and give our guys something to be reaching for. In this last week we had a day off and then back to back rainouts. For the rookie league season you play 68 games in 71 days, so the days off are far and few between. They come about every two to three weeks. It is perfect for me though, because it allows me to push a certain focus on certain things they need to learn at this level and then build upon those things as the season progresses. For the first part of the season it is usually the same every year. These pitchers need to learn about FB command with good plane out of the hand and good angle to both sides of the plate. They also need to learn how to control the running game. There are specific plays that we have as an organization that the pitchers at this level need to have memorized like the back of their hand by the end of the season. All the things they learn here, this year, will be just about the same thing they will always have to do their entire career, especially if they stay with the Cardinals. So it is very important they learn it now so they can move on to other things as they move up in levels.
So after coming back from the day off and having a couple of rainouts I wanted to make sure the guys were still all on task and realize what we need to keep striving for in these next couple weeks until the next day off. We had a quick review of what we have learned so far and then I added a couple items to it...
The first item was focus. We need to keep doing the same physical things we are doing now, such as a proper long toss program, solid flatground work, good bullpen work, etc...but with that we need to tighten up our focus while we do these things. It is one thing to show up each day and just have someone tell you what to work on each day. It is a total other thing to realize why you are doing those things and then bring the proper focus with you to your work so that each rep is making you a better pitcher.
The next item was remembering your passion. Sometimes in a professional baseball season, especially when it is new, you forget why you are there and what your goals are. You forget that there is a reason why you live in a small town, get paid no money, travel in buses weekly, and show up to the field daily with almost no days off. The reason is because you LOVE to do it. It is NOT a job, it is a LOVE, a PASSION. If you can come to the field each day and remember why you are here, why you do what you do, it brings things back into perspective and allows you to keep things fresh. The ultimate focus behind a season needs to be fun. If you come to the field every day and it is a grind and it is tough or hard work it is probably not going to be something you will stick with or enjoy and so you will be pushed out like most. But if you can remember the love you have for the game and the reason why you play, it helps alleviate some of the pressures and some of the grind so you can develop and produce.
The funny thing about playing professional baseball and I would figure all professional sports is that most people would feel it is a very physical thing and the most talented survive. For me that couldn't be further from the truth. The people who stick around are the ones who "get it." The guys who stick around are the ones who have a perspective about their day that allows them to evolve and grow and move onward and upward. They take their mistakes and make them their successes. There is a fine line to it but once you figure this out people really take off quickly. You will see some guys struggling at the rookie league level one year and then climbing through the ranks the next year just because they figured it out....they "get it"
Ok, all for now...hope this is of some assistance for you all out there in pitching land. More to come.....
Happy Pitching!!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
The Creative Process (LOA cont...#4)
Hello Passion for Pitching Family,
This next blog takes us back to the Law of Attraction series I started last month. The blog I am writing today is about the Creative Process. It basically combines the first three blogs in this series so you can see how all the parts fit together.
After this blog I will be going into the intricacies of this process with explanations, examples, and definitions of perspective, contrast, belief and desire. It is my hope that by the end of this series you will see how everything that is happening in your life is all intertwined and interlaced and any other word describing a web that you can come up with.
The Creative Process is explained like this...
YOU ASK UNIVERSE ANSWERS (or yields it to you) YOU ALLOW IT IN
I am going to write this blog in three parts and attempt to explain how each step works with as few words as possible. Sometimes that can be tough when trying to explain how the Universe works so bare with me...LOL!!
Ok, so here it goes...
Step 1 is YOU ASK. Ok, so what does YOU ASK mean? You asking can be defined in several ways, the most basic is you actually asking. So, you would maybe speak or scream out to the Universe that you want a new baseball coach because you don't like the one you currently have. Or you may scream out to the Universe you want to throw a faster fastball because your competition is throwing harder than you. Or you may scream to the Universe that you want to have better command to all your pitches because you are giving up too many walks and it is hurting your outings.
That is an easy way to understand asking. You actually, consciously speak out loud or in your own mind about something you would like to have in your life or something you would like to have happen differently than what is currently going on.
Ok, so because this is an energy based, vibration based planet there are also ways to ask vibrationally. Remember back to the initial Law of Attraction blog? We discussed that whatever frequency your vibration is tuned to, that is what is going to come into your experiences. Well, when things happen in your day to day life which cause you to ask the Universe for something more or something different, you don't always have to consciously sit down and ask. Your body, your soul, your spirit actually is asking through the vibration you are emitting. This happens very naturally without you even needing to be aware of it. My example would be just like the on-star system you can get in your car where they track where you are at all times. The car is you, the honing device is your vibration, and the company that tracks your whereabouts is the Universe. Whatever vibration you are sending out at that time is what you are asking. The Universe hears it, knows it and is sending it back to you. That takes us into step 2.
Step 2 is UNIVERSE ANSWERS. Whether you believe it or not the universe is a naturally abundant and joyful place. If you would think of it as a constant stream or river it is easy to comprehend. The universe is a powerful, constant stream of joyful and abundant energy that is flowing downstream. Imagine the powerful Colorado river. Those rapids are roaring downstream and there is nothing that is going to stop that. Well, this is how the Universe is set up. There is a constant stream of abundance and joy that is flowing to you and through you, all you have to do is get on the raft, let go of the oars, and let it take you downstream.
You can also think of it as a cork in water. You can try to push the cork down all you want, but the only way the cork will stay underwater is if you are constantly pushing on it. Once you let go of the cork it pops back up to the top of the water. So when I talk about the UNIVERSE ANSWERS I am telling you that the Universe is flowing abundance and joy your way, all day and every day. No matter what.
The way you push your cork underwater or try to paddle upstream is by thinking thoughts that don't feel good. An example of that would be ridiculing yourself after a bad outing and blaming yourself for the teams loss. If you can think of a time you did that to yourself all you have to do is remember how you felt. So how did it feel? Did it feel like you were connected to that stream and you were full of energy and joy? Or did it feel like you never wanted to play baseball again and you hated a lot of things about yourself at that time?
Step 3 is YOU MUST ALLOW IT. Ok, so now as you understand and start to come to believe that this Universe is a joy based Universe, your only work is to allow that stream to flow to you and through you. Allow that cork to float. How do you do this? Since you are naturally a vibration based human being and the Universe is naturally flowing this joy and abundance to you, the only thing that holds you from allowing this in is you and the thoughts you think. Remember the blog on emotions? The way you feel is an indication on what thoughts you are thinking and allowing. If you feel crummy, you know that the thoughts you are thinking are probably not that good for you and they are disconnecting you from that joyful and abundant stream you want to be riding down. But if you can train yourself to think thoughts that make you feel good, then that emotion is telling you that you are letting that stream flow to you and through you. You are letting your cork float.
Now there is a fine line to all of this information that you have to find the balance of on your own. I understand that after a tough outing you are not going to be in one of the best moods that you can be in. That is okay, there is nothing wrong with that. The point is that once you become aware that how you feel is the most important thing, because how you feel is telling you whether or not you are headed downstream with the power of the Universe or not, then you get that your work is how to figure out how to feel good more often than not. Then you get that the sooner you can bounce back from a bad outing or a tough life experience, the faster you can be headed where you want to be headed. The Universe only knows abundance and joy and whatever amazing feeling words you can come up with. The Universe is always set up to let that abundance and joy flow to you and through you. Focus/ practice on allowing that to happen by focusing/practicing good feeling thoughts on all the subjects in your life.
When it comes down to it, it really is all about perspective and how you choose to view the experiences you are having in your life. As your perspective improves, the way you feel improves. As the way you feel improves, your life improves. And so on and so forth, it is a never ending cycle of joy and abundance. Remember, the stream is already there, the cork already knows how to float, YOU already are a naturally happy and abundant human being. There are just experiences that happen in our lives that we allow to take us away from the flow of that stream. You just have to remember to get back on the raft, let go of the oars, and let the stream take you away.
More on perspective in the next LOA blog. Hope this blog is assisting in bringing this all together for you. You are almost there, keep reading and re-reading these blogs. I will have some references for you at the end of this series if you have enjoyed it enough to practice and continue this work.
Happy Pitching!!!!
