Every now and then when I’m working with a pitching student I will have one who is having trouble hitting some of her spots on command. For example, she will tell me that she can hit inside ok but can’t throw outside.

I will talk to her about how to do it. I used to talk about making adjustments such as striding an inch or two toward where you want to throw, or turning your hand a certain way, etc.

But now I simply tell her to look at where you want to throw and then throw it there. Your body will find a way.

That works much of the time, but not always. In those cases where it doesn’t, I will drag a protective screen about halfway between the pitcher and catcher and say “Try it now.” That trick usually works within a couple of pitches.

“Why do you think you can magically hit that spot all of a sudden?” I will ask (triumphantly, I might add).

“Because the screen is there and I can’t throw it the other way,” they’ll reply in some form or another.

That’s true, but there’s a deeper explanation: by blocking off half the plate, her body was forced to make adjustments to not clang into the screen. We fixed the process, and the outcome was what we wanted.

That’s an important lesson for every fastpitch player to learn. All too often players get so caught up in trying to achieve the outcome they lose the thing that will most help them achieve it.

Pitchers will get so caught up in going for speed they’ll over-throw and try to muscle the ball, slowing it down. Or they’ll get so obsessed with hitting a spot or getting a spin that they’ll contort themselves in all sorts of crazy ways to make it happen.

Hitters will be so hellbent on getting a hit that they’ll just flail the bat at the ball instead of taking an approach that lets them see the ball longer and coordinate all their body parts to deliver the bat more efficiently. Fielders will be so focused on throwing hard to set a speed record that they’ll set aside good mechanics to just chuck the ball any old way, taking the throw off-line and getting a worse score than before.

You get the picture. These players become so intent on whatever outcome they’re trying to achieve that they don’t pay attention to how they’re trying to achieve it. That’s just wrong.

The reality is the process is greater than the outcome just like the graphic at the top of this post shows. (I stole that from a t-shirt I saw on the TV show Seal Team, to give credit where it’s due. Then I had my wife make me one with her Cricut so I can wear it to lessons.)

In other words, if you place your focus on the end you can control and work forward, you’re far more likely to achieve the outcomes you desire than if you try to work back from the outcome.

Yes, the outcomes are important. I’m certainly the first to celebrate a student hitting a home run, or achieving a new speed record, or succeeding in some other way.

But placing all your emphasis on them is not the way to achieve them.

Instead, focus on what you’re doing and what you’re feeling. Listen to your body and check on whether it’s doing what it’s supposed to do.

If you keep your focus there, I can guarantee the outcome will take care of itself. Because you can influence the process while you’re doing it.

But once you’ve done it, you can no longer influence the outcome. It’s simply the result of what you did.