Don’t let the pursuit of perfection stand in the way of execution
There is a tendency among coaches (me included) to place a lot of emphasis on having rock-solid mechanics. We know what we want to see, we know what the best players in the world look like, and we try to get our players to match that image we have in our minds. Our most dedicated players often know what they’re trying to achieve and work toward meeting that ideal, whether it’s hitting, pitching, fielding, throwing or any other aspect of the game.
Overall, that’s good. But sometimes this relentless pursuit of perfection can get in the way of player growth. How can that be? Simple. All those skills we’re working on with such passion require dynamic and often ballistic movements. Yet it can be difficult to be dynamic or ballistic if your focus is on being extremely precise with what you’re doing. A hitter trying to get an exact bat path, or a pitcher trying to throw a pitch “just so,” may wind themselves up too tight to get the kind of impact they need. So while they would look great in slow motion video — everything is exactly where it should be when it should be there — the result is less than explosive.
I don’t think this is something coaches build into what they’re teaching. In fact, I think it’s often something that’s more hard-wired into certain players. They have such desire for perfection and achievement that they let it get in the way of just going for it. Put another way, they are so focused on their mechanics they become, well, mechanical.
Pursuing perfection is a worthy goal, but it has to be tempered with a ballplayer’s attitude. We’ve all seen kids with terrible swings or terrible throwing form that still hit or throw the heck out of the ball because they approach it with such intent to hit or throw hard. That is something we all need to be sure we’re instilling in our players.
I would rather see more intent and less perfection in a player or student, particularly at this time of the year (fall). Yes, I want them to improve their mechanics and approach that ideal, but not at the cost of putting every ounce of themselves they have into it. It’s important to remind them every now and then that the intent to perform an action is every bit as critical as the mechanics themselves. After all, you can fix mechanics and make them better. It’s a lot tougher to fix intent if it isn’t there.
Where do coaches come up with this stuff?
I am often amazed by the things I hear from my students regarding what their team coaches tell them. Sometimes the statements are just jaw-droppingly stupid.
Last night was such a case. I was working on the changeup with one of my students. She threw a real nice one, about thigh-high and well-disguised. I complimented her on it, and she told me one of her team coaches told her that “a good changeup should hit the plate.” Huh? I was stunned.
Why in the world would you want to make your changeup hit the plate? If you are throwing it well, one of the good things that can happen is it causes the hitter to freeze. If that occurs and the pitch comes in for a strike, well, you get a strike. If it hits the plate, it’s a ball. Why in the world would you not want to get a free strike?
I can only think of a couple of reasons a coach might make that statement. One is he may never have seen a real changeup and thus doesn’t realize what it’s supposed to look like and what it can do. Even if a changeup gets hit, if it does its job and fools the hitter it’s usually for a weak ground ball or pop fly. Of course, if you’re just slowing your arm down and giving it away you might want it to hit the plate so it doesn’t hit the grass behind the fence.
Another reason would be if the pitchers are throwing it too high. Asking them to try to hit the plate might be a cue to help them bring it down. It’s mechanically unsound and unlikely to work, but at least it’s well-intentioned.
The third reason, of course, is that the coach is simply speaking of things which he knows not. As Mark Twain once said, “Better to keep your mouth shut and have people think you’re a fool than open it and prove it.” Apparently this coach didn’t watch Taryne Mowatt lead Arizona to a WCWS championship by throwing changeups for a strike. A change that hits the plate is what you would call a mistake.
For this pitcher, I gave her my standard instruction for dealing with this sort of thing: say “OK,” or “I’m trying,” then continue to throw it for a low strike. In other words, save this coach from himself. Maybe someday he’ll learn.
The dominant hand
I was working with a right handed hitter the other day, and we were talking about finishing the swing. She had a tendency to get to contact then come up short. In the course of our discussion she referred to her top hand as being her dominant hand — probably because she is right handed.
While it was just a terminology, it provided a teaching moment. I had planned on having her do some one-handed drills so I had been practicing them myself before she got there. When she mentioned her dominant hand it provided the perfect opportunity to get started.
First I had her use her choke up on the bat and use her bottom hand only. She’s done these before, so she started pulling the bat through and hitting the ball fairly hard off the tee. Then we switched to her “dominant” (top) hand. She had a tough time getting the bat through effectively, even while choked up.
