Great article in the NFCA Fastpitch Delivery newspaper
Saw an article this morning in the current issue of the NFCA’s Fastpitch Delivery newspaper. It’s one of their great member benefits.
Anyway, the article was on generating offense and was written by Jay Miller, a well-known offensive guru. He was talking about what a shame it is that so many coaches at all levels are so conservative and risk-averse, because they leave so many chances to win on the table. I think I liked it most because it espouses a similar philosophy to what my organization teaches.
One of the first things he talked about was teaching runners to be aggressive, and to think aggressively. They are two different things. Runners being aggressive often depend on the coach for the final word. Runners who think aggressively understand that the point of getting on base is to get back home. Don’t take one base when you can get two, and don’t take two when you can get three.
Another point was to make sure you pressure the defense all the time. Aggressive baserunning puts a lot of pressure on the defense. They have to make perfect throws and catches every time, which can be tough to do. If you sit back and run station-to-station, or don’t take chances, you let them off easy.
There are many great hints in the article. But there’s also a caveat. When you take more chances, you’re going to get more runners thrown out too. You have to be willing to take that risk in order to reap the reward. Not everyone can handle it. But if you’re tired of losing games by one run, think about getting aggressive. You never know what can happen.
Are we having fun yet?
Just completed our first weekend of 16uU ball this past weekend. It was a bit rough going at first, but as the girls relaxed and started getting back into the rhythm of summer ball, the caliber of play definitely improved.
Which makes you wonder why so many coaches feel they have to completely dominate their players and put them down in order to get them to play. Sure, it may provide a temporary improvement, but there’s a huge difference between compliance and giving your all.
A lot of these girls didn’t have much fun during their high school seasons. They felt very stressed. I’ve heard some developed stomach trouble and many couldn’t wait for the season to be over. Walking around the fields this weekend I saw some of the same kinds of things. A player would make some small error or not react fast enough and the coach would be all over her. There were plenty of long faces, not to mention looks of “here we go again.”
Some of those teams were pretty darned good. But many didn’t look like they were having much fun.
Our approach was a little different. We can be as tough as anyone in practice. But come game day, it’s the players’ time. Rather than chasitising them constantly for bad decisions, we encouraged them to explore their talent and push themselves. We wanted them to get out of the boxes they’d been put into and see what they could do.
What we saw was a level of play that improved steadily throughout the weekend. The last couple of games especially were very well played. We won one and lost one of those, but the loss was one of those games where someone has to lose (unfortunately) and the win was sweet, full of great plays as well as plays you’re supposed to make. More importantly, the girls were having fun. And I think that’s what allowed them to play so well.
It remains to be seen how long it carries over. But my gut tells me that if they’re having fun they’ll also be doing the things it takes to win.
One more thought. When I read interviews with top coaches in the NFCA newspaper, one of the questions they always ask is what do you wish you’d known when you started your career that you know now. Invariably the answer is “I wish I would’ve enjoyed it more. Instead of being focused on winning so much I wish I would’ve enjoyed being with my team.”
Coaches have egos, and we all like to win. But if we make our players miserable in order to achieve that goal, is it really worth it? I know as a former baseball player I can’t remember the specifics of any complete games. My teams never won a championship, but I still remember those days just as fondly as though I had. I also remember the coaches I liked, and the ones I didn’t. The ones I liked best were the ones who tried to bring out the best in me, and helped me to believe in myself.
Think about that the next time you yank a player off the field because she missed the cutoff. If you really want to build a legacy, it starts with your own team.
You’re either moving toward or away from your goals
With softball (like so many other sports) turning into a 12-month pursuit, it’s easy to let a sort of malaise slip in. After a while, players tend to walk through their drills somewhat mindlessly, going through the motions but not really accomplishing anything.
That is such a tremendous waste of time. If you see that going on, here’s something to try. Take a hitter (for example) aside, and ask her what her goals are. Ask her to put a specific number on her hitting goal, such as when she looks at her stats at the end of the year what batting average she’d like to see next to her name. (Make sure it’s realistic.)
When she gives you the answer ask her one simple question: Is what you’re doing here today moving you closer to or further away from that goal? Because the truth is you’re either getting ahead or falling behind. If she has a number in mind and her actions aren’t moving her toward that number, then what is she doing out on the field?
Many players don’t think that way. Especially these days, people tend to live in the here and now. They don’t think in terms of moving toward something. Yes, you can set goals and all that at the beginning of the season, but often those goal sheets get stuffed into the bags along with the articles and directions to the next game, never to be seen again — or at least until it’s time to clean out the ol’ bat bag for next year. But they have to start thinking that way, seeing their actions today as part of a chain of events that lead to a conclusion. The big question is what will that conclusion be?
Everyone likes to be successful. But success isn’t just handed to you unless you’re Paris Hilton. For the rest of us, it requires work and effort. That’s what makes the journey so satisfying.
Keep that idea in mind. Are you moving toward your goal or away from it with what you’re doing, and how you’re doing it. It just might help take some of the monotony out of practice, and give your players a little more sense of purpose.
