Be Self Aware

As pitching coaches, you might think our only job is to teach you proper mechanics and then send you on your way. This is not true. In fact I don’t think it’s even our primary job. Our most important job in fact, is to make you your own best teacher. What does that mean? It…

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Pitching Better in Practice Than in Games

I’ve been getting a lot of emails and messages on our social media pages from players and parents, all with the same concern. Each girl has reached out saying that they throw really well in practice and then throw so much worse when they are in game situations. Some of the most common things I…

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How do you fix your mechanics when you’ve got games to pitch?

I was working with a student yesterday for the first time since last year as she spent the entire off-season recovering from an injury. We spend the whole time doing specific drills and she put in a really outstanding effort to smooth out the illegal hop in her drive through. After the lesson she asked me, what am I supposed to do in games?

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Why Do Some Pitchers Pitch with Mechanical Flaws in Games but not Practice?

A recent reader question reminded me to address this topic, which affects so many pitchers. In a past article, I discussed some tips for overcoming game-time nerves to help you pitch as well in games as in practice, However, many pitchers who DO NOT get nervous during games still struggle to match up their practice and game-time pitching mechanics. But why?

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Quick Tip: Avoid Getting Overwhemled by What You’re Learning

When you’re first learning a skill like pitching or hitting, or when you’re trying to work on breaking more than one bad habit, lessons can be overwhelming. After every pitch or swing, your coach might rattle off a list of things to change. After the next one, it’s something different. You change one thing, but you forget about something else. Trying to keep track of all the things you’re doing incorrectly can be overwhelming, and often not very productive.

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What Causes Athletes to Choke in High Pressure Situations?

The MLB postseason is my favorite time of the year when it comes to sports. This year has been particularly exciting, with kind of a crazy number of come-from-behind victories, both in single games and in whole series. As is to be expected, this has prompted a lot of talk from baseball analysts about the role of postseason experience, momentum, and choking. When a great player suddenly performs very poorly in the spotlight, it’s easy to say, “Oh, he totally CHOKED.” But what does that really mean, and how can that knowledge help YOU perform better in big games?

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