At the end of January, the weekend of Jan 21st and 22nd to be specific, I will be speaking at the National Baseball Expo in San Diego. The topic I will be addressing is Developing Young Pitchers. For about a month or so now I have been stewing on how I want to present the information at the expo. Sometimes when you are talking to an audience it can be a little goofy trying to get the info out the way you want to, with the message you are trying to send. I always look for a nice opening to get the attention of the crowd and set the tone for the talk.
So today when I got out of the water from a fun and peaceful surf in Encinitas, it hit me. I know exactly how I should start the talk and the angle I will take to share the information I have learned and loved since I started playing baseball when I was 6 years old. Guess what that angle is.....wait for it....I HAVE NO ANSWERS!!! LOL...how does that one feel audience?? It is the truth though and here is why. (I am fast forwarding some of the background info so give me some leeway on this one)
Let's all pretend that there really are no wrong or rights in this game of baseball and how to teach pitching to young athletes. And since there are no wrong or rights the individual needs to decide what is best for them. What is wrong or right for them. But since there are no wrong or rights we will call it, what FEELS best for them. Now here is where I come into play. Since I have no answers what good am I??? Well, the experiences I have been having over the past several years as a coach has assisted me to come up with guidance and suggestions on what pitchers should do to train themselves and reach the goals they are striving for. I am not giving them right or wrong answers, I am having experiences along the way that FEEL good and as I continue to have those experiences I choose to bottle them up and pass them on to the clients that choose to work with me. But the funny thing about all this is that it doesn't mean that since it worked for some of the kids I work with, that it will work for all of the kids I work with. So now my job is to identify what works for which athlete and curtail a program that works for them.
Now the athletes part is really simple. They must first take ownership for what they are doing. They can't just go to a lesson and wait for me to tell them what they need or do not need. This process takes them further away from who they really are and now we are both going to be lost. The reason why something a coach tells a kid to do actually works is because the coach and kid believe in what the coach is saying. Either the kid really trusts the coach and then the underlying feeling from that kid is a good one and so he proceeds or the coach is so good at inspiring the kid to believe in him (the coach) and in himself (the athlete) and now the suggestions work.
But I want everyone to understand the underlying points here:
Coach has ideas....athlete listens....coach believes in ideas....athlete responds to the belief....coach continues to see the athlete as a success....athlete holds that same belief and now succeeds....
So is it really about right or wrong answers??? Or is it more about believing and having a feeling behind the actions that are taking place, the actions that the athlete takes to become better???
This is why it is soooooo important for the athlete to be present when these "lessons" take place. It can't be an excuse that a kid is too young to understand or to care about what they are doing. It can't be an excuse that the kid is too young to understand the process of how the body works to throw a ball and that they must be aware of how their body moves in space to create an efficient and powerful throw.
This is also why the parent should be present in this process as well. To support the young athlete and continue to believe that their young pitcher can and will turn into something great if they so choose, no matter what the situation!!!
That is just about it for this blog....just wanted to write a little about my slant on the topic of Developing Young Pitchers and share that with you. Now, to get the rest of the info, as in, the suggestions I have for these young kids.....well.....guess you are going to have to come to the expo to find out!!! LOL....at least for now...I'll shoot out another blog after the expo for all those who were not able to be present to let you all know what we discussed.
Ok, that's all for now....happy pitching!!! Hope everyone truly enjoyed their holidays!!! I know I have!!!
Showing posts with label development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label development. Show all posts
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Do You Know Your A,B,C's???
There are so many different ways to train out there these days it can make your head spin!!! There are so many coaches, trainers, specialists, organizations, etc...how do you keep it all straight and not get overwhelmed?
This can be directed towards players, coaches and parents. Everybody can be thrown into the mess. If you are a parent trying to obtain the best possible information for your son or daughter how do you keep everything in order and know what is best for your child? If you are a player working on your craft, which road do you go down? If you are a coach and you want to make your players better and have parents like you or at least get off your back (lol) who are you supposed to trust? Well, I don't need to go that far, it is not as crucial as trusting the person in front of you, really it is just about feeling good about the information you are paying for or passing on to your players.
Well, let's look at it this way...do you know your A,B,C's? Really, I could take this blog session in a million different ways after asking this question, but let's see if I can get a bit more specific. I want to just focus on the player for a minute. When I ask, do you know your A,B,C's, I am referring to proper movement patterns in relation to the players. I can't tell you enough how crucial it is for athletes to learn proper movement patterns in ANYTHING they do, not just in their specific sport. The better the movement pattern, the better the result, at least 9 times out of 10. I would think that I could get most of you to agree with this statement. Haven't you heard the best players, trainers and coaches make a statement very close to this before, "if I can just get into this position when my foot touches the ground, everything else will happen for me." It is so true and I here it all the time. If we just focus on baseball, most would agree that the swing and the throw happen on its own as long as you can get your body to a specific position at foot touch. The issue with this is that there are better, more efficient ways to get to this crucial point in the movement. So if we are talking about pitching, there are many ways a pitcher can get to the "power position" (for lack of a better term), but when it is time to now rotate and throw, if the pitcher got to this "power position" in a non-efficient manner, there is no way they will be able to produce what they want to produce to gain results.
This all goes back to knowing your A,B,C's. If I am an athlete and I took the time to educate myself on proper movement patterns in basic things like running, rolling, bounding, skipping, jumping, striking then I am going to be prepared to compete in almost any sport. My body will line itself up the way it needs to in order to perform the movement efficiently. If I do not know my A,B,C's how is my body aware of what it needs to do for anything???