This next blog takes us back to the Law of Attraction series I started last month. The blog I am writing today is about the Creative Process. It basically combines the first three blogs in this series so you can see how all the parts fit together.
After this blog I will be going into the intricacies of this process with explanations, examples, and definitions of perspective, contrast, belief and desire. It is my hope that by the end of this series you will see how everything that is happening in your life is all intertwined and interlaced and any other word describing a web that you can come up with.
The Creative Process is explained like this...
YOU ASK UNIVERSE ANSWERS (or yields it to you) YOU ALLOW IT IN
I am going to write this blog in three parts and attempt to explain how each step works with as few words as possible. Sometimes that can be tough when trying to explain how the Universe works so bare with me...LOL!!
Ok, so here it goes...
Step 1 is YOU ASK. Ok, so what does YOU ASK mean? You asking can be defined in several ways, the most basic is you actually asking. So, you would maybe speak or scream out to the Universe that you want a new baseball coach because you don't like the one you currently have. Or you may scream out to the Universe you want to throw a faster fastball because your competition is throwing harder than you. Or you may scream to the Universe that you want to have better command to all your pitches because you are giving up too many walks and it is hurting your outings.
That is an easy way to understand asking. You actually, consciously speak out loud or in your own mind about something you would like to have in your life or something you would like to have happen differently than what is currently going on.
Ok, so because this is an energy based, vibration based planet there are also ways to ask vibrationally. Remember back to the initial Law of Attraction blog? We discussed that whatever frequency your vibration is tuned to, that is what is going to come into your experiences. Well, when things happen in your day to day life which cause you to ask the Universe for something more or something different, you don't always have to consciously sit down and ask. Your body, your soul, your spirit actually is asking through the vibration you are emitting. This happens very naturally without you even needing to be aware of it. My example would be just like the on-star system you can get in your car where they track where you are at all times. The car is you, the honing device is your vibration, and the company that tracks your whereabouts is the Universe. Whatever vibration you are sending out at that time is what you are asking. The Universe hears it, knows it and is sending it back to you. That takes us into step 2.
Step 2 is UNIVERSE ANSWERS. Whether you believe it or not the universe is a naturally abundant and joyful place. If you would think of it as a constant stream or river it is easy to comprehend. The universe is a powerful, constant stream of joyful and abundant energy that is flowing downstream. Imagine the powerful Colorado river. Those rapids are roaring downstream and there is nothing that is going to stop that. Well, this is how the Universe is set up. There is a constant stream of abundance and joy that is flowing to you and through you, all you have to do is get on the raft, let go of the oars, and let it take you downstream.
You can also think of it as a cork in water. You can try to push the cork down all you want, but the only way the cork will stay underwater is if you are constantly pushing on it. Once you let go of the cork it pops back up to the top of the water. So when I talk about the UNIVERSE ANSWERS I am telling you that the Universe is flowing abundance and joy your way, all day and every day. No matter what.
The way you push your cork underwater or try to paddle upstream is by thinking thoughts that don't feel good. An example of that would be ridiculing yourself after a bad outing and blaming yourself for the teams loss. If you can think of a time you did that to yourself all you have to do is remember how you felt. So how did it feel? Did it feel like you were connected to that stream and you were full of energy and joy? Or did it feel like you never wanted to play baseball again and you hated a lot of things about yourself at that time?
Step 3 is YOU MUST ALLOW IT. Ok, so now as you understand and start to come to believe that this Universe is a joy based Universe, your only work is to allow that stream to flow to you and through you. Allow that cork to float. How do you do this? Since you are naturally a vibration based human being and the Universe is naturally flowing this joy and abundance to you, the only thing that holds you from allowing this in is you and the thoughts you think. Remember the blog on emotions? The way you feel is an indication on what thoughts you are thinking and allowing. If you feel crummy, you know that the thoughts you are thinking are probably not that good for you and they are disconnecting you from that joyful and abundant stream you want to be riding down. But if you can train yourself to think thoughts that make you feel good, then that emotion is telling you that you are letting that stream flow to you and through you. You are letting your cork float.
Now there is a fine line to all of this information that you have to find the balance of on your own. I understand that after a tough outing you are not going to be in one of the best moods that you can be in. That is okay, there is nothing wrong with that. The point is that once you become aware that how you feel is the most important thing, because how you feel is telling you whether or not you are headed downstream with the power of the Universe or not, then you get that your work is how to figure out how to feel good more often than not. Then you get that the sooner you can bounce back from a bad outing or a tough life experience, the faster you can be headed where you want to be headed. The Universe only knows abundance and joy and whatever amazing feeling words you can come up with. The Universe is always set up to let that abundance and joy flow to you and through you. Focus/ practice on allowing that to happen by focusing/practicing good feeling thoughts on all the subjects in your life.
When it comes down to it, it really is all about perspective and how you choose to view the experiences you are having in your life. As your perspective improves, the way you feel improves. As the way you feel improves, your life improves. And so on and so forth, it is a never ending cycle of joy and abundance. Remember, the stream is already there, the cork already knows how to float, YOU already are a naturally happy and abundant human being. There are just experiences that happen in our lives that we allow to take us away from the flow of that stream. You just have to remember to get back on the raft, let go of the oars, and let the stream take you away.
More on perspective in the next LOA blog. Hope this blog is assisting in bringing this all together for you. You are almost there, keep reading and re-reading these blogs. I will have some references for you at the end of this series if you have enjoyed it enough to practice and continue this work.
Happy Pitching!!!!
Monday, April 2, 2012
A Fun Conversation
Hello Passion for Pitching Family,
The other day, April 1st, was the last day of Spring Training. On the last day the triple A pitching coach was not there because he had already left to start driving to Memphis, TN where the triple A affiliate plays during the season. That meant I was given the honor to finish up Spring Training as the triple A pitching coach, such a fun treat this was. The best part of it was that Lance Berkman was one of the hitters that day. Sometimes the big league guys want to get some extra at bats before the season, kind of fine tune things. So what they do is come to the back field where all the minor league teams play. They are allowed to hit wherever they want, whenever they want. So on this day, Berkman hit lead off for us in each of the first three innings.
It is so much fun when the big league guys come down to the minor league fields because you get to ask them questions and find out some really cool information. After each AB Berkman would come sit down on the bench where the coaches sit for each game. I got to ask him a few questions about hitters and what they are looking for in regards to pitchers maybe tipping pitches. I also got to ask him about what he thought were ways to get big leaguers out. Berkman was very upfront and forthright and personable, it was quite an experience!!
It just so happens that I wrote a blog right before this one about repeating pitches. It also just so happens that I have been writing a blog series about the Law of Attraction and how it plays an amazing part in all of our lives if you care to understand how it works. The great thing about this blog is that, not only did Berkman reinforce what I wrote in the "Repeating Pitches" blog (which I will share for you in a second) but it also gives a perfect example of the Law of Attraction in action. I wrote a blog about repeating pitches, then a couple days later one of the best big league hitters in today's game sits down next to me so I can talk to him about that very thing.
Ok, so I'll get to it because I know you are on the edge of your seats....LOL!!
It went like this, I overheard Berkman telling another player next to him that he looks for an exact strike zone for himself, sort of like an imaginary box. Not a strike zone that the umpire creates, but his own strike zone that he knows he can handle in a game depending upon the pitcher throwing that day. So I asked him what he looks at for tips that the ball is not going into that strike zone that he creates for himself. Basically, his answer was that he picks up all sorts of small things based on all the pitches he has seen in his career. The brain has put all these pitches into the bank and as a pitcher throws each pitch he is intuitively seeing little giveaways to let him know what is coming. So then I asked him what would a pitcher be able to do to take that away from a hitter. He simply stated that if a pitcher can repeat his delivery on every pitch, repeat the same plane out of the hand on every pitch, that it is very tough for a hitter to be successful.
Now counts and situations in a game add to this equation but you guys get the drift. If you are a pitcher your only work right now should be to make sure you are repeating the same delivery, same arm action, same arm slot, same aggressiveness, same plane out of the hand, same everything, on all of your pitches. Don't take my word for it....take Lance Berkman's....LOL!!
