| SOFTBALL TIPS |
|
|
|
| SITE STUFF |
|
|
|
|
ARCHIVES
|
| • |
June 26, 2005 |
| • |
July 03, 2005 |
| • |
July 10, 2005 |
| • |
July 17, 2005 |
| • |
July 24, 2005 |
| • |
July 31, 2005 |
| • |
August 07, 2005 |
| • |
August 14, 2005 |
| • |
August 21, 2005 |
| • |
August 28, 2005 |
| • |
September 11, 2005 |
| • |
October 02, 2005 |
| • |
October 09, 2005 |
| • |
October 23, 2005 |
| • |
October 30, 2005 |
| • |
November 06, 2005 |
| • |
November 13, 2005 |
| • |
December 04, 2005 |
| • |
December 18, 2005 |
| • |
December 25, 2005 |
| • |
January 08, 2006 |
| • |
January 15, 2006 |
| • |
January 29, 2006 |
| • |
February 05, 2006 |
| • |
February 12, 2006 |
| • |
February 19, 2006 |
| • |
February 26, 2006 |
| • |
March 05, 2006 |
| • |
March 12, 2006 |
| • |
March 19, 2006 |
| • |
March 26, 2006 |
| • |
April 02, 2006 |
| • |
April 09, 2006 |
| • |
April 16, 2006 |
| • |
April 23, 2006 |
| • |
April 30, 2006 |
| • |
May 07, 2006 |
| • |
May 14, 2006 |
| • |
May 21, 2006 |
| • |
May 28, 2006 |
| • |
June 04, 2006 |
| • |
June 11, 2006 |
| • |
June 18, 2006 |
| • |
June 25, 2006 |
| • |
July 09, 2006 |
| • |
July 16, 2006 |
| • |
July 23, 2006 |
| • |
July 30, 2006 |
| • |
August 13, 2006 |
| • |
August 20, 2006 |
| • |
September 03, 2006 |
| • |
September 10, 2006 |
| • |
September 17, 2006 |
| • |
September 24, 2006 |
| • |
October 01, 2006 |
| • |
October 08, 2006 |
| • |
October 15, 2006 |
| • |
October 22, 2006 |
| • |
November 12, 2006 |
| • |
November 26, 2006 |
| • |
December 31, 2006 |
| • |
January 14, 2007 |
| • |
January 21, 2007 |
| • |
January 28, 2007 |
| • |
February 04, 2007 |
| • |
February 11, 2007 |
| • |
February 18, 2007 |
| • |
February 25, 2007 |
| • |
March 04, 2007 |
| • |
March 11, 2007 |
| • |
March 18, 2007 |
| • |
April 01, 2007 |
| • |
April 08, 2007 |
| • |
April 15, 2007 |
| • |
April 22, 2007 |
| • |
April 29, 2007 |
| • |
May 06, 2007 |
| • |
May 13, 2007 |
| • |
May 20, 2007 |
| • |
May 27, 2007 |
| • |
June 03, 2007 |
| • |
June 10, 2007 |
| • |
June 17, 2007 |
| • |
June 24, 2007 |
| • |
July 01, 2007 |
| • |
July 22, 2007 |
| • |
July 29, 2007 |
| • |
August 12, 2007 |
| • |
August 19, 2007 |
| • |
September 02, 2007 |
| • |
September 16, 2007 |
| • |
September 30, 2007 |
| • |
October 07, 2007 |
| • |
October 14, 2007 |
| • |
October 21, 2007 |
| • |
November 04, 2007 |
| • |
November 18, 2007 |
| • |
November 25, 2007 |
| • |
December 02, 2007 |
| • |
December 09, 2007 |
| • |
December 16, 2007 |
| • |
January 13, 2008 |
| • |
February 17, 2008 |
| • |
February 24, 2008 |
| • |
March 02, 2008 |
| • |
March 09, 2008 |
| • |
March 30, 2008 |
| • |
April 06, 2008 |
| • |
April 13, 2008 |
| • |
April 20, 2008 |
| • |
April 27, 2008 |
| • |
May 04, 2008 |
| • |
May 11, 2008 |
| • |
May 18, 2008 |
| • |
May 25, 2008 |
| • |
June 01, 2008 |
| • |
June 15, 2008 |
| • |
June 22, 2008 |
| • |
June 29, 2008 |
| • |
July 06, 2008 |
| • |
July 13, 2008 |
| • |
July 20, 2008 |
| • |
August 03, 2008 |
| • |
August 10, 2008 |
| • |
August 17, 2008 |
| • |
August 24, 2008 |
| • |
August 31, 2008 |
| • |
September 07, 2008 |
| • |
September 14, 2008 |
| • |
September 21, 2008 |
| • |
September 28, 2008 |
| • |
October 05, 2008 |
| • |
October 12, 2008 |
| • |
October 19, 2008 |
| • |
October 26, 2008 |
| • |
November 02, 2008 |
| • |
November 09, 2008 |
| • |
November 16, 2008 |
| • |
November 30, 2008 |
| • |
December 07, 2008 |
| • |
December 21, 2008 |
| • |
December 28, 2008 |
| • |
February 15, 2009 |
| • |
February 22, 2009 |
| • |
April 12, 2009 |
| • |
April 19, 2009 |
| • |
April 26, 2009 |
| • |
May 03, 2009 |
| • |
May 10, 2009 |
| • |
May 17, 2009 |
| • |
May 24, 2009 |
| • |
May 31, 2009 |
| • |
June 07, 2009 |
| • |
June 14, 2009 |
| • |
June 21, 2009 |
| • |
July 05, 2009 |
| • |
July 12, 2009 |
| • |
July 19, 2009 |
| • |
August 02, 2009 |
| • |
August 30, 2009 |
| • |
September 06, 2009 |
| • |
September 20, 2009 |
| • |
October 04, 2009 |
| • |
October 11, 2009 |
| • |
October 18, 2009 |
| • |
November 08, 2009 |
| • |
November 15, 2009 |
| • |
November 22, 2009 |
| • |
November 29, 2009 |
| • |
December 27, 2009 |
| • |
January 03, 2010 |
| • |
January 10, 2010 |
| • |
January 17, 2010 |
| • |
January 24, 2010 |
| • |
January 31, 2010 |
| • |
March 14, 2010 |
| • |
March 21, 2010 |
| • |
March 28, 2010 |
| • |
April 04, 2010 |
| • |
April 18, 2010 |
| • |
April 25, 2010 |
|
|
| SOFTBALL LINKS |
|
|
|
Find Me A Team!
by Dave
Friday, February 23, 2007