It was a revealing moment to her. She’s always relied on her top hand for most of the power, so she rarely reached extension. She made consistent contact but never really hit the ball hard (which is why we were working together). After that demonstration she paid more attention to working her bottom hand and started extending after contact.
The real proof, though, came later that day during a game. This girl who was hitting pop-ups and so-so ground balls during the summer cracked a single, two doubles and a triple off three different pitchers. All were solid.
It’s important for hitters to understand the role of each hand, and how they work together. By taking advantage off the strength of both they can drive the ball more powerfully rather than leaving power on the table.
The wonders of life
Just started up the new season of lessons this week and was struck by something interesting.
One of the places I teach is about 30 to 45 minutes away from my house. Consequently, when I finish lessons at the end of April it’s usually the last time I see some of my students for a few months.
Tonight I saw a couple of them and was struck by how much they had changed in the intervening months. One girl in particular stood out. Not only did she look more mature in her face (at age 12), she was actually talking in a conversational way with me tonight.
At lessons I’m usually pretty chatty. Some of the girls will chat right back. Some will joke around with me and toss good-natured insults back and forth. But some will barely say a word. The one I’m thinking of was in that latter group. But tonight that changed. We had some good conversation, and she started calling out when she didn’t execute a technique the way I wanted her to. That’s awesome because I always tell my students that it’s important that I know what they should be doing, but it’s imperative that they know because they’re the ones who have to do it.
I’ve had a few over the years who didn’t talk to me (more than answering a hello and saying “ok”) for a couple of years. They were either shy or uncomfortable talking to an adult. But I think it’s really cool when that changes and you begin building a more personal relationship. It absolutely makes teaching more fun!
Great example of sportsmanship
Here’s a great example of coaches who understand that there’s more to life (and sports) than pummeling your opponents and running up your stats. It’s not from fastpitch softball, it’s from football, but I think the lesson here applies.
Essentially, two high school teams were playing. One was winning 46-0. The coach with 0 went to the other coach and asked if his team would allow a player with Down’s Syndrome who had suited up for every game but never played to score a touchdown. The coach with 46 agreed to give up his shutout on the last play to make it happen.
One kid got the thrill of a lifetime. But a whole lot of other kids got a lesson in sportsmanship and class. Kudos to both teams.
Team-supplied lessons
Had an interesting email discussion today with Coach Mike. It revolved around a local team that “supplies” its players with hitting lessons. The basics are that they charge each person in the organization an additional (non-optional) fee, then contract with a hitting instructor to provide lessons to everyone in the organization.
The free market advocate in me tends not to like that arrangement. I think parents should be free to take their kids anywhere they want to get lessons. I doubt as an instructor myself that I would be totally comfortable with an entire program being directed to me either.
But I can also see the other side. At least this program is sure that its players are receiving regular lessons throughout the year. Assuming the instructor they contract with is qualified (and I have no reason to think otherwise), it could certainly present an advantage. Of course, with any private instruction situation success or failure is 90 percent the player and 10 percent the coach. Still, receiving regular instruction versus sitting around watching TV or texting incessantly ought to produce some results.
I’d be interested in feedback from others as to how common a practice it is for teams or programs to hire out a single instructor on any aspect of the game for the entire program. If you are or have been in that situation, how did you feel? Did you have the option of opting out and working with your own coach, and if so was the fee refunded to you?
The most pressing question to me, though, is if you were in an organization that did that and suddenly they said “here’s that part of the fee back; use it to hire your own private coach” do you think families who didn’t already have a coach seek one out? Or would they just pocket the money and forget about lessons?
Great article on mental toughness
Read an interesting article today in Baseball the Magazine, the sister (brother?) publication to Softball Magazine. It was on the secret to mental toughness and was written by Jack Perconte, a former MLB player (LA Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox) who is now coaching youth athletes.
In the article he goes through all the usual suspects — confidence, love of the game, aggressiveness, etc. But what he ultimately comes back to is strong fundamentals.