Identifying elite pitchers
A while back a friend put up a list on his blog. Unfortunately, it is no longer active, but in it he identified the characteristics he would use to determine whether an 11 or 12 year old has the potential to be an elite pitcher. It’s based on his experience in training, as a grad student, and coaching.
I looked at the list and I would agree with everything he says. It does seems like those are the characteristics for an elite pitcher. The thing that might discourage many people about the list, though, is if they see their daughter doesn’t have some or all of those characteristics. Does that mean she shouldn’t pitch?
Not necessarily, in my opinion. First of all, most of those attributes are true regardless of position. Becoming an elite player takes more than hard work or wanting to play at UCLA ASU. There’s a certain amount of good fortune involved. As I told my own daughter last night, certain people in the college game did a better job of picking their parents than she did.
The point is, she doesn’t have any particular desire to be an elite player, but she does love to play and does love to pitch. The attributes she does have lend themselves to being successful at the level to which she aspires to play. You don’t have to be everything on the list to pitch. You mostly have to want to, and be willing to work at it. Those things are required regardless of the level.
People fanatical enough to hang out on softball boards and read softball blogs often hope their daughters will be the next Cat Osterman. But those players are rare. Fastpitch softball is a huge sport, though, with a great many levels to it. There’s a place for everyone who wants to play.
If your daughter wants to be an elite player, definitely check out the list and see how she measures up. It’s a great level set. But if she doesn’t, don’t sweat it. Just make sure she does the things to be successful at the level she can compete at. That’s the single best thing you can do for her.
Focusing on fundamentals
Heard about an interesting conversation the other day. If I understand it correctly, one of the participants was saying that by the age of 16 it’s a waste of time to work on fundamentals. Either they have it by then or they will never get it.
That’s certainly an interesting perspective. I know a lot of college coaches would be shocked by that thought. Fundamentals are the foundation of the game, by definition, and they always need work. Problems with fundamentals are where errors come from.
Anyone who has read anything from legendary basketball coach John Wooden knows how he felt about fundamentals. When new players came to UCLA he would teach them how to put on their socks. Part of it was to instill a sense of discipline and control — this is how we do things around here. But part of it was also to help them minimize blisters.
Wooden took the same care with basketball fundamentals. He felt if his teams could pass, shoot, rebound and whatever else they do in basketball better than their opponents, they would win.
Softball is a complex game in a lot of ways, that’s for sure. But it’s also fairly simple. As the manager in Bull Durham says, you throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. The better you can execute these skills under pressure, the more chance you give your team of winning.
Spectacular plays are spectacular because they’re unusual. It’s great if you can make them. But they’re the exception. If you make those but don’t make the plays you ought to make, you will probably lose, because there are a lot more of the straightforward plays in the game.
Major League Baseball players start with fundamentals every spring, and continue to work on them throughout the year. When teams hit losing streaks, managers will decry the lack of fundamentals and place extra focus on them. If it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for youth players.
Knowing where to go with the ball is important. But you also have to be able to get it there. Without a continuous focus on fundamentals, it becomes a crapshoot.
Keeping one error from turning into two
Been a while since I posted on fielding. But as the summer season launches into full swing, it’s certainly worth addressing.
Errors are a part of the game. We wish they weren’t, but sooner or later every player is going to commit an errors. This happens even at the highest levels of the game. As Cindy Bristow once said in a coaching clinic about her pro team, “My girls make the same errors your girls do; they just do it faster.”
Where it really goes bad, though, is when one error turns into two. For example, a ground ball is hit to the shortstop. She bobbles it, has a little trouble picking it up, then rushes her throw trying to make up for the first error. The ball sails out of play and the batter/runner (who would’ve had first regardless) winds up standing on second.
Or what about a throw trying to get a runner at a base? The ball gets away from the fielder, and the runner takes off for the next base. Either the fielder or backup picks it up and then makes a wild throw to the next base, and the runner keeps going. You can hear the circus music in your head as the merry-go-round starts to run. Often it becomes the start of one of “those innings.” You all know what I’m talking about.
The reason these things happen, more than anything, has to do with the P word. No, not that “p” word, the other one — panic. Players hate to make errors; when they do, they begin to feel pressure to make up for the error. The internal clock is running, they know the runner might be safe when she ought to be out, and soon the panic sets in. Mechanics go out the window in the rush to get rid of the ball, and suddenly one errror turns into two.
It doesn’t have to, though. Train your team to avoid the panic, and to recognize when the internal clock has ticked its last tick. When that happens, it’s better to eat the ball than make a throw. In the second scenario, where a throw gets away from fielder at a base, it’s important to keep calm and make a good throw to the next base. If there’s a trailing runner, it may even be better to let a run score than put a second runner 60 feet closer to the bag. It’s hard sometimes to let a run score, but if you can prevent another run, or even get an out on the trailing runner, you might be able to short circuit one of “those” innings.