Ok, that's all for now....Happy Pitching everyone!!!
The other day, April 1st, was the last day of Spring Training. On the last day the triple A pitching coach was not there because he had already left to start driving to Memphis, TN where the triple A affiliate plays during the season. That meant I was given the honor to finish up Spring Training as the triple A pitching coach, such a fun treat this was. The best part of it was that Lance Berkman was one of the hitters that day. Sometimes the big league guys want to get some extra at bats before the season, kind of fine tune things. So what they do is come to the back field where all the minor league teams play. They are allowed to hit wherever they want, whenever they want. So on this day, Berkman hit lead off for us in each of the first three innings.
It is so much fun when the big league guys come down to the minor league fields because you get to ask them questions and find out some really cool information. After each AB Berkman would come sit down on the bench where the coaches sit for each game. I got to ask him a few questions about hitters and what they are looking for in regards to pitchers maybe tipping pitches. I also got to ask him about what he thought were ways to get big leaguers out. Berkman was very upfront and forthright and personable, it was quite an experience!!
It just so happens that I wrote a blog right before this one about repeating pitches. It also just so happens that I have been writing a blog series about the Law of Attraction and how it plays an amazing part in all of our lives if you care to understand how it works. The great thing about this blog is that, not only did Berkman reinforce what I wrote in the "Repeating Pitches" blog (which I will share for you in a second) but it also gives a perfect example of the Law of Attraction in action. I wrote a blog about repeating pitches, then a couple days later one of the best big league hitters in today's game sits down next to me so I can talk to him about that very thing.
Ok, so I'll get to it because I know you are on the edge of your seats....LOL!!
It went like this, I overheard Berkman telling another player next to him that he looks for an exact strike zone for himself, sort of like an imaginary box. Not a strike zone that the umpire creates, but his own strike zone that he knows he can handle in a game depending upon the pitcher throwing that day. So I asked him what he looks at for tips that the ball is not going into that strike zone that he creates for himself. Basically, his answer was that he picks up all sorts of small things based on all the pitches he has seen in his career. The brain has put all these pitches into the bank and as a pitcher throws each pitch he is intuitively seeing little giveaways to let him know what is coming. So then I asked him what would a pitcher be able to do to take that away from a hitter. He simply stated that if a pitcher can repeat his delivery on every pitch, repeat the same plane out of the hand on every pitch, that it is very tough for a hitter to be successful.
Now counts and situations in a game add to this equation but you guys get the drift. If you are a pitcher your only work right now should be to make sure you are repeating the same delivery, same arm action, same arm slot, same aggressiveness, same plane out of the hand, same everything, on all of your pitches. Don't take my word for it....take Lance Berkman's....LOL!!
Ok, that's all for now....Happy Pitching everyone!!!
Monday, March 26, 2012
Repeating Pitches
Hello Passion for Pitching Family,
I am going to break it up a bit and actually give you guys a pure pitching blog today...lol!! I thought it would be nice to give those who may not be so wrapped up in my Law of Attraction series a little nugget of baseball info. I will have the next blog in the series available very soon!!!
Today's blog is going to be about repeating your pitches. Their are many kids in this world that are capable of throwing a fastball and a curveball and a change-up, etc...but do you really know what you are doing when you are throwing all your pitches? Let me put this more specifically, do you know what you look like when you are throwing your pitches?
What I mean by when I say, do you know what you look like, is do you look the same when you are throwing all of your pitches. As a young pitcher it does you no good to go out and practice your craft, especially your pitches, if you are not working on the right things. I am not going to go into everything you must know about throwing your pitches but here is a quick tip.
When you go out to do your throwing program make sure each session consists of some time spent on repeating the same aggressive arm action with your off speed pitches as you would do with your fastball. After you have thrown your long toss for the day come back in to about 70-90ft. If you are younger then, let's say, 14 yrs old you may want to move in a bit closer then that. Once you are at the proper distance continue moving your feet and your body aggressively. DO NOT pitch just yet. Make sure and move your body sideways just like you do when you want to throw a ball four hundred feet. Now here is the trick...throw a fastball and remember the feeling of that pitch in your body. Remember what your arm slot felt like, remember what your aggressiveness felt like, remember how you finished the pitch. Now try a chg-up. Did it feel the same? If it did then great!!! Now throw another one. If it didn't feel the same, try another fastball. Keep going back and forth, one or two fastballs, then one or two chg-ups. Do this until you feel you have been able to repeat the same motion with both pitches. Then you can move on to another pitch, curveball or slider or whatever else you throw.
If you are not doing this drill every time you go out to throw you are wasting a lot of time. When you get on the mound you must have the confidence to throw all your pitches the same, with the same arm speed, the same body movement and of course the same emotional/mental state. As you get higher and higher in levels the hitters get better and better. Their eyes and their brains have seen more and more pitches. All these pitches are kept in their brain in a nice little library. When they get to a game and get into that batter's box their brain remembers what each pitch looks like. Your job as a pitcher is to hide these pitches, hide the identity of these pitches as long as possible. If you do anything different on any of these pitches to give it away, trust me, the hitter will spot it and jump all over it. So add this to your workout process if it is not already there and watch how much better your off speed stuff gets. You will be amazed as the K's start adding up!!!
All for now.....happy pitching!!!!
I am going to break it up a bit and actually give you guys a pure pitching blog today...lol!! I thought it would be nice to give those who may not be so wrapped up in my Law of Attraction series a little nugget of baseball info. I will have the next blog in the series available very soon!!!
Today's blog is going to be about repeating your pitches. Their are many kids in this world that are capable of throwing a fastball and a curveball and a change-up, etc...but do you really know what you are doing when you are throwing all your pitches? Let me put this more specifically, do you know what you look like when you are throwing your pitches?
What I mean by when I say, do you know what you look like, is do you look the same when you are throwing all of your pitches. As a young pitcher it does you no good to go out and practice your craft, especially your pitches, if you are not working on the right things. I am not going to go into everything you must know about throwing your pitches but here is a quick tip.
When you go out to do your throwing program make sure each session consists of some time spent on repeating the same aggressive arm action with your off speed pitches as you would do with your fastball. After you have thrown your long toss for the day come back in to about 70-90ft. If you are younger then, let's say, 14 yrs old you may want to move in a bit closer then that. Once you are at the proper distance continue moving your feet and your body aggressively. DO NOT pitch just yet. Make sure and move your body sideways just like you do when you want to throw a ball four hundred feet. Now here is the trick...throw a fastball and remember the feeling of that pitch in your body. Remember what your arm slot felt like, remember what your aggressiveness felt like, remember how you finished the pitch. Now try a chg-up. Did it feel the same? If it did then great!!! Now throw another one. If it didn't feel the same, try another fastball. Keep going back and forth, one or two fastballs, then one or two chg-ups. Do this until you feel you have been able to repeat the same motion with both pitches. Then you can move on to another pitch, curveball or slider or whatever else you throw.
If you are not doing this drill every time you go out to throw you are wasting a lot of time. When you get on the mound you must have the confidence to throw all your pitches the same, with the same arm speed, the same body movement and of course the same emotional/mental state. As you get higher and higher in levels the hitters get better and better. Their eyes and their brains have seen more and more pitches. All these pitches are kept in their brain in a nice little library. When they get to a game and get into that batter's box their brain remembers what each pitch looks like. Your job as a pitcher is to hide these pitches, hide the identity of these pitches as long as possible. If you do anything different on any of these pitches to give it away, trust me, the hitter will spot it and jump all over it. So add this to your workout process if it is not already there and watch how much better your off speed stuff gets. You will be amazed as the K's start adding up!!!
All for now.....happy pitching!!!!
Thursday, March 22, 2012
The Art of Allowing (L.O.A. series cont...#3)
Hello Passion for Pitching Family,
You are now on part three of the Law of Attraction series. I know that if you are reading this right now that you are enjoying reading this series of blogs just about as much as I am enjoying writing these. It feels very good to finally give you all the basis of how the Universe is working for us and how much fun we can truly have if we just practice a little bit of focus throughout our day. More on that to come...