I guess I shouldn't be surprised by what is becoming a common question from readers of this blog. I receive more e-mails which ask something along the lines of "can you help me find a team?" than anything else. The emphatic answer is "no, I cannot." That's because finding a team involves a very complex dynamic. I can no more find a team for any particular player than I can fit a girl for a uniform via the internet. There are so many variables involved which can only be known by the individual player and which may change via experience that it is fruitless to even try. The best I can do is suggest some structure for locating, evaluating and choosing a team.
Basically, the way I see the softball universe, there are a couple different kinds of teams. There are recreational programs which are fundamental to the sport because they provide the first experience for most girls. These programs are like intra-murals in the sense that everyone who wants to play, can. Teams are usually split up so as to create the greatest amount of balance within the league. It wouldn't be much fun if all the best girls were on one team and everybody else on the others. That's true for both sides of the equation. Girls who are not very serious about the sport would have a bad time if they lost every game by double digits. They'd no longer join the rec program because it wasn't any fun. Similarly, the very best local players wouldn't get enough challenge to keep playing if they easily won every time out. Rec leagues exist to give young girls the chance to see if they like the sport and provide older girls with an opportunity to play a game while socializing.
Aside from the pure recreational league, there is the "rec/all-star" program in which presumably the very best girls are banded together to play for the pride of the town. I say "presumably the best" because it frequently doesn't work that way. Usually what happens is a parent who is very involved in the league begins first with his own daughter, adds in her very bestest of friends - at least the ones who can play some - and then adds in the girls who he or she thinks will make this team win a few games. Typically the result is not the best possible team but it is what it is. The team plays in something like the Little League or Babe Ruth tournament and that's about it.
These rec/all-star teams usually progress into something which I think of as a sub-tournament team because parent and child are disappointed in the number of games the all-star team gets to play. So they keep the girls together for a time and maybe enter into a tournament or two or three. They encounter true travelling teams at these tournaments and begin to wonder how their opposition got so good. Eventually they decide that the way to go is to form their own travelling team and keep it together from year to year to play these same couple tournaments. They may even incorporate separate and apart from the recreational league, create a different name for the team, and get special uniforms and the other accoutrements of a travelling club.
Once this event occurs, the founders of the rec/all-star travelling club begin to see that there are certain weaknesses within their batch of local girls. For one thing, they often do not have good pitching. For another, they see all these girls who can really play the game at a very high level and think to themselves, if they could just add one or two pitchers and a player or two to the current group, they might actually be competitive. So they open the geographic draw for their team and then things get complicated. Girls who can play might join up but once they get there, they are frequently disappointed by their teammates and move on to other types of organizations which we'll get to in a moment.
A few years ago we stumbled upon such an organization by accident. We wanted to find our very young kids someplace, any place, to play fall ball. So we signed up for a fall league and were placed on a team which was basically intact for two years and which played together as a unit from spring into the fall. The league had informed the coaches of this team that they had to take on additional players because the league itself was recreational - sponsored by taxpayer dollars. So our two kids were assigned to this basically intact town rec-all star team. I overheard a parent from that team explaining to another how they were going to remain organized next year, change their name, etc. So I inquired as to whether there was any room on the team for my kids. To say I received the cold shoulder is an understatement.
