Losing Doesn’t Build Character – It Reveals It
Today’s post was actually suggested to me by my partner in podcasting Jay Bolden of BeBold Fastpitch. Not sure why he didn’t keep it for himself since he writes some great posts on his own Facebook page, but I will definitely take it. Thanks, buddy!
I think we’d all agree that it’s easy to look like a good coach, and a good person, when your team is winning., because it’s true that winning covers up a lot of other problems. You may be the most clueless coach in the world, but if your team is winning a lot more than it’s losing no one is likely to have any complaints.
That’s understandable. As Nuke LaLoosh says, winning is a lot more fun than losing.
Where you truly see the measure of a coach, however, is when things aren’t going so well. When the team is having a rough season, or maybe just going through a rough patch, how the coach reacts reveals a lot about who he or she really is.
First, let’s talk about how a good coach will or should handle losing, just to do a little level-setting.
No one likes losing. I know I sure don’t, and especially didn’t when I was coaching teams. I was one of those “I hate losing more than I like winning” types.
So with that in mind, you have to look at WHY you’re losing. The first place a good coach will look is in the mirror, asking questions such as:
- Have I been training my team well enough?
- Have I been making good decisions about who is on the field?
- Have I been putting together the most potent batting order, based on facts, not feelings?
- Have my in-game decisions been good ones?
- Are we playing the right level of competition?
- Are our strategies appropriate for the personnel we have?
- Have I built an atmosphere where players are playing with confidence or with fear?
That’s a great starting point. But the truth is you could be doing all the right things and the team is still losing. The softball gods are funny that way, and when you make them angry for some reason you may have to sacrifice a chicken to get back on track.
If you noticed, all of the above had the coach looking inward, at him or herself first, to ensure that the problem isn’t staring him or her in the mirror.
Now let’s talk about what bad coaches do: they blame. They will:
- First and foremost blame their players for not playing well enough or trying hard enough.
- Blame their facilities or their budgets for not giving them enough money to be better.
- Blame the administration for not supporting them.
- Blame the parents (yes, even in college) for expecting too much, or questioning the coach, or I suppose for not having better DNA.
- Blame the umpires for not calling a fair game.
- Blame whoever happens to be out of earshot at the time.
- Blame whoever happens to be in front of him or her.
I’ve heard stories where a coach’s idea of coaching is to essentially yell at her players to “play better.” That’s the sum and total of her advice.
No advice on HOW to play better after a problem, such as stay down on a ground ball, or go for the lead runner first, or you have to look up to see where the ball is before trying for another base, or anything else helpful like that, So it’s no surprise when the same problems keep coming up. Thanks, coach.
We’ve also all seen the coaches who scream at their players, telling them how bad they are after they make a mistake. No attempt to build a positive atmosphere, or encourage them instead of letting them get down on themselves. Just constant berating.
And do things get better? Maybe by luck sometimes. But for the most part, that type of approach is counter-productive for one simple reason: it’s addressing the wrong problem.
Look, no one likes to lose. Some take it harder than others (like me) but no one actually likes it.
So screaming about it or blaming others doesn’t address the core issue. It’s an attempt to cover it up with bluster instead.
So what types of things does losing reveal about a coach’s character? One is their maturity level.
Good coaches will attempt to work the problem and maybe change the atmosphere or the mindset if needed to try to change the outcomes. They will look to support their players, and look for solutions to the problems the team is facing.
Bad coaches will deflect the problems and substitute anger and noise for a thoughtful approach. They don’t know what to do to change things so they throw tantrums in the moment in an attempt, I suppose, to hide their lack of a viable solution.
Losing also reveals their ability to see the larger picture. Good coaches know they will get through the current series of loses, and develop a plan to help expedite that process.
Bad coaches let their emotions take over and focus on the immediate.
Then there’s the worry about what others think of them. Both good and bad coaches will often have that concern. I mean, after all, we all want to be thought of as being good at what we do.
But good coaches understand they have to set those temporary perceptions aside; after all, if all else was the same except for the won-loss record, those people calling for their heads would instead be scheduling a parade.
Good coaches realize they have to separate themselves from the current unfortunate circumstances and think about times when their teams were winning so they can clear their heads and address whatever the causes are. If they truly believe in what they’re doing, and stay true to it, they know the wins will come again.