So, let's try to bring this all back and include players, coaches and parents in this manner. If I am a parent and I have a young athlete I want to know that the coach I am providing for them knows his A,B,C's. I want to know that this coach is willing to break down the movements made to throw a ball, hit a ball, catch a ball, whatever it is I am trying to get better at. If I am a parent and I go to observe the workouts and I see that there is no work being done on breaking down movements and introducing the A,B,C's to my son or daughter, I know this is someone I may not want to use at this point in my young child's career. There are basic developmental stages that kids should go through as they grow up and blossom from young kids to young adults to mature men. If there is a stress put on the basic movement patterns to athletics early on in life, this process is made much easier and you will see how successful the athlete can be.
Now, is this to say that the only way a young athlete can learn is to break down every movement pattern and then build it back up again, not at all. There are many different ways to do this. The first suggestion I would give a parent with a young athlete is to sign them up for as many different activities that make their kids move in many different ways. For example, dance classes are great for balance, coordination, agility, proprioception, and general strength. Or how about martial arts, gymnastics, or any sport that a young child could play, like soccer, football, basketball and of course baseball. By allowing your young athlete to participate in these different activities, it allows them to learn movements that their body would not be aware of if they only played one sport all year around at a young age. That is why travel ball is not something I am a big fan of. Kids play baseball all year around while juggling other things. They never own their craft by training, they just play. Not to mention the pitchers who throw during the weekend but never pick up a ball during the week because it is not baseball season. That is an injury waiting to happen, but that is a conversation for a later date.
To wrap this up, basically it is important for all interested parties to know their A,B,C's. Know the basic subjects an athlete should be fluent in as they build their athletic career. Understand that this is a process and it is long term when we are referring to these young athletes. Rome wasn't built in a day and it didn't need to be. Take your time, don't rush it, enjoy the process and work your A,B,C's!!
Ok, that's all for this one....hope all is well!!!! Talk with you soon!!
This can be directed towards players, coaches and parents. Everybody can be thrown into the mess. If you are a parent trying to obtain the best possible information for your son or daughter how do you keep everything in order and know what is best for your child? If you are a player working on your craft, which road do you go down? If you are a coach and you want to make your players better and have parents like you or at least get off your back (lol) who are you supposed to trust? Well, I don't need to go that far, it is not as crucial as trusting the person in front of you, really it is just about feeling good about the information you are paying for or passing on to your players.
Well, let's look at it this way...do you know your A,B,C's? Really, I could take this blog session in a million different ways after asking this question, but let's see if I can get a bit more specific. I want to just focus on the player for a minute. When I ask, do you know your A,B,C's, I am referring to proper movement patterns in relation to the players. I can't tell you enough how crucial it is for athletes to learn proper movement patterns in ANYTHING they do, not just in their specific sport. The better the movement pattern, the better the result, at least 9 times out of 10. I would think that I could get most of you to agree with this statement. Haven't you heard the best players, trainers and coaches make a statement very close to this before, "if I can just get into this position when my foot touches the ground, everything else will happen for me." It is so true and I here it all the time. If we just focus on baseball, most would agree that the swing and the throw happen on its own as long as you can get your body to a specific position at foot touch. The issue with this is that there are better, more efficient ways to get to this crucial point in the movement. So if we are talking about pitching, there are many ways a pitcher can get to the "power position" (for lack of a better term), but when it is time to now rotate and throw, if the pitcher got to this "power position" in a non-efficient manner, there is no way they will be able to produce what they want to produce to gain results.
This all goes back to knowing your A,B,C's. If I am an athlete and I took the time to educate myself on proper movement patterns in basic things like running, rolling, bounding, skipping, jumping, striking then I am going to be prepared to compete in almost any sport. My body will line itself up the way it needs to in order to perform the movement efficiently. If I do not know my A,B,C's how is my body aware of what it needs to do for anything???
So, let's try to bring this all back and include players, coaches and parents in this manner. If I am a parent and I have a young athlete I want to know that the coach I am providing for them knows his A,B,C's. I want to know that this coach is willing to break down the movements made to throw a ball, hit a ball, catch a ball, whatever it is I am trying to get better at. If I am a parent and I go to observe the workouts and I see that there is no work being done on breaking down movements and introducing the A,B,C's to my son or daughter, I know this is someone I may not want to use at this point in my young child's career. There are basic developmental stages that kids should go through as they grow up and blossom from young kids to young adults to mature men. If there is a stress put on the basic movement patterns to athletics early on in life, this process is made much easier and you will see how successful the athlete can be.
Now, is this to say that the only way a young athlete can learn is to break down every movement pattern and then build it back up again, not at all. There are many different ways to do this. The first suggestion I would give a parent with a young athlete is to sign them up for as many different activities that make their kids move in many different ways. For example, dance classes are great for balance, coordination, agility, proprioception, and general strength. Or how about martial arts, gymnastics, or any sport that a young child could play, like soccer, football, basketball and of course baseball. By allowing your young athlete to participate in these different activities, it allows them to learn movements that their body would not be aware of if they only played one sport all year around at a young age. That is why travel ball is not something I am a big fan of. Kids play baseball all year around while juggling other things. They never own their craft by training, they just play. Not to mention the pitchers who throw during the weekend but never pick up a ball during the week because it is not baseball season. That is an injury waiting to happen, but that is a conversation for a later date.
To wrap this up, basically it is important for all interested parties to know their A,B,C's. Know the basic subjects an athlete should be fluent in as they build their athletic career. Understand that this is a process and it is long term when we are referring to these young athletes. Rome wasn't built in a day and it didn't need to be. Take your time, don't rush it, enjoy the process and work your A,B,C's!!
Ok, that's all for this one....hope all is well!!!! Talk with you soon!!
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