The team coach explained that my kids were at the low end of the age range of the team and they would be playing some really tough games next year against older teams so I should probably look someplace else. Then I watched this team play a year after that personal shutout and found my kids were actually now far superior to every other member of the team. But the coaches didn't know that so when I wrote them, they just never wrote me back. But don't fret for me, last year we found another sort of team and then that team ended up playing against this team which had shut us out. My daughter pitched against them but our coach took mercy on the team once it was evident that we were going to pummel them into the ground. One girl touched one of my daughter's pitches but that was just a ground ball back to her and she easily threw the kid out. The other kids whiffed at everything else she threw. The best out was a K by the most socially aggressive kid on that team - one who had made my daughter feel unwelcome. She struck out on a change-up in which she actually fell down as she swung and still had time to look up from the ground and watch the ball pass over her head! After three innings, my daughter was removed to give them a chance to get a baserunner or two.
That little bit was my self-indulgence for the day but my point is, this is the nature of what I call the "sub-tournament / former rec/all-star team." This is the sort of organization to be avoided at all costs unless you are just trying to have some fun with friends - and you are very friendly with those who organized the team. This brings me to the essence of the question "please help me find a team."
The question of finding a team is generally one in which the subject matter is travel club teams. As I just got through explaining to you, there are many of these rec/all-star travelling team hybrids out there. They are sometimes difficult to pick out from the crowd but suffice it to say that if you find yourself in a circumstance in which everybody on the team lives in one small neighborhood and they all seem to be extremely friendly with one another, you've found it.
The rec-all star hybrid often morphs into something else which is a true tournament team. What happens is somebody who organized the team begins to realize, like I said before, that there are certain deficiencies on the team which cannot be solved by "local girls." They also decide that this tournament thing is preferable to town and all star ball. If they could only find a way to compete. They allow the team they organized to disintegrate but keep the four or five best players. Then they add in a bunch of girls from outside their area and do a lot better than the old team did. If they do well enough, they begin to build a reputation and a true travel team is born.
Gradually the team seeks out better and better competition, eventually playing tournaments sanctioned by one of the bigger organizations like Pony, Fast, NSA, or even the top rung, ASA. From year to year the team remains pretty much intact with just a few girls realizing they can't play at this level, moving away, or just finding other teams for one reason or another. Players are replaced either via recruitment based on reputation or through formal tryouts in which the truly best performers are added to the mix.
Sometimes, after a bad experience, such a team will split in half and two travel teams are born. Each then conducts big tryouts or bands together with another group which has undergone the same experience. Eventually the teams with the best kids build such a reputation that often whole organizations are born in which all age groups or at least most of them are covered.
Sometimes these larger organizations are built a little differently. Sometimes they result from a parent-coach who sees the lay of the land for what it is and just decides to start a whole organization. Sometimes, perhaps too often, this comes about because the parent coach has multiple kids who are serious about softball. These organizations often have large holes in them. For example, they might field a 16U team or several, one 14U team and a 10U team with nothing in 12U or 18U. They may actually conduct tryouts for all age groups but the interest level and coaching staff is just not there to field a full slate of teams.
I remember a good organization (it's still around though for how much longer is anyone's guess) which was highly competitive. We went to the tryouts for ulterior motives which I won't get into and were surprised by how few girls were there for a particular age category. Later I heard from several people who had attended tryouts for this organization in that age group and they had been approached about coaching the team. In the words of one such parent, "here's this guy who doesn't know me from Adam and he's asking me to coach a team which costs more than a thousand dollars to join. He doesn't know if I know anything about fastpitch and here I was coming to his tryouts in the hopes of getting my kid some higher quality coaching."
At this point, I come to what I think of as the real travel club organizations. What happens at this point frequently is the parent of a kid who played while this invention was undergoing creation and evolution has decided to make something better than he has put together to date. He has extended his sphere of softball friends to include a large number of serious (about softball) people. Players want to be on his teams. Coaches consider it an honor to be chosen to coach his teams. They conduct tournaments, clinics and fundraisers with big name people which everyone in surrounding communities wants to attend. Everybody knows who they are and aspires to one day be involved with the organization. Their fame has spread beyond state borders and may be manifested in a national reputation. When they conduct tryouts, girls from out-of-state show up to try to make the cut. They play more than one out-of-state tournament and get themselves into the serious mix at nationals.
Now, please recognize that there are variants of these basic types which you will undoubtedly encounter. But it is often difficult to get a grasp on just who is who when you aren't from a particular area. Many of the questions I receive from players looking for a team involve relocations. It can be very difficult to discern between local all-star hybrids and run of the mill real travel organizations. But there are some clues such as how long the organization has been in existence; how many age groups they cover; whether they hold their own tournaments; what kind of tournaments these are - national qualifiers, ASA "A," Rec/all-star, etc.; do they conduct clinics that are not just practices for kids on the team; do they relationships with other organizations.