Bad coaches, on the other hand, will try to cover up their insecurities by directing their anger and blame at others, never stopping to think about the fact that they may need to change what they’re doing or how they’re approaching the team in order to flip the script and back on track. And the more they let those negative thoughts creep in, the worse things are going to get for them.
As we often say, softball is a game filled with failure and adversity. There’s absolutely no reason to think those things will affect you as a coach at some point, or more likely many points, in your coaching career.
How you handle losing when it comes, though, will say a lot about who you are and what you truly believe in. It is entirely a test of character, graded on a pass-fail scale.
Be sure you’re ready to pass that test. Not just for the sake of your players, or your program, but for yourself.
Walk the Path That’s Set Before You
We’ve all been there at some point in our lives (even the youngest among us). We have a plan, a preferred path we’ve chosen to walk, only to find that for some reason that path is not open to us at this particular point.
At that point we have two options: turn around and go home, or walk an alternative path until we can (maybe) get to the one we want to follow. This is true in life in general, and it’s true in fastpitch softball specifically.
Since this isn’t a life coaching blog, we’re going to look at the softball example. You can apply the advice, however, as you choose.
Let’s take the example of a tryout since high school softball is just getting going in much of the U.S. Perhaps the path you’ve chosen (or desire) is to play on the varsity team, or to play a particular “glamour” position such as pitcher or catcher or shortstop.
But when the tryout results came out you were placed on JV instead. Or maybe you’re on varsity but the coach has already told you that the position you love is already taken by someone he/she thinks is better than you.
(Yes it may also be taken by someone who isn’t better than you but that the coach likes more for some reason, but we’ll set that discussion aside for another day.)
Essentially your path forward is blocked for now. You can get angry about it and walk away. Or you can say to yourself “if that path isn’t open what other options do I have?”
Let’s start with making JV instead of varsity. This may be a blessing in disguise.
Sure your ego takes a hit, especially if some of your travel or rec teammates made varsity. But ask yourself if you would rather sit the bench on varsity, maybe getting 10 innings of playing time total for the season, or you would rather be an every day starter on JV?
(Incidentally, Jay Bolden and I discuss this topic in more detail on next week’s From the Coach’s Mouth podcast. Be sure to check it out.)
While there are some things you can learn by watching games and participating in the varsity practices, you need to be playing regularly in games to keep your skills sharp.. You will probably be better off playing than sitting, even if the team you’re playing on isn’t that great.
And being on that team may also give you a better opportunity to develop other skills such as leadership which will serve you well not only in softball but throughout your life. So take the path that’s been set before you and walk the heck out of it; your time will come, and you’ll be even more ready to seize it.
What about the path to your favorite position being closed right now? In that case, I’d say go where the team needs you to be now, prove yourself, and you’ll be that much more ready for when your preferred path opens again.
Here’s an example. I worked with a terrific catcher a few years ago. She helped take her team to second in State among large schools, and was recruited to a strong D2 school to be their catcher.
When she got there, though, a senior transfer had come in and was given that spot without even the chance to compete for it. So what did she do?
She took advantage of whatever other opportunities were made available to her to get on the field.
It started with being the DH. She did well there, so the coach, recognizing this girl’s athletic ability, decided to try her out in left field to see if she could shore up the defense as well as the offense.
My catcher hadn’t played a lot of outfield, but she had played some, and in this situation she played the heck out of it, diving for balls and using her catcher arm to throw out runners at home. She used the opportunity to prove what type of player she was, and once the senior graduated she was back behind the plate where she wanted to be.
You can do the same. Whether your coach puts you in the outfield, or at second base, or at first base, or simply asks you to DH, give it all you have and do your best to learn that position as quickly as you can.
You never know what might come out of it, and if nothing else at least you’re on the field showing what you can do. Because it’s tough to show what you can do from a seat in the dugout.
Life is full of twists and turns, and you’re not always going to like them. They might even seem scary at times.
But rather than fighting them, if you keep putting one foot in front of the other and make the best of the current situation, good things will happen for you.
Path photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Coaches: Stop Throwing Pitchers Into Games Cold
This is another one of those posts that you would think should generate a collective “duh” from the fastpitch softball world, but based on what I keep hearing it’s not quite as obvious as it would seem. So let me say this loudly for the people in the back:
Coaches, you need to stop putting pitchers into games without adequate time to warm up before they take the circle.
That’s true even of pitchers who warmed up before the game started. If you’re now in the second, third, fourth, or later innings, those pitchers still need some time before they go in to get themselves ready.