So this blog is to introduce the Art of Allowing. As you get further and further along in this series you will see how these all mesh together and work hand in hand with each other. As you have learned in the two previous blogs, the Law of Attraction is bringing things into your life (like attracts like), the emotions you have are giving you indicators to what type of things you are bringing into your life and now the Art of Allowing is the key to unlock the door to let those things in to your life.
The Art of Allowing is very simple, it is about being happy with where you are right now. Another way to say it is, to make peace with where you are right now. There is nothing you HAVE to have or nothing you HAVE to do. Your sole focus in this world is to practice how to be in alignment, how to be happy, how to be joyful, with what you have in your life right now.
Allowing is easy when you think of it in this way...
Think of the universe as your personal assistant, a sexy personal assistant at that!! (sorry ladies, this is a baseball blog ya know...lol) Your assistant knows everything you want, knows who can bring it together, knows the players involved, knows where you need to be and when you need to be there. Everything is going to be set up perfectly for you before you arrive. The only problem in this scenario is that your personal assistant is now sending you a text to tell you where to be and when to be there but you don't have your phone on. Maybe you are busy worrying about the job your assistant is doing, who knows, but your phone is not on. Well, how are you going to allow these amazing things into your life if you don't have your phone turned on??? Get it?? YOU must be the one who turns on the phone to receive the calls, the texts, the signals that your personal assistant (the Universe) is sending you every day. That is the Art of Allowing.
Let me give you another example just in case you didn't like that one...
Allowing is like eating at a buffet. When you walk down the line and see all the different foods, you simply pick what you want and put it on your plate. But as you pick the foods you want and place them on your plate, you are also looking at foods that you do not want to put on your plate. The funny thing about that is you really probably never even notice or remember the stuff you chose NOT to put on your plate. It is much easier and way more fun to just focus on the foods you enjoy and then put those on your plate so you can go sit down and enjoy a wonderful meal. That is what allowing is all about. See the buffet, see what you like and what you don't like, continue to pick (focus on) what you do like, place it on your plate, proceed to the check out counter and go about eating your meal. It happens so nonchalantly that it is not even noticeable, that is the "art" of allowing.
So what is one of the best ways to be in this allowing mode? Appreciation is one of the best and most efficient ways to get into the allowing mode. Appreciation is a signal that is most felt and heard by the Universe. The great thing about appreciation is that you can appreciate a person, a place, a thing, it doesn't really matter as long as you appreciate. Since you are here in this moment and I have given you some drills to work on in the other blogs, why not do an appreciation list as a drill right now. Pick something that is very easy to love and appreciate. It could be your dog, your skateboard, your surf board, your car...whatever you can think of that is EASY to appreciate. (remember, these drills are very general for your benefit. They are starting places to work forward from. Keep them easy and lite for right now.) Now write a list of ten things you appreciate about the subject you chose. If you can go past ten just keep on rolling. When you are done with that, check in with your emotions, how do you feel? If you are in a good feeling place you are in the allowance mode and things are coming to you as you sit here and read this blog.
Now there is a little trick to this allowing thing that I want to let you all in on. This is going to be brief because I am about done with this for now. But the little trick I wanted to mention is about focusing on the process, not the results (manifestation). The toughest thing to do in this allowing game is to get your mind off of the things you want to allow in and put your focus on where you are now. Be present and feel good in your now. Feel good about your life now. No matter what the circumstances. I understand that may be difficult for some of you, but it is where you must take this. Finding peace in your now opens the door to tomorrow. Trust me, the Universe will fill in the details for you as you go.
That is all for now. Heading to the creative process next and I know you can't wait to read what's next!!!
Happy Pitching!!!
You are now on part three of the Law of Attraction series. I know that if you are reading this right now that you are enjoying reading this series of blogs just about as much as I am enjoying writing these. It feels very good to finally give you all the basis of how the Universe is working for us and how much fun we can truly have if we just practice a little bit of focus throughout our day. More on that to come...
So this blog is to introduce the Art of Allowing. As you get further and further along in this series you will see how these all mesh together and work hand in hand with each other. As you have learned in the two previous blogs, the Law of Attraction is bringing things into your life (like attracts like), the emotions you have are giving you indicators to what type of things you are bringing into your life and now the Art of Allowing is the key to unlock the door to let those things in to your life.
The Art of Allowing is very simple, it is about being happy with where you are right now. Another way to say it is, to make peace with where you are right now. There is nothing you HAVE to have or nothing you HAVE to do. Your sole focus in this world is to practice how to be in alignment, how to be happy, how to be joyful, with what you have in your life right now.
Allowing is easy when you think of it in this way...
Think of the universe as your personal assistant, a sexy personal assistant at that!! (sorry ladies, this is a baseball blog ya know...lol) Your assistant knows everything you want, knows who can bring it together, knows the players involved, knows where you need to be and when you need to be there. Everything is going to be set up perfectly for you before you arrive. The only problem in this scenario is that your personal assistant is now sending you a text to tell you where to be and when to be there but you don't have your phone on. Maybe you are busy worrying about the job your assistant is doing, who knows, but your phone is not on. Well, how are you going to allow these amazing things into your life if you don't have your phone turned on??? Get it?? YOU must be the one who turns on the phone to receive the calls, the texts, the signals that your personal assistant (the Universe) is sending you every day. That is the Art of Allowing.
Let me give you another example just in case you didn't like that one...
Allowing is like eating at a buffet. When you walk down the line and see all the different foods, you simply pick what you want and put it on your plate. But as you pick the foods you want and place them on your plate, you are also looking at foods that you do not want to put on your plate. The funny thing about that is you really probably never even notice or remember the stuff you chose NOT to put on your plate. It is much easier and way more fun to just focus on the foods you enjoy and then put those on your plate so you can go sit down and enjoy a wonderful meal. That is what allowing is all about. See the buffet, see what you like and what you don't like, continue to pick (focus on) what you do like, place it on your plate, proceed to the check out counter and go about eating your meal. It happens so nonchalantly that it is not even noticeable, that is the "art" of allowing.
So what is one of the best ways to be in this allowing mode? Appreciation is one of the best and most efficient ways to get into the allowing mode. Appreciation is a signal that is most felt and heard by the Universe. The great thing about appreciation is that you can appreciate a person, a place, a thing, it doesn't really matter as long as you appreciate. Since you are here in this moment and I have given you some drills to work on in the other blogs, why not do an appreciation list as a drill right now. Pick something that is very easy to love and appreciate. It could be your dog, your skateboard, your surf board, your car...whatever you can think of that is EASY to appreciate. (remember, these drills are very general for your benefit. They are starting places to work forward from. Keep them easy and lite for right now.) Now write a list of ten things you appreciate about the subject you chose. If you can go past ten just keep on rolling. When you are done with that, check in with your emotions, how do you feel? If you are in a good feeling place you are in the allowance mode and things are coming to you as you sit here and read this blog.
Now there is a little trick to this allowing thing that I want to let you all in on. This is going to be brief because I am about done with this for now. But the little trick I wanted to mention is about focusing on the process, not the results (manifestation). The toughest thing to do in this allowing game is to get your mind off of the things you want to allow in and put your focus on where you are now. Be present and feel good in your now. Feel good about your life now. No matter what the circumstances. I understand that may be difficult for some of you, but it is where you must take this. Finding peace in your now opens the door to tomorrow. Trust me, the Universe will fill in the details for you as you go.
That is all for now. Heading to the creative process next and I know you can't wait to read what's next!!!
Happy Pitching!!!
Monday, March 19, 2012
Emotions and the Law of Attraction (L.O.A. series cont...#2)
Hello Passion for Pitching Family,
You are currently reading the 2nd blog of the Law of Attraction series I have been writing for all of you. If you are new to the blog you can go back and start on number one so you can get the fullness of the message. You will see (L.O.A. series #1) in the title so you know where to start. Enjoy!
In the first blog I introduced and defined the Law of Attraction for you. You now know that like attracts like and that we have the power to create our own realities. The next step in this process is to go a little deeper and delve into the world of emotions so you can further gain hold of this Universal Law.