One other important skill to work on is recognizing when the runner is going to be safe no matter how hard you throw. Making the throw might make you feel better, but only bad things can happen. It involves some simple geometry — how close the runner is to the bag, how close the thrower is to bag, and how hard the thrower can throw. Knowing those things, and practicing various proximities, will help fielders know when to hold ’em and when to throw ’em.
Teach your players to stay calm and make good decisions and you’ll avoid having one error turn into two. Not to mention keeping the merry-go-round from starting up.
Pitch speeds in the WCWS
Ask anyone what kind of speed you need to pitch in Division 1 college softball and the answer is sure to be “mid-60s.” (Of course some people think that’s also a typical speed for a 12 year old, but that’s a story for another day.)
As I’ve been watching the Regionals, Super Regionals and Women’s College World Series this year, though, I’m noticing a different trend. I’ve been seeing more pitchers throwing consistently in the mid-to-high 50s. Case in point: tonight’s game with Alabama and ASU. The ASU pitcher fit the mold — her pitches were mostly 62 to 66 mph. But the ‘Bama pitcher was more in the 55-59 mph range. Yes, ASU went on to win the game, but it was on what looked to me to be a foul ball. Up until the seventh, they were held scoreless.
Not sure exactly what to make of all of this. Maybe it’s tough to get those tall California girls who throw in the 60s to go to Alabama. But I’ve seen other teams where that’s the case as well. Perhaps it points out that movement really is more important that speed as everyone likes to say. It may also point out that D1 coaches are starting to believe it too.
Watching the game from another perspective
For many of us adults, our exposure to youth sports is watching games that our kids play in. We become very invested in those games, and often get ourselves very worked up over the smallest perceived slight or missed call. If our kids are batting, we can’t believe the wide-open strike zone. If our kids are pitching, we are upset by the umpire squeezing her. Often this happens in the same game!
At these times, tempers can flare, nasty comments can be made, and things can get unpleasant. Voices are often raised in anger. It’s really quite something. In fact, it’s amazing that there aren’t more fistfights.
If you find yourself getting into that mode from time to time, I have a suggestion for you. Sometime when you have a couple of hours on your hands, go out and watch a game that you have no vested interest in. Watch two teams where you don’t know a soul on either team. Listen to the comments that are made. Hear others getting angry over the perceived inequities in the game going on.
It’s quite a perspective. You’ll be amazed at how oddly people behave. It may also give you a bit of pause the next time you find your blood pressure rising.
Pujols’ position early in the swing
This post is actually a continuation of a discussionhappening on the DiscussFastpitch forum. I was trying to make a point over there, but I needed pictures to show it. Couldn’t figure out how to put them up there and so I tried doing it with Facebook. But you have to have an account with Facebook to see them, apparently, and since most adults don’t that wasn’t the answer. Then it hit me. I have a blog. Duh!
In any case, it started as a discussion of the back elbow being elevated or down, and then got a bit off track into what the shoulders do.
I’m a back elbow down guy. I really don’t see the value in putting it up, but I do believe it can be restrictive in the swing. As an example of a top baseball player who starts with both elbows down, I show this photo of Albert Pujols:
Notice the green lines, that trace his forearms. They are forming an upside-down V. The back elbow will elevate some as he goes into launch, but this is where he’s starting.
Then came the shoulders. Some advocate keeping them parallel to the ground. I used to also, in fact up to this year. But then I saw evidence of top hitter after top hitter lowering the front shoulder going into toe touch. Here’s a look at Pujols at that point:
The red line traces the angle of his shoulders. While his upper arm does look to be parallel to the ground it seems to me this is due at least in part to the shoulder angle. Notice also that his hands are tied to his back shoulder, not over his back foot as is often advocated.
Like this or not, you can’t argue with the results!
Why they still play the game
Tonight I saw a great example of why no matter what the records are, no matter what the data says on paper, there’s still a reason why they play the game.
My daughter’s high school team went into the first round of Regionals tonight a decided underdog. They were the 14th seed, with a sub-.500 record, going up against the #3 seed in the sectional. It is a conference team that had beaten them twice before, and that had only lost four games all season as I recall. They have a very good and very dominant pitcher who is probably the best in the area, and a pretty offense to go with her. No one gave my daughter’s team much chance of winning, including me.
You can probably guess what happened. After going through the order once — 10 batters in the first three innings — my daughter’s team caught fire at the plate. They strung together several hits and posted a 3-0 lead. They got a few more hits later in the game, but no more runs. They did, however make those runs stand up wtith excellent pitching and almost flawless defense.
The opponents did manage one run in the bottom of the seventh, and had runners on first and third with two outs. But the pitcher bore down and got the last hitter with a dramatic strikeout. (No, the pitcher wasn’t my daughter in case you think I’m bragging on my own kid.)
It was just one of those things. On another day it might’ve gone the way everyone expected. But today, the underdog triumphed. It wasn’t exactly Miracle. But it will do. On to the finals!
Life in the Fastpitch Lane 