And the longer it’s been since they initially warmed up, the more important it is to give them time to go through the process again. Because it takes a certain amount of preparation to get ready physically and mentally, to get the feel of various pitches, the complex timing required, and to switch their heads from field player (or sitting on the bench) to being game-ready.
Look, I know sometimes your pitchers make it look easy when they step into the circle at the beginning of the game. They’re bringing good velo, they have command of their pitches, they’re ripping through batting orders like tissue paper.
As a result, you may think that it’s a switch they can throw and instantly turn into SuperStud. Trust me, it’s not.
It takes time to get ready. And there’s a “use it or lose it” factor built into it.
A pitcher who warms up before the game starts to cool with each passing minute if she’s not pitching in the game. To all of a sudden pull her in from left field or first base or wherever she’s playing currently and expect her to perform at her peak is not only unrealistic. It’s self-sabotaging.
Think about the situation. You wouldn’t be suddenly pulling her in from another position (or the bench) if things were going well for the team.
You’re pulling her in because they’re not, and you’re hoping she can put out the fire. Only she’s really not ready to perform at her peak, so there’s a pretty good chance that instead of making things better she’ll either keep them the same or make them worse.
Sure, you might get lucky and get the out you need to end the inning. But that’s probably going to be the exception.
The more likely scenario is you’ll get a walk, or a hit by pitch, or she’ll give up a meatball that goes sailing to or over the fence as she’s trying to find her groove.
The consequences of that decision may not just affect that game either. You may shake that pitcher’s confidence, especially if you get angry that she didn’t save you from your own bad decision, causing her to be overly cautious the next time out so as not to let you and the team down again.
More importantly, putting a pitcher into a game without adequate warm-up and then expecting her to perform at her highest level is a recipe for an injury – possibly one that is season-ending. No one wants that.
You would never see a Major League Baseball manager or a P4 head softball coach put a pitcher into a game without warming him/her up thoroughly first. Why would you think a younger or even high school-aged player could do it?
Ok, now that we’ve established that concept, the natural follow-up question is “how much time does that additional warm-up require?” After, all, the pitcher did spend some time before the game getting ready, so it shouldn’t be too much, right? Right?
The reality is it depends entirely on the pitcher. Some can warm up quickly, and maybe just need a little tune up before going into the game. They can probably get by with 10 minutes or less.
Others have a lengthy process they must follow in order to feel ready. It could take them 20 minutes or more to go through all their pitches to make sure they’re working properly.
As the person making the decision of when to put them in, you need to be aware of what each pitcher requires and then try to plan ahead so they’re ready to go when you need them. Just don’t wait until you’re already in trouble before you get them up and throwing.
If you think there’s any chance you’ll need a pitcher out of the bullpen/off the bench, get them warming up after 2-3 innings, just to be safe. If you’ll need to pull in a pitcher who’s already playing in the field, send in a sub, even if it’s mid-inning.
Better to have her ready and not need her than need her and not have her ready.
Coming in to pitch mid-game is often tougher on pitchers than starting one. Especially if the wheels are already coming off the wagon.
Giving your relievers enough time to warm up according to their individual needs will save you all a lot of heartaches, as well as give you a better chance of winning more games. It will also help prevent the type of injuries that can ruin a season.
Some Players Make You Look Like a Better Coach; Others Make You Become One
Anyone who has coached for any period of time knows there are basically two types of players.
The first type makes you look like a better coach. You know the type.
You can pretty much tell them anything – even if it’s the stupidest possible thing you could say – and they will be successful. They have the raw athleticism to find the right way to do things because their bodies just intrinsically understand how to move.
You can put them into a position they’ve never played before and they will look like they’ve been doing it all their lives. In fact, people on the sidelines will probably wonder why you HAVEN’T had her there the whole time.
Then there are those who make you become a good coach.
They have not been blessed with tremendous natural athleticism. While some are reasonably competent on their own, many have no real idea how to move their bodies in anything even resembling an athletic way.
You how them how to swing a bat and then they stand flat-footed and pull the bat around as if it’s a sledgehammer. You try to show them how to catch a ball and it looks like they’re afraid it’s going to bite them.
You try to show them how to throw the ball back and it looks like someone trying to unfold a one-person tent (or put away one of the old Jugs pop-up nets).
And pitching? Fuhgeddaboudit. If there’s a way to do it right, she will immediately find its polar opposite.
The ones who make you look like a good coach are really fun to work with, no doubt about it. And they’re good for the ego too.