Your emotions are similar to a GPS system, they navigate you from point A to point B in your life. It works like this, every time you think a thought it evokes an emotion from you. That emotion is an indicator to you of whether or not you are headed down the road you want to be heading down or whether it is time to make a turn and head down a different road. It really is that simple. Where it gets difficult is when you choose not to listen to the voice on the GPS. It gets difficult when you ignore the GPS so much you can't even realize it is on and working for you. Let me give you a baseball example of this. Can you think back to a time you were in a game and on the mound pitching when you felt pretty clear and focused in the game? Do you remember how you had little impulses or even BIG impulses where you knew what pitch you wanted to throw next? Then you followed those impulses and the game went in your favor throughout? Or how about when you had those impulses and didn't go with them and every time you went against those impulses you gave up a hit? Remember telling yourself you would never do that again? This is one way of how your emotions can assist in your sport and in life.
The first step in this process of understanding emotions and how they are our best friend is playing a quick game to make sure you are aware of your emotions. It goes like this...think of something good, something fun that makes you smile. DO IT!!! Close your eyes and think of your favorite dog when you were growing up or your favorite song or your first kiss or when you hit the game winning homerun. Can you feel the emotion inside you right now? How does it feel? It should feel like a million bucks, like you just lifted your soul and some weight fell off your shoulders. Ok, now let's do the opposite. Think of something bad, something that you know you do not like. For example, the day your dog died or your teacher scolded you in front of your friends or your parents grounded you. Can you feel the emotion inside you right now? How does it feel? It should feel like sadness or guilt or pain or anger.
Could you feel the difference in emotions when you were thinking good thoughts as opposed to bad thoughts? That is exactly what you want to be able to feel. Now you are starting the process of being aware of your emotions. Now you can call your EMOTIONS your guidance system and not the GPS system in your car...LOL!
So let's have a quick recap. The Law of Attraction is bringing things to you. "Stuff" is brought to you by the vibration you are tuned to. Emotions let you know whether you are tuned to things you would like in your life or things you may not want so much. How you feel (the emotion you feel) is that indicator.
Now you have the knowledge of the Law of Attraction and the knowledge of how emotions assist you with the Law of Attraction. The next step is to continue messing around with the drills I have given you in both of the blogs. So keep thinking of fun stuff you want to see and keep being aware of how you are feeling from time to time throughout your day. This is a great start and now you can continue on to the next blog and add another piece to the puzzle.
All for now....Happy Pitching!!!
You are currently reading the 2nd blog of the Law of Attraction series I have been writing for all of you. If you are new to the blog you can go back and start on number one so you can get the fullness of the message. You will see (L.O.A. series #1) in the title so you know where to start. Enjoy!
In the first blog I introduced and defined the Law of Attraction for you. You now know that like attracts like and that we have the power to create our own realities. The next step in this process is to go a little deeper and delve into the world of emotions so you can further gain hold of this Universal Law.
Emotions and Law of Attraction work together in the sense that Law of Attraction responds to your thoughts, but the emotions or feelings you have on a moment-to-moment basis are indicating to you what you’re in the process of creating or attracting.
You have emotional responses every day, practically in every moment, even if you’re not paying attention. You feel happy, sad, mad, annoyed, frustrated, angry, excited, eager….but do you know what your emotions mean? Do you know what they’re telling you?
Your emotions are similar to a GPS system, they navigate you from point A to point B in your life. It works like this, every time you think a thought it evokes an emotion from you. That emotion is an indicator to you of whether or not you are headed down the road you want to be heading down or whether it is time to make a turn and head down a different road. It really is that simple. Where it gets difficult is when you choose not to listen to the voice on the GPS. It gets difficult when you ignore the GPS so much you can't even realize it is on and working for you. Let me give you a baseball example of this. Can you think back to a time you were in a game and on the mound pitching when you felt pretty clear and focused in the game? Do you remember how you had little impulses or even BIG impulses where you knew what pitch you wanted to throw next? Then you followed those impulses and the game went in your favor throughout? Or how about when you had those impulses and didn't go with them and every time you went against those impulses you gave up a hit? Remember telling yourself you would never do that again? This is one way of how your emotions can assist in your sport and in life.
The first step in this process of understanding emotions and how they are our best friend is playing a quick game to make sure you are aware of your emotions. It goes like this...think of something good, something fun that makes you smile. DO IT!!! Close your eyes and think of your favorite dog when you were growing up or your favorite song or your first kiss or when you hit the game winning homerun. Can you feel the emotion inside you right now? How does it feel? It should feel like a million bucks, like you just lifted your soul and some weight fell off your shoulders. Ok, now let's do the opposite. Think of something bad, something that you know you do not like. For example, the day your dog died or your teacher scolded you in front of your friends or your parents grounded you. Can you feel the emotion inside you right now? How does it feel? It should feel like sadness or guilt or pain or anger.
Could you feel the difference in emotions when you were thinking good thoughts as opposed to bad thoughts? That is exactly what you want to be able to feel. Now you are starting the process of being aware of your emotions. Now you can call your EMOTIONS your guidance system and not the GPS system in your car...LOL!
So let's have a quick recap. The Law of Attraction is bringing things to you. "Stuff" is brought to you by the vibration you are tuned to. Emotions let you know whether you are tuned to things you would like in your life or things you may not want so much. How you feel (the emotion you feel) is that indicator.
Now you have the knowledge of the Law of Attraction and the knowledge of how emotions assist you with the Law of Attraction. The next step is to continue messing around with the drills I have given you in both of the blogs. So keep thinking of fun stuff you want to see and keep being aware of how you are feeling from time to time throughout your day. This is a great start and now you can continue on to the next blog and add another piece to the puzzle.
All for now....Happy Pitching!!!
Friday, March 16, 2012
The Law of Attraction (L.O.A. series #1)
Hello Passion for Pitching Family,
I start this Law of Attraction series with one of the most important Universal Laws you could ever know about. This is not something make believe and this is not something made up in a movie. This is an actual Universal Law and it is the law that brings all things together in your lives.
The law I am speaking of is the Law of Attraction and it can be defined in several ways...
LIKE UNTO ITSELF IS DRAWN
LIKE ATTRACTS LIKE
WHAT YOU PUT OUT YOU GET BACK
ENERGY = VIBRATION = POINT OF ATTRACTION
It is really rather simple as long as we don't try to complicate it too much. The Universe and everything in it is made up of energy. All energy has a vibrational frequency. Similar vibrational frequencies attract each other and eventually end up coming together.
Have you ever heard of Einstein? Have you ever heard of E=mc2? Of course you have. This equation is the main equation that explains how the energy in the Universe works and how we are all connected. Now I am not expecting you all to go out and start reading books about Quantum Physics but that is really what we are talking about here.
So why is the Law of Attraction important to you? Since the Law of Attraction is a Universal Law stating that like attracts like and since we are human beings made up of energy just like everything else in this world, that means we actually have a say in what we bring or attract into our lives. This is HUGE for us as human beings. This means that we are able, through our vibrational frequency, to attract things to us that we like and love. Things that we want in our life. Things such as an amazing baseball career, a great school to play baseball at, interacting with special trainers that can transform our bodies, and amazing coaches to assist us in our careers. Anything that you can think that you would ever want in your life you can attract and have because of the Law of Attraction!!
So what should you do now? I am going to continue answering that question in the series that I am writing. We will go into things such as emotions, allowing, and creating that will bring this Law of Attraction thing full circle. But first I just wanted to define for you what the Law of Attraction actually is.
There is one thing however, that I would like you all to try this week. I want you to start to be aware of the Universal Law, Law of Attraction. I want you to start noticing things that are coming in and out of your experience this week. I want you to notice how you feel while these things or experiences are happening. Try this...tonight before you go to bed I want you to think about something you want to see or experience this week. Something very simple and easy. It could be hearing a song you love to hear while you are driving to school or to work. It could be seeing a type of dog that you love and it brings a smile to your face every time you see it. It could be seeing a bunch of good looking ladies. It could be seeing an amazing sunset. Anything that is easy to think about and you know it would bring you joy if you saw or heard it.
Now, don't try to get ahead of yourself here and request a million dollars. I do understand that that would bring a smile to most everyone's face, but for the sake of this drill let's make sure we keep it nice and simple...LOL!!
I will leave you with a quick example...