In the article, Perconte says that mental toughness isn’t in the head — at least not entirely. It’s really driven by knowing exactly what to do and how to do it. If you can execute the correct skills without thinking or hesitating you’ll be known as being mentally tough. One example he gives is the hitter who stands in the box and fouls off pitch after pitch. That hitter most likely has very strong fundamentals, which is what is enabling her to continue fouling off pitches until she gets one she really likes and can hit well. She’s not worried about whether she’ll hit the ball or not. She’s just relying on her strong fundamental to carry her through.
Coaches are often in a hurry to get past the fundamentals in order to get to the “good stuff.” Yes, there is a lot to learn in the game of softball and sometimes it feels like there simply isn’t enough time no matter how hard you work. But if a player can’t throw the ball 60 feet and hit her target it doesn’t matter whether she knows which base to throw the ball to. It just means she’ll be making an error at the right base. If she doesn’t know how to hit, having great baserunning skills won’t matter a whole lot.
It’s a great article. Baseball the Magazine is available on newsstands everywhere. I recommend you pick it up, give it a read, and pass it out to your team. It may help them understand why you’re spending so much time on fundamentals skills.
If you’re thinking too much you’re not practicing enough
There’s an old saying in softball (and baseball) that goes “Quite thinking, you’re hurting the ballclub.” While it’s usually said in good humor there is some truth to it. Especially when it comes to executing skills.
When you first learn a new skill there’s a lot of thinking involved. You’re trying to get the movements right and overcome old habits in the process. It takes a lot of thinking, checking and rechecking. As you become more successful with the skill you get to the point of conscious competence — the ability to do what you want to do as you think it through.
That’s not the goal, though. At the point of conscious competence you’re not able to give your maximum effort. There’s still a point of being careful involved when you’re thinking. The point you want to get to instead is unconscious competence — the point where you no longer have to think about what you’re doing, but instead just do it (as the billboards say). At that point you can give 100 percent effort — throw yourself into it entirely without any worries.
There’s only one way to get there — through repetition. How many reps varies by the skill and by the person. But it’s more than a few no matter who you are. You’ll know when it’s enough — because you no longer have to think about what you’re doing, You’re simply going out there and giving it your all. On the other hand, if you’re thinking too much, you’re not practicing enough. Time to get to work!
The lost art of bunting
Like many of you out there we recently completed tryout season. We judged players on a wide variety of skills both offensive and defensive. One thing that struck me as I watched player after player was how it seems like the art of bunting has been lost.
The biggest flaw was a tendency for hitters to swat at the ball instead of receive it. To lay down a good, soft bunt you need to catch the ball with the bat — pull back on it slightly as the ball makes contact, like a soccer player trapping a pass. Instead, what I saw a lot of was players punching the bat toward the ball as it came in.
I’m not sure why that’s happening. Maybe coaches aren’t spending as much time on bunting as they used to. In this era of hotter bats perhaps it’s being abandoned. Or maybe the coaches themselves just don’t know how to teach it. In any case, it’s nearly impossible to lay down a soft bunt when you’re punching at the ball.
A good way to teach “catching” the ball is to tape an old glove onto the end of a short, light bat and have players actually try to catch the ball as it’s pitched. They’ll figure out very quickly that they have to softly receive it if they have any hope of keeping it in the glove. You can also use a lacrosse stick, although you may have to use baseballs to get them to fit into the basket.
Bunts that are hit too hard become easy outs. A bunt that only travels about 10 feet from the plate gives the bunter a much better chance of making it on base because the fielders have to run further to reach the ball. The only way to make that happen is to use a soft bunting technique.
A little hometown recognition
Ok, I will admit this post falls under the category of shameless self-promotion. Those who follow me on Twitter already know about it, but it’s kind of cool so I figured I’d post it here today.
I was profiled in the August 20 issue of the Mundelein Review, a local weekly newspaper that I read regularly. For once I can honestly say that I had nothing to do with generating the article. They called me. Somehow they found out that I write for Softball Magazine and work on the Discuss Fastpitch Forum, and they decided I was story-worthy. The article was written by Bill Pemstein, who covers high school softball for the paper and has for many years.
If you’d like to read the article you can see it here. (If you decide to leave a comment, be nice!)
I will say it’s fun to be featured in my hometown newspaper. I have to say I wish I was being profiled for winning a $225 million Lottery prize, but this is a good second choice!
Life in the Fastpitch Lane 