A lot of coaches love to point to their very best players and show them off as though it was their great teaching that made them the way they are. Surely the coach helped them with that process.
But as I always say, if it was the coach who made them so good then all of that coach’s players would be equally as good. They’re not.
Often, though, it’s the ones who make you a good coach who have the most impact on your life. First of all, you can’t just tell them any old thing and have it work.
You have to figure out how to explain things to them, or demonstrate things to them, in a way they can understand and then execute. Often that means being creative in your approach and coming up with ways of teaching you would have never done otherwise.
The good news is each of those is unique, which allows you to build your coaching toolbox and expand your coaching reference library tremendously. All of which helps you build your own confidence as well.
There is also a lot of satisfaction in teaching a player to do something she just wasn’t capable of doing before. Seeing her get her first hit in a game, or pitch her first strikeout, or make a great catch, or make a perfect throw across the infield to get the out for the first time, gives you a feeling of pride that simply can’t be matched.
There’s no doubt that the players who make you look good will help you win a lot of games. Appreciate them when they come along, but be sure to keep your contributions to their success in perspective.
While they can be more challenging, especially in the beginning, the players who make you a good coach will likely hold a special place in your heart because you’ll know you gave them an opportunity they would not have had otherwise. It’s still up to them to put in the work, but when they do it’s magic.
Why Coaching Different Levels Is Like Teaching in School
The other week I was waiting for my first lesson to come in when my friend and fellow coach Dave Doerhoffer sat down next to me sighing and shaking his head. Dave is an assistant coach at Vernon Hills High School (as well as a private hitting instructor).
As part of that role Dave, along with head coach Jan Pauly, helps oversee instruction for the Stingers travel teams that feed VHHS. On that day his head shaking had to do with the complicated instruction one of the coaches for a 10U team was giving to his players.
I won’t go into details to spare anyone embarrassment, but the gist of it was that while what was being instructed was technically correct for an older player, it was too much for a younger player who just needs the basics to absorb.
This is something that’s probably more common than most coaches and parents realize. Coaches go to a coaching clinic featuring D1 college coaches explaining how they teach this technical aspect (such as footwork at first base) or handle that situation (such as runners on first and third).
Then the travel coaches, all fired up as they ought to be, come back and try to apply those principles to their younglings. Usually with disastrous results. Players get confused, or don’t yet have the skills or experience to apply what’s being taught, and what should be good outcomes become bad ones instead.
Here’s where coaches can learn something from the way school subjects are taught. In language arts, math, science, etc., the early grades start with the very basics, allow their students to learn those, then build on that knowledge when they are ready and able to take the next step.
Take math, for example, Teaches don’t try to teach differential calculus or advanced algebra in first grade. (Thank goodness because I would have never made it out of first grade.)
They start with simple addition and subtraction, then move to multiplication and division. They continue to build on those skills little by little through multiple grades until they can handle more complex and more abstract mathematical principles.
It’s a slow build over time, not just jumping right to the difficult stuff because it’s cool or will make the teacher look good.
The same goes for vocabulary. Young students start with simple words they use and hear every day (except for those words), then learn more complex ones as their basic understanding grows.
Otherwise all that will happen is the teachers will obfuscate the intention in a torrent of enigmatic gibberish until any learning is diffused and the results are ineffectual. So there.
Coaches first need to put themselves into the shoes of their players, evaluate what those players know (if anything) about fastpitch softball, and work from there. Teaching them how to execute a trick play for first and third when those players can barely throw and catch just doesn’t seem like a good use of time or resources.
By the way, this doesn’t just apply to the very young, i.e., 8U, 10U, or 12U players. Ask some college coaches and they will probably tell you stories about good players who lacked basic knowledge on some aspects of the game, such as how to tag up on a fly ball and when you can run. (It’s when the ball is first touched, not when it’s caught.)
When I was coaching teams I learned the hard way not to assume your players know ANYTHING you THINK they ought to know. If you take the stance that if you didn’t teach it directly to them they don’t know it, no matter what they age, you will avoid some ugly surprises just when you need those least.
The bottom line is as a coach you need to look at what your players know and can do, then introduce new concepts that fit within those capabilities. Your players will learn the game better, in a more logical fashion, and you’ll avoid the preventable mistakes that keep us all up at night.
School photo by Ksenia Chernaya on Pexels.com
What It Takes to Really Learn Something (or Unlearn Something)
When I was but a lad heading into high school, my heart’s greatest desire was to learn how to play the guitar. Partially because I loved music, but also because I thought doing so would help me meet girls.
(Don’t judge, Eddie van Halen started on guitar for the same reason, although he did a little better than me on learning it.)
Anyway, for my 14th birthday (just as the summer started) my parents bought me the cheapest piece of junk available that will still work, a $20 Decca guitar from Kmart. But I didn’t care – I had a guitar, along with a little songbook with songs like Born Free and Red River Valley that had the little finger placement charts above every chord.
I pretty much spent the entire summer locked in my room for 4-6 hours a day every day, playing the same old songs over and over until they began to sound like actual songs. In a month I felt comfortable enough to play that guitar in front of my parents and a couple of their friends.
Within a couple of months of starting I bought my first “real” guitar for $100 out of my 8th grade graduation money – a Suzuki 12 string that I still own to this day. It’s not very playable anymore but I still keep it around for sentimental reasons.
I tell you this story to point out a valuable lesson: if you really want to get good at something, you can’t just dabble at it or put in time against a clock. You have to work at it deliberately, with a goal and a sense of purpose.
In other words, you have to know your “why” or you’re just going to spin your wheels.
So if you’re a pitcher who is trying to increase her speed or learn a new pitch, you can’t just go through the motions doing what you always did. You can’t just set a timer and stop when the timer goes off.
You have to dig in there and keep working at it until you make the changes you need to make to reach your goal.
If you’re trying to convert from hello elbow to internal rotation, you can’t just throw pitches from full distance and hope it’s going to happen. You have to get in close, maybe slow yourself down for a bit, and work on things like upper arm compression and especially forearm pronation until you can do them without being aware of them.
It might take a few hours or it might take a month of focused, deliberate practice. But you have to be willing to do whatever it takes to get there.
The same goes for hitters. If you’re dropping your hands as you swing or using your arms instead of your body to initiate the swing you’re not going to change that overnight by wishing for it.
You have to get in there and work at it, and keep working at it until you can execute that part of hitting correctly. No excuses, no compromises; if you want to hit like a champion you have to work like a champion.
There will sometimes be barriers that seem insurmountable, and no doubt you’ll get frustrated. But there is some little thing holding you back and you attack it with ferocity, with a mindset you won’t let it defeat you, sooner or later you will get it and be able to move on to the next piece.
When I first learned how to play an “F” chord it was really difficult. It requires you to use your fingers in ways other chords don’t, especially when you’re a beginner.
But I needed to master that “F” chord cleanly so I could play certain songs, so as physically painful as it was (especially on that cheap little Decca guitar) I kept at it for hours on end until it was just another chord among many in the song.
The same will happen for you if you work at it. The thing you can’t do today will become easy and natural, and that will put you in a better position to achieve your larger goals.
Yes, it takes a lot to make a change, especially if it’s from something you’ve been doing for a long time. Old habits die hard as they say.
But if you approach it with passion and purpose you’ll get there – and you’ll be better-positioned for your next challenge. .
BONUS CHALLENGE: Yes, one of those young fellows up there in the top photo is me. See if you can guess which one and put your choice in the comments below. (HINT: It may not be the one you think.)
The Odds Are Stacked Against You in Fastpitch Hitting
A few days ago I was doing a hitting lesson with one of my students, a young lady named Avery. We got to talking about why the success rate for hitting in fastpitch softball is generally so low.
That’s when she said something profound that her mom Abbey had told her that I hadn’t really thought about in that way: Hitting is 9 on 1.
I think most of us tend to think about the battle between the pitcher and the hitter, i.e., how the pitcher is trying to get the hitter to miss the ball or at least mis-hit if she does make contact so doesn’t go too far. But while the hitter is up at the plate standing alone, the pitcher has one other person in front of her and seven others behind her to help her get the out on that weak hit.
That’s a pretty unfair advantage, don’t you think? Picture a basketball game, or a soccer match, or hockey game, or pretty much any sport where scoring means getting the object at the center of the game into the other team’s goal.
You don’t have to be Mr. Vegas to figure out who is going to win that contest, no matter how skilled the player on the one side is.
Yet when the scoring opportunity comes up for a player in fastpitch softball (or slow pitch, or modified pitch, or baseball, etc.) she’s facing a whole phalanx of opponents whose only goal is to prevent her from achieving her goal. Seems pretty unfair, doesn’t it?
And that’s why the stats of a game, even if kept honestly (versus the person who scores every contact as a hit or anything close as an error, depending on whether his/her team is at bat or in the field), don’t always tell the whole story.
For example, a hitter can slam a screaming line drive directly at the face of the opposing shortstop, who throws her glove up in instinct to protect herself. If said screaming line drive goes into the glove and the shortstop’s palmar grasp reflex (yes that’s a real thing) causes her hand to contract around the ball, the hitter is out.
Never mind that she smoked the pitch that the pitcher mistakenly threw over the heart of the plate. One of the seven fielders happened to be in the way of the ball as it was on its way to being a double and turned that great contact into a drop of a few percentage points in her batting average.
Or what about the well-hit ball to the outfield that goes to the person the other team is trying to hide? She puts her glove up over head to make sure the ball doesn’t hit her, and instead it nestles softly in the web like a bird landing in its nest.
The hitter did nothing wrong, and the fielder, quite frankly, didn’t do anything intentionally right, but the fielder gets high fives while the hitter gets nothing except another ding against her batting average. And those are just the extreme examples.
During the course of the game most times there are seven fielders behind the pitcher, plus the pitcher herself, whose job it is to make sure the hitter doesn’t reach base. And then you have the catcher whose job it is to clean up anything around the plate. That’s a pretty stacked deck.
The only way the hitter can be absolutely assured of not being out after contact is to drive the pitch over the fence. And while the number of hitters doing so has increased dramatically over the last several years, those are still a low percentage of all contacts made.
So the next time you’re wondering why failing 7 out of 10 times at the plate makes someone an all-star, remember that the odds are stacked against the hitter from the beginning. And beating 9 on 1 odds is a pretty good reason to celebrate no matter how it happens.
Why Fastpitch Softball Pitching Is So Danged Difficult
You hear it all the time from coaches, parents, and others sitting safely on the sidelines at fastpitch softball games: Just throw strikes! As if that idea hadn’t occurred to the poor pitcher while she’s sweating out a delightful inning of walks and hit by pitches.
Ah, if only it were that easy. I mean, it doesn’t look that difficult from the outside.
You step or jump or ninja leap your way forward, swing your arm over your head, bring it down, and let go of the ball. What could be more basic than that?
Plenty, to be honest. Because pitching in fastpitch is like a fine Swiss watch.
On the surface, you see the hands going around a disk. But underneath, there’s a complex set of gears creating individual movements that all have to be perfectly in synch to keep the correct time.
Let one little piece of a gear wear down, or get knocked askew, or take on a spec of dirt that slows it down by a microsecond, and suddenly the whole operation is no longer functioning properly.
Think I’m exaggerating? Take a good look at any video or sensor-based analysis of the pitching motion.
You have to be concerned about how the legs work in relation to the arms at launch. You have to look at where the body goes when it drives out – is it relatively straight or going off line?
When the arms go back on a backswing or forward on the first phase of the pitch are they working together and moving toward the plate in an efficient manner or are the wandering all over the place, creating timing and balance issues?
What’s happening with the muscles underneath? Are they loose and flexible the way they need to be in order to move quickly, or are they stiff and locked out?
What’s happening in the shoulder as the arm goes over the top? How is the upper arm positioned relative to the shoulder and the lower arm?
Where is the upper arm positioned when the front foot lands? What is the hand doing at this point?
As the pitcher goes into delivery are her shoulders stable and locked into position or are they swinging around like one of those carnival rides? Does she have good, upright posture, or is she collapsing like a cheap folding chair?
There’s more to consider but you get the idea. Lots of moving parts that all have to work properly, and in synch, in order to “just throw strikes.”
Now add in the idea that this sport is called FASTpitch. So it’s not enough to get the movements correct.
You have to do it while putting every ounce of energy you have into every pitch. All in the space of a couple of seconds start to finish, with a lot of the critical movements occurring in a matter of milliseconds before the pitcher has to move on to the next one.
Anything in that process gets slightly off and suddenly the ball is heading into the dirt, or into the backstop, or into the side of the hitter. And when that happens, the pitcher has to know how to make a micro-adjustment here or there to get everything back on track in an effort to make sure it doesn’t happen again on the next pitch.
What usually happens, especially with younger or beginning pitchers, is that they over-correct instead of understanding they should just relax, trust their training, and allow the gears to get back in line. That’s why one pitch goes into the dirt and the next one hits the field number sign at the top of the backstop.
When you see that issue occurring, the worst thing you can yell is “just throw strikes.” That’s what she’s trying to do.
But a gear has slipped and she’s probably not sure which one or how to fix it. Telling her to “just throw strikes” will only encourage her to try to force the ball over the plate, abandoning all mechanics.
That would be like trying to fix your watch by hitting it with a hammer. You might get lucky, and get it running again, but the odds are you’re just going to ruin the watch.
A better approach is to call time if you can and go out and talk to her. Remind her to trust the work she’s put in and let her body do what it does best, focusing on the process instead of the outcome.
In other words, let her get all her gears back in order. And if that still doesn’t work, tell her it’s just not her day and you’re going to give someone else a try now, and you’ll come back to her another game.
If you’re a non-coaching parent and can’t go out for that circle visit, just be encouraging and supportive. I know it’s difficult to watch your daughter struggle – I’ve been there – but she’ll be able to handle the adversity a lot better if she knows you’ve got her back instead of thinking you are judging or criticizing her in the moment.
If she’s not able to correct things on her own, the time for those corrections is in her next practice session, not under pressure in the middle of a game. Trying to do it in-game will likely only make it worse.
Yes, pitchers like Tegan Kavan, Nijaree Canady, Sam Landry, Emma Lemley, and so many others you see on TV or at live games often make fastpitch pitching look easy.. But it’s anything but – even for them.
Understanding just how complex the individual movements are, and how intricate the timing of each movement is in relationship to all the others, should help you cut your pitcher(s) a little slack when things aren’t going quite the way you or she wants. It ain’t easy.
But like that fine Swiss watch, it’s a thing of beauty when you get it all working the way it should.
Pitching Coach Bill Hillhouse Extraordinaire Could Use Your Help
Yesterday Jay Bolden and I had the privilege of talking with pitching coach Bill Hillhouse for an upcoming From the Coach’s Mouth podcast. If you’re not familiar with him, Bill was the youngest pitcher ever to play for the Team USA Men’s National Team when he joined it in 1993, and was an outstanding player who competed all over the world, winning wherever he went.
(If you’re interested in learning more about his softball resume, I’ve included more facts below.)
Bill then started giving lessons, mostly to female players, as his playing career was winding down. He saw the terrible hello elbow mechanics that were being taught widely at the time and became a very vocal advocate for learning to pitch the way the body moves naturally and the way all the top-level pitchers actually threw – what we today call internal rotation, although he’s not a fan of that description either for various reasons.
He named his business the House of Pitching, and he put out a series of DVDs to help spread his teachings more broadly than he could one-on-one. My guess is thousands of pitchers benefitted from the work he did in explaining everything from basic to advanced pitching mechanics in his lessons, clinics, and DVDs.
It was a business that again took him all over the world and afforded him a comfortable although not lavish living. He was also a columnist for Softball Magazine at the same time I was, which is where we met and became friends.
Then in July of 2025 Bill got the news no one wants to hear: he was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. In typical Bill fashion he didn’t make a big deal about it, not wanting to burden others with his issues, but as we all know getting sick here in the good ol’ USA isn’t cheap.
Suddenly, not only did he have all these medicals bills but he was also cut off from his only source of income – giving lessons.
Which brings me to the point of today’s post. After all the years of helping others (including many who were indirectly assisted by his influence on other pitching coaches like me), Bill could use a little help himself.
His girlfriend set up a GoFundMe page to help him with his expenses while he does his best to battle this disease. He knows it’s not a winnable fight – there is no “cure” for pancreatic cancer – but as a competitor he’s not just sitting around waiting for the inevitable.
In fact, he told us he’s been giving lessons again on a limited basis, and while it’s bringing in some revenue it’s less than he needs to live a normal life. So here’s my ask today.
I know times are tough right now, but if you can please go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-bill-hillhouse-through-his-cancer-battle and leave a donation. Even $5 or $10 will help, especially if a lot of people choose to do it.
So maybe instead of your morning Starbuck’s or those McDonald’s Diet Cokes you enjoy, take one day and dedicate that money to Bill. The big corporations won’t miss it, but it will sure make a difference to a guy who has made a difference to so many of us in the fastpitch softball world – including many who don’t even know it.
Thanks for considering it. And keep an eye out for our conversation with Bill coming up in a couple of weeks over at the From the Coach’s Mouth podcast. It was a lot of fun and I’m sure you will enjoy it.
Bill Hillhouse Mini-Bio
Bill Hillhouse was a star pitcher in international men’s softball, playing all over the world including eight seasons competing in New Zealand. He was not only a two-time member of the USA Men’s National Team but was the youngest pitcher ever to play for that team when he joined it in 1993. Among his accomplishments are being named the Pan American Games M-V-P, winning the Men’s Major National Championship three times, earning a gold medal at the U-S Olympic Festival, and being inducted into the USA Softball of Pennsylvania Hall of Fame in 2022.
Bill’s coaching career is equally stellar. After stints as a pitching coach consultant for division 1 Drexel University and the University of Georgia, in 2018 he joined the staff at Providence College in Rhode Island. A strong advocate of men’s fastpitch, he also served the sport as a commissioner for the International Softball Congress from 1997 to 2013.
He is probably best known, however, as a private coach. Operating under the House of Pitching moniker, Bill gave individual lessons and conducted group clinics all over the US and the world. While he coached many high-level softball pitchers to successful college careers, including 2025 WCWS winner Tegan Kavan, he never really publicized his association with any of them. As he told Jay and me, “Their accomplishments were theirs, not mine, the result of a lot of hard work and dedication. I teach everyone the same things but get varying results, so the difference is really in them.”
The Hero’s Journey Always Includes Trials and Tribulations
The so-called hero’s journey is one of the most fundamental tropes in storytelling. In fact, if you line them up in a chart the stories are all pretty similar.
One of the key points, whether you’re talking about Ulysses or Hercules from ancient mythology or more contemporary heroes such as Frodo Baggins, Dorothy Gale (from The Wizard of Oz), Anna and Elsa, or Luke Skywalker, the path the hero must walk is never smooth or easy. It’s filled with trials and tribulations, setbacks and betrayals, dark moments of doubt, and other challenges before the hero ultimately (and often barely) triumphs.
So it’s amazing to me how people think their or their daughter’s softball journey should be filled with nothing but sunshine and unicorns, one success after another without any setbacks or suffering whatsoever. Sorry, it doesn’t work that way.
Even those who turn out to be the highest-level players often tell stories about how they were the fourth or fifth pitcher on their travel team for years, or how they could barely crack the lineup in pool play or their first couple of years of high school ball before they became the player we all came to know. In fact, in real life as in fiction, it’s the trials and tribulations they go through that make them capable of being heroes when the moment arises.
Rather than fearing or avoiding adversity, it’s important to embrace it. It’s a lot easier to weather the next storm (and there’s always a next storm) when you’ve already gotten through the last one.
Besides, if there weren’t challenges and obstacles to overcome that softball journey would be pretty danged boring. There is no triumph with challenge.
In other words, if Frodo could just take a casual stroll into Mordor without all those evil forces pursuing him and putting his life at risk, it wouldn’t be much of a story. It certainly wouldn’t be one that has become beloved and retold many times since it was first released in 1954.
The same with Ulysses and Hercules, which are many centuries older. If they just did what they needed to do without the trials and tribulations no one would be interested in either of them.
It’s the obstacles that make us who we are. For many (me included, by the way), it’s the people who told us we couldn’t do something or weren’t good enough that kept us working harder to prove them wrong.
It’s the times we failed to reach a goal we really wanted that caused us to double down on our efforts and keep working until we got there.
They say that each of us are the heroes of our own stories. Or at least we should be.
If that’s true, remember that your hero’s journey won’t be nearly as interesting or powerful if it’s all sunshine and puppy dogs. While I’m not advising that you seek out problems, I will say they’re going to find you whether you want them or not.
The key is not to be afraid of them or let them take over your life. Even in the biggest slump or lowest points of your life or softball career, remember that you have the ability to overcome whatever difficulties come your way.
Also remember that heroes rarely do it alone. Anna and Elsa had Kristoff and Olaf. Frodo had the Fellowship of the Ring. Dorothy had the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion, Luke had Han and Leia, among others.
Let those around you help you through the tough times and keep your spirits up when you feel like giving up. And in the end, remember when you do triumph over all that adversity, the success will be that much sweeter.
Today’s problems will pass. No one can say exactly when, but they will pass.
When they do, you’ll come back stronger than eve, ready to complete your own hero’s journey, whatever that may be. And you’ll have a great story to go with it.
Photo by Alex Kinkate on Pexels.com
Life in the Fastpitch Lane 