When I was at home in the off season in San Diego I lived in a home where the owners had a sweet old dog. The dog would come up to my door almost every morning when they would let her out. I remember one day thinking, "man, it would be so cool if I had a tennis ball right now so I could play with her a bit each morning." That thought left me as quick as it came. It was just something fun, easy and pure, where I could completely see it taking place and had no resistance towards it. Later that week (think it had been three days) I woke up and went to go check the surf. The first spot I checked was in Del Mar on a community street where there are never any cars during the work week. I always park in the same spot because it is a block from the water. Well, that day was no different, I went right to my favorite spot. It just so happened that when I pulled up to my spot that there was a tennis ball sitting right there in the street in front of my car. I remember thinking to myself, "man this Law of Attraction thing is sooooooo cool. Thanks Universe!!" And then continued upon my day.
Just a little Law of Attraction story that may inspire you to do the drill I want you to try this week.
Ok, so that is all for now. Remember, there are plenty more blogs to come, each building on the one before, each making this message more and more clear.
Thank you and enjoy!! Happy Pitching!!
PS....quick note....if you are reading this blog right now and asking yourself why I am not writing about pitching but this crazy stuff...well...you are missing the point...keep an open mind and just read...I will be back to the pitching stuff very soon...although this is the pitching stuff if you allow yourself to see it that way!!! Smile!!!
I start this Law of Attraction series with one of the most important Universal Laws you could ever know about. This is not something make believe and this is not something made up in a movie. This is an actual Universal Law and it is the law that brings all things together in your lives.
The law I am speaking of is the Law of Attraction and it can be defined in several ways...
LIKE UNTO ITSELF IS DRAWN
LIKE ATTRACTS LIKE
WHAT YOU PUT OUT YOU GET BACK
ENERGY = VIBRATION = POINT OF ATTRACTION
It is really rather simple as long as we don't try to complicate it too much. The Universe and everything in it is made up of energy. All energy has a vibrational frequency. Similar vibrational frequencies attract each other and eventually end up coming together.
Have you ever heard of Einstein? Have you ever heard of E=mc2? Of course you have. This equation is the main equation that explains how the energy in the Universe works and how we are all connected. Now I am not expecting you all to go out and start reading books about Quantum Physics but that is really what we are talking about here.
So why is the Law of Attraction important to you? Since the Law of Attraction is a Universal Law stating that like attracts like and since we are human beings made up of energy just like everything else in this world, that means we actually have a say in what we bring or attract into our lives. This is HUGE for us as human beings. This means that we are able, through our vibrational frequency, to attract things to us that we like and love. Things that we want in our life. Things such as an amazing baseball career, a great school to play baseball at, interacting with special trainers that can transform our bodies, and amazing coaches to assist us in our careers. Anything that you can think that you would ever want in your life you can attract and have because of the Law of Attraction!!
So what should you do now? I am going to continue answering that question in the series that I am writing. We will go into things such as emotions, allowing, and creating that will bring this Law of Attraction thing full circle. But first I just wanted to define for you what the Law of Attraction actually is.
There is one thing however, that I would like you all to try this week. I want you to start to be aware of the Universal Law, Law of Attraction. I want you to start noticing things that are coming in and out of your experience this week. I want you to notice how you feel while these things or experiences are happening. Try this...tonight before you go to bed I want you to think about something you want to see or experience this week. Something very simple and easy. It could be hearing a song you love to hear while you are driving to school or to work. It could be seeing a type of dog that you love and it brings a smile to your face every time you see it. It could be seeing a bunch of good looking ladies. It could be seeing an amazing sunset. Anything that is easy to think about and you know it would bring you joy if you saw or heard it.
Now, don't try to get ahead of yourself here and request a million dollars. I do understand that that would bring a smile to most everyone's face, but for the sake of this drill let's make sure we keep it nice and simple...LOL!!
I will leave you with a quick example...
When I was at home in the off season in San Diego I lived in a home where the owners had a sweet old dog. The dog would come up to my door almost every morning when they would let her out. I remember one day thinking, "man, it would be so cool if I had a tennis ball right now so I could play with her a bit each morning." That thought left me as quick as it came. It was just something fun, easy and pure, where I could completely see it taking place and had no resistance towards it. Later that week (think it had been three days) I woke up and went to go check the surf. The first spot I checked was in Del Mar on a community street where there are never any cars during the work week. I always park in the same spot because it is a block from the water. Well, that day was no different, I went right to my favorite spot. It just so happened that when I pulled up to my spot that there was a tennis ball sitting right there in the street in front of my car. I remember thinking to myself, "man this Law of Attraction thing is sooooooo cool. Thanks Universe!!" And then continued upon my day.
Just a little Law of Attraction story that may inspire you to do the drill I want you to try this week.
Ok, so that is all for now. Remember, there are plenty more blogs to come, each building on the one before, each making this message more and more clear.
Thank you and enjoy!! Happy Pitching!!
PS....quick note....if you are reading this blog right now and asking yourself why I am not writing about pitching but this crazy stuff...well...you are missing the point...keep an open mind and just read...I will be back to the pitching stuff very soon...although this is the pitching stuff if you allow yourself to see it that way!!! Smile!!!
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
The Law of Attraction Series...Introduction
Hello Passion for Pitching Family,
In the following Law of Attraction series I am going to be writing several blogs explaining the foundation of how we as humans create our own reality. This series of blogs was inspired by many years of reading, listening, living, experiencing and practicing the Universal process of the Law of Attraction. About 15 years ago I "stumbled" upon this amazing information because I wanted to throw a faster fastball. I went from pitching coach to pitching coach and trainer to trainer working to increase velocity on my fastball. Finally, I discovered the only real coach I ever needed was the awareness of how this Universe works and a belief and trust in myself.
My playing career did not last as long as I had hoped but everything that I had went through brought me to this day and has taught me many great things for me to be an amazing pitching coach. Fast forward 15 years to the current day and now I am a pitching coach in the St Louis Cardinals organization, have won three championships in my first four years, and run a successful pitching business in the off season. All of which could not have been possible unless I started to practice the information I have learned over the years on a daily basis. There have been many experiences in my baseball career where I could have given up and moved on, but through my understanding of the creative process I now am able to understand life from a whole new perspective. Now I am not saying by knowing this information I am now perfect and only great and amazing things happen to me everyday. But I can say that I am able to look at all things as being great and amazing no matter what the type of experience. This is what has made all the difference.
So in the following series I will be introducing (or perhaps reiterating for some of you) the Law of Attraction, the Emotional Guidance System, the Art of Allowing, the Creative Process, Perspective, Contrast, Desire, Belief and much, much more. My goal in writing this series is to create a baseline of information for all future blogs, a new and life/career altering way to look at what you do each day, and to hopefully bring more clarity to your day to day life.
It is my promise to you that after reading through this series and then continuing to read my blogs whether you are an athlete, parent or coach your life will never be the same. Your life will be enriched and enlightened in a way that will be with you forever more and will allow you to see how life truly does get better and better.
Happy Pitching...enjoy the journey and read on!!!!
In the following Law of Attraction series I am going to be writing several blogs explaining the foundation of how we as humans create our own reality. This series of blogs was inspired by many years of reading, listening, living, experiencing and practicing the Universal process of the Law of Attraction. About 15 years ago I "stumbled" upon this amazing information because I wanted to throw a faster fastball. I went from pitching coach to pitching coach and trainer to trainer working to increase velocity on my fastball. Finally, I discovered the only real coach I ever needed was the awareness of how this Universe works and a belief and trust in myself.
My playing career did not last as long as I had hoped but everything that I had went through brought me to this day and has taught me many great things for me to be an amazing pitching coach. Fast forward 15 years to the current day and now I am a pitching coach in the St Louis Cardinals organization, have won three championships in my first four years, and run a successful pitching business in the off season. All of which could not have been possible unless I started to practice the information I have learned over the years on a daily basis. There have been many experiences in my baseball career where I could have given up and moved on, but through my understanding of the creative process I now am able to understand life from a whole new perspective. Now I am not saying by knowing this information I am now perfect and only great and amazing things happen to me everyday. But I can say that I am able to look at all things as being great and amazing no matter what the type of experience. This is what has made all the difference.
So in the following series I will be introducing (or perhaps reiterating for some of you) the Law of Attraction, the Emotional Guidance System, the Art of Allowing, the Creative Process, Perspective, Contrast, Desire, Belief and much, much more. My goal in writing this series is to create a baseline of information for all future blogs, a new and life/career altering way to look at what you do each day, and to hopefully bring more clarity to your day to day life.
It is my promise to you that after reading through this series and then continuing to read my blogs whether you are an athlete, parent or coach your life will never be the same. Your life will be enriched and enlightened in a way that will be with you forever more and will allow you to see how life truly does get better and better.
Happy Pitching...enjoy the journey and read on!!!!
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Injuries
Why do we go through injuries? Why do pitchers go down from all over the world each season? Why do we have 12 year old kids getting Tommy John Surgery? Why is a 17 year old senior in high school dealing with surgery in a time of his life he is supposed to be flourishing? Why are some of the young pitchers I work with in the professional levels getting hurt when we monitor them so closely? Is there anything we can do? Is there anything I can do? Nobody gets bothered more by all of these questions then yours truly but I have to take a step back each time a hear such a story. I have to take a step back because I am not creating for another persons life. My first reaction is to ask myself what I did wrong or what did those coaches of that young player do wrong. But the fact of the matter is nobody did anything "wrong" Nobody is ever going to directly seek out to hurt or injure a young pitcher but it still happens.
There is nobody in this world who truly knows the exact cause of another pitchers injury. Not even the best pitching coach in the world or the best biomechanist in the world. Film does not read vibration. Film does not read energy. Film does not read an emotional state of any of these pitchers we see in this world. A great mentor of mine often states that if you want to truly know why a person contracts a disease or cures a disease into and then out of their life, you must look at their emotional state. This is not something of the norm. This is not something you hear about everyday unless you are seeking this information. But I am here to tell you that this is what is at the root of everything going on in this world. Vibration!! The way you feel on the inside, the way you vibrate, the frequency you are emanating is what is of importance in your every day life. I blogged about this in the post "Developing Young Pitchers" we must start from the inside. Each individual in their own special way. They must want to realize how they feel, they must want to be aware of how they feel. If you don't start with the feeling place of something then you are lost. If you are running around like a chicken with your head cut off you are going to have a lot of craziness in your life. But if you can take a step back, take a deep breathe and ask yourself a simple question, "How Do I Feel?" then you will begin to figure this whole thing called life out.
The reason I am writing this blog to you all is for several reasons but I will touch on two directly. First, it is true, some of the pitchers I worked with this year are dealing with injury issues right now. In ways I feel responsible and wish I could turn back the clock and see where this all started. But I also know that I have only been with these pitchers for 6 months and some even a smaller amount of time. There really is no way that I was responsible for the injuries but that doesn't take away the human emotions I have involved with the players I work with. I love them and want them to flourish and not deal with this type of contrast. But this takes me into the second reason for this blog. People need to start understanding how this world works and I need to be the one who takes ownership in my own life and I need to rep my life the way I want to live it. This is a Vibrational world and until we want to take ownership and acceptance of that then we will continue to run around like chickens with our heads cut off and blame everyone else for our current conditions in our life. But that sucks and I no longer want to be caught up in that game.
With all that being said, this does not mean I can just waive my magic wand and all of the beliefs about my life and how I got here are going to just fade away so I can create new ones that feel better and assist me in life. But that sure is the process I am taking and will continue until the day I transition. So now the tricky part is how do I share this information with the players I work with without being too harsh or without them thinking they are bad people because they are creating their life and created an injury they truly do not want. That is one long, mixed up and confusing story to unwind. But if we start to realize all that goes into something like this. Things like Contrast, Belief, Desire, Expectation, Perspective. When we get down to the nitty gritty and we start to understand the words I just listed the picture actual becomes very clear and then the injury is actually not what it seems. It is not a "bad" thing, it starts to feel differently. It starts to mold itself into something amazing. It starts to assist you in clarity and focus and desire and all these amazing things that pull life energy through your body.
So where do we go from here??? Well, I don't know for all of you because I can't answer that and I may have offended a lot of you out there today. (don't think I did but you never know these days...lol) But for me, it starts with me no longer hiding who I am and how I perceive my life. So from here on out I will start to decipher the information I have come across in my world. I will start to clarify and explain things I have learned that have brought me along in this world to a very good feeling place for right now. (I say for right now because it is just for right now, it only gets better from here!!) But what I am going to do is work from inspiration. And when I feel it, I will get on this computer and start to introduce the information I know as the science of deliberate creation. The Universal Laws. The art of allowing. The very information that has brought us all together in this amazing place we call physical life.
All for now....bet you are all very scared where this is all leading to...LOL...calm down, not as weird as it seems...more to come from inspiration soon!!!
There is nobody in this world who truly knows the exact cause of another pitchers injury. Not even the best pitching coach in the world or the best biomechanist in the world. Film does not read vibration. Film does not read energy. Film does not read an emotional state of any of these pitchers we see in this world. A great mentor of mine often states that if you want to truly know why a person contracts a disease or cures a disease into and then out of their life, you must look at their emotional state. This is not something of the norm. This is not something you hear about everyday unless you are seeking this information. But I am here to tell you that this is what is at the root of everything going on in this world. Vibration!! The way you feel on the inside, the way you vibrate, the frequency you are emanating is what is of importance in your every day life. I blogged about this in the post "Developing Young Pitchers" we must start from the inside. Each individual in their own special way. They must want to realize how they feel, they must want to be aware of how they feel. If you don't start with the feeling place of something then you are lost. If you are running around like a chicken with your head cut off you are going to have a lot of craziness in your life. But if you can take a step back, take a deep breathe and ask yourself a simple question, "How Do I Feel?" then you will begin to figure this whole thing called life out.
The reason I am writing this blog to you all is for several reasons but I will touch on two directly. First, it is true, some of the pitchers I worked with this year are dealing with injury issues right now. In ways I feel responsible and wish I could turn back the clock and see where this all started. But I also know that I have only been with these pitchers for 6 months and some even a smaller amount of time. There really is no way that I was responsible for the injuries but that doesn't take away the human emotions I have involved with the players I work with. I love them and want them to flourish and not deal with this type of contrast. But this takes me into the second reason for this blog. People need to start understanding how this world works and I need to be the one who takes ownership in my own life and I need to rep my life the way I want to live it. This is a Vibrational world and until we want to take ownership and acceptance of that then we will continue to run around like chickens with our heads cut off and blame everyone else for our current conditions in our life. But that sucks and I no longer want to be caught up in that game.
With all that being said, this does not mean I can just waive my magic wand and all of the beliefs about my life and how I got here are going to just fade away so I can create new ones that feel better and assist me in life. But that sure is the process I am taking and will continue until the day I transition. So now the tricky part is how do I share this information with the players I work with without being too harsh or without them thinking they are bad people because they are creating their life and created an injury they truly do not want. That is one long, mixed up and confusing story to unwind. But if we start to realize all that goes into something like this. Things like Contrast, Belief, Desire, Expectation, Perspective. When we get down to the nitty gritty and we start to understand the words I just listed the picture actual becomes very clear and then the injury is actually not what it seems. It is not a "bad" thing, it starts to feel differently. It starts to mold itself into something amazing. It starts to assist you in clarity and focus and desire and all these amazing things that pull life energy through your body.
So where do we go from here??? Well, I don't know for all of you because I can't answer that and I may have offended a lot of you out there today. (don't think I did but you never know these days...lol) But for me, it starts with me no longer hiding who I am and how I perceive my life. So from here on out I will start to decipher the information I have come across in my world. I will start to clarify and explain things I have learned that have brought me along in this world to a very good feeling place for right now. (I say for right now because it is just for right now, it only gets better from here!!) But what I am going to do is work from inspiration. And when I feel it, I will get on this computer and start to introduce the information I know as the science of deliberate creation. The Universal Laws. The art of allowing. The very information that has brought us all together in this amazing place we call physical life.
All for now....bet you are all very scared where this is all leading to...LOL...calm down, not as weird as it seems...more to come from inspiration soon!!!
Friday, February 3, 2012
Championships
Just this afternoon I was sitting in the middle of my daily meditation and an inspiring thought jumped into my head. I have been wanting to create more ideas to write more blogs and be inspired to do so. I don't want to just write because I feel like I have to. I want to write because it feels good and the words jump into my head and into my fingertips and then on to this little box you're reading right now. Feels much better to do things that way then to struggle to sit down and make yourself do it.
Anyways, that is not the point of this blog so let me get back on track. When I was sitting in my meditation I got the inspiration to write about championships. What a cool word that is, CHAMPIONSHIP. Feels so strong and powerful when you say it. Like you are the best and you know it. Like nobody else could ever take that away from you. Like a whole bunch of things lined up along the way for you to create this accomplishment. Like you are on top of the world and plan on being there a while. You get my drift, right!!
Well, the thought that popped into my head while I was meditating was, "you know how you win championships? You don't talk about championships" There are many things that go into a team winning a championship and for the level I am at in Advanced Rookie Ball that is the last thing on our mind. Now, I am not going to lie to you and say it doesn't pop in there from time to time because it is a great thing to daydream about, but what I mean is that the true focus is the process, not the championship (end result). This can be a bit contradicting because in professional sports at the highest level the media are all over the players. They ask questions all the time about winning and if they feel they are ready to win a championship or become back-to-back champs. And for those "big boys" that may be so. They are at a level where championships are expected and wanted by the fans, the media, the ownership and of course the players. They don't have control of what goes on outside of their facilities. But if you are at the level where I am and just starting along your journey to the big leagues, then championships are really the least of your worries.
Ok, so now you ask me....So how do you win championships then? And I say, by getting lost in the process and building momentum. There is a really cool story I am about to tell later in this blog so just hang with me for a bit. Let me start with the process and building momentum first.
During this last season we had just come off of winning a championship in the Appalachian League. Something that had not been accomplished by the Cardinals affiliate at that level since the 70's I believe. So when the season started there were thoughts of "what if we could do it again" but that was always talks the coaching staff had together, not from the coaching staff to the players. The players need to learn that in the this tough mental game of baseball there is a way to survive the Contrast that shows up on a nightly basis. The way to survive that 0 for 4 night or that 5 run first inning is to understand that it is a long season, a long process and you are fine tuning along the way. ALWAYS fine tuning along the way. So when you get into slumps or have a few tough outings in a row, you always can go back to the process and putting your focus where it needs to be. This last year it just so happened that we had the same coaching staff as the year before and therefore were able to keep the same approach to the players as the year before. The intricacies inside the process may change because of the personalities and such, but not the blanket process. The process stays consistent and encompasses the entire season.
So not only were we able to win a championship the season prior, but now we had the same staff and were able to create an ever building momentum on what we felt were ways to become successful. As you are in the middle of creating a championship season there is an underlying feeling that starts to poke around and you can't help but notice. It is like a quiet confidence where everyone knows what is going on and nothing needs to be said. We need to stay on track and stay focused and not get caught up in anything else. But this is the best part of this story. When it got down to the last few days of the playoffs I KNEW we were winning the championship. I didn't know how or in how many games, but I knew it. The day of the clinching game it was rainy all day and we didn't even know if we were going to play. I brought the pitchers together in the outfield prior to us doing our work because I just wanted to make sure everyone stay settled and kept a solid focus on what we were about to do. It can be a bit nerve racking for pitchers, having all that time at hand and nothing to fill it with. But what I said to the players was simple. I told them we had already won the championship (yup, I swear I said it) Now, to most people that sounds crazy. They would say that I did the one thing you should never do before an important game. Kind of like telling a pitcher in the 8th inning that he is throwing a no hitter and good luck in the 9th...LOL!! That is the cardinal rule of baseball and you are not supposed to jinx anyone. But for me, there was no jinxing in this process. To me it felt like a done deal, it felt like we were the champs and it was just a matter of time. And I truly felt like the players felt the same way. What I continued to tell them is that it is now time to just show up and play. If your number is called on at any part of the game there is no reason for panic or worry or concern. Just play out your part and the rest will take care of itself.
Needless to say we won the game 4 to 1 to become back-to-back champs in the Appalachian League. Not sure how long it had been since that happened but it was a long time.....trust me....LOL!!
Thanks for reading....see you all soon....and happy pitching!!!
Anyways, that is not the point of this blog so let me get back on track. When I was sitting in my meditation I got the inspiration to write about championships. What a cool word that is, CHAMPIONSHIP. Feels so strong and powerful when you say it. Like you are the best and you know it. Like nobody else could ever take that away from you. Like a whole bunch of things lined up along the way for you to create this accomplishment. Like you are on top of the world and plan on being there a while. You get my drift, right!!
Well, the thought that popped into my head while I was meditating was, "you know how you win championships? You don't talk about championships" There are many things that go into a team winning a championship and for the level I am at in Advanced Rookie Ball that is the last thing on our mind. Now, I am not going to lie to you and say it doesn't pop in there from time to time because it is a great thing to daydream about, but what I mean is that the true focus is the process, not the championship (end result). This can be a bit contradicting because in professional sports at the highest level the media are all over the players. They ask questions all the time about winning and if they feel they are ready to win a championship or become back-to-back champs. And for those "big boys" that may be so. They are at a level where championships are expected and wanted by the fans, the media, the ownership and of course the players. They don't have control of what goes on outside of their facilities. But if you are at the level where I am and just starting along your journey to the big leagues, then championships are really the least of your worries.
Ok, so now you ask me....So how do you win championships then? And I say, by getting lost in the process and building momentum. There is a really cool story I am about to tell later in this blog so just hang with me for a bit. Let me start with the process and building momentum first.
During this last season we had just come off of winning a championship in the Appalachian League. Something that had not been accomplished by the Cardinals affiliate at that level since the 70's I believe. So when the season started there were thoughts of "what if we could do it again" but that was always talks the coaching staff had together, not from the coaching staff to the players. The players need to learn that in the this tough mental game of baseball there is a way to survive the Contrast that shows up on a nightly basis. The way to survive that 0 for 4 night or that 5 run first inning is to understand that it is a long season, a long process and you are fine tuning along the way. ALWAYS fine tuning along the way. So when you get into slumps or have a few tough outings in a row, you always can go back to the process and putting your focus where it needs to be. This last year it just so happened that we had the same coaching staff as the year before and therefore were able to keep the same approach to the players as the year before. The intricacies inside the process may change because of the personalities and such, but not the blanket process. The process stays consistent and encompasses the entire season.
So not only were we able to win a championship the season prior, but now we had the same staff and were able to create an ever building momentum on what we felt were ways to become successful. As you are in the middle of creating a championship season there is an underlying feeling that starts to poke around and you can't help but notice. It is like a quiet confidence where everyone knows what is going on and nothing needs to be said. We need to stay on track and stay focused and not get caught up in anything else. But this is the best part of this story. When it got down to the last few days of the playoffs I KNEW we were winning the championship. I didn't know how or in how many games, but I knew it. The day of the clinching game it was rainy all day and we didn't even know if we were going to play. I brought the pitchers together in the outfield prior to us doing our work because I just wanted to make sure everyone stay settled and kept a solid focus on what we were about to do. It can be a bit nerve racking for pitchers, having all that time at hand and nothing to fill it with. But what I said to the players was simple. I told them we had already won the championship (yup, I swear I said it) Now, to most people that sounds crazy. They would say that I did the one thing you should never do before an important game. Kind of like telling a pitcher in the 8th inning that he is throwing a no hitter and good luck in the 9th...LOL!! That is the cardinal rule of baseball and you are not supposed to jinx anyone. But for me, there was no jinxing in this process. To me it felt like a done deal, it felt like we were the champs and it was just a matter of time. And I truly felt like the players felt the same way. What I continued to tell them is that it is now time to just show up and play. If your number is called on at any part of the game there is no reason for panic or worry or concern. Just play out your part and the rest will take care of itself.
Needless to say we won the game 4 to 1 to become back-to-back champs in the Appalachian League. Not sure how long it had been since that happened but it was a long time.....trust me....LOL!!
Thanks for reading....see you all soon....and happy pitching!!!
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