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| SOFTBALL LINKS |
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Get Inside The Pitcher's Head, Body and Soul
by Dave
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Your team did pretty well in the seeding rounds of this tournament. You ended up 2 and 1 and now you're trying to get through the championship round playing as many games as possible. You win your first game and arrive at the field for game 2 only to be forced to sit and watch your next opponent disembowel an inferior team. They have this really big pitcher throwing really hard and you sense your girls might be dreading this next game. You tell them to relax, she probably won't pitch back-to-back games. But as you move your equipment to the dugout, you notice the same pitcher is warming up to face you. She's still throwing hard. So what is your approach going to be to beat this girl who gave up no hits in the game just concluded?
The first thing you must recognize is any pitcher can be beaten. The second thing to recognize is that, at least in age groups 14 years old and under, any pitcher no matter how hard she throws can be worn out and made to throw hittable pitches. She's most likely not going to beat herself but you can proactively wear her out if you do things right. Most age group players under 15 are not well-conditioned athletes. Some are, but the girls with a few extra pounds on them are generally not. They may be able to throw 300 pitches a day, every day. But if you make them work hard when not throwing pitches, they are going to get very tired fairly quickly.
The first thing you want to do is gauge her degree of fatigue right away. Your first hitter must not only bunt but bunt so as to make the pitcher move at least a few steps, field it, and throw to first. I hope you have taught all your players to bunt properly. That means bunt in sacrifice mode, not drag or slap bunt for basehits. Dragging and slapping are important skills but everyone on your team should know how to place a plain vanilla bunt.
When your first hitter sets up to bunt, she should know that the object is going to be to make the pitcher field it after running at least a couple steps. Place a slow rolling bunt to the pitcher's throwing-hand side so she is forced to move her feet those extra two steps. At this point you are trying to gauge her fatigue and try to wear her down just a little. Hopefully your first hitter has gotten on but even if she hasn't, your next hitter should also bunt and so should your next. I'm hoping that you will be able to generate a run in this fashion the first inning but if you don't, don't despair. The primary objective is wearing down the hard thrower.
You should tell your team that this is the objective. You're not looking for basehits but if the other team flubs the play, so much the better. Then after a flub, what do you do? Bunt again. Make her move her feet again. Maybe this time you ought to bunt to the glove-hand side. You may come out of the first inning with no runs but at least you've got that pitcher using her legs for something other than a hard pitch. And if she's tired from the first game, you're going to begin wearing on her and getting her to drop the speed down.
Now, hopefully you've got that pitcher a little winded but you want to keep the pressure on her. You want to continue to bunt at least once each inning. If she flubs a throw on a bunt, your next play must be another bunt. This way you get inside her head and stay there. If you've successfully bunted a few times and one of your best contact hitters, who also tends to hit back through the box, comes up, let her swing away. Hopefully she'll ground something past the pitcher while also making her work to try to field the ball.
You also want to make the big, hard throwing pitcher throw pitches, as many as possible. Unless she has impeccable control or persists in throwing first pitch strikes, you should instruct your hitters to watch at least one strike go by. If you succeed in making her throw a few balls, you will get better pitches to hit, but more importantly, you'll up her pitch count. This taking of the first strike will not only continue to wear down the pitcher and get your hitters better pitches, but also will give them a real chance to gauge her speed.
As the game moves forward, one of the things you want to look for from the opposing pitcher is if she shakes off a sign and then throws the change-up. Many pitchers will use the change more frequently when they feel their bodies beginning to wear out. Sure, the change should be done with the same arm motion and leg drive but most pitcher just do not expend as much energy throwing it as they do the fastball or their motion pitches. If they're tired, they're gonna want to throw more change-ups. If you notice her beginning to use her change more often, especially after shaking off the catcher's sign, tell your players to sit on the change. Tell them what you noticed and instruct them to look for the change after a shake off at least once during each at-bat.
Also, assuming you have clued your players in to the objective of wearing down the pitcher, and you see it starting to work, between innings let them know that what they are doing is working. They'll keep an eye on the pitcher and if they sense they are having an effect on her, their confidence will grow. And remind them to keep the pressure on her by continuing to bunt, taking that first strike and sitting on the change-up.
There is no question that one day you're going to face some really big girl who throws lightning and who is not susceptible to this strategy. But if you at least give yourself a chance to wear her out, you may win games you might not otherwise. Keep in mind that if your opponent pitches the same girl in back to back games especially in a championship round, there is a pretty good chance their number two pitcher is not all that effective. Anything you can do to wear out the pitcher is going to help your team improve their chances.
This sort of technique can be modified to wear out other players too. Assuming you are not facing some monstrous pitcher (which should be the first concern), let's assume the other team has a big hitting first baseman, third baseman or both. You can use the short game to get these players winded as well. A winded slugger is not going to beat you as easily as she will if she feels good and rested.
Remember that as coach, once you get into a game, your job is primarily a mental one. You need to summon your powers of observation and teach your girls how to beat superior opponents. The girls can handle other aspects of the game if you've prepared them well. During games, your responsibilities are more along the line of team psychologist. Best of luck!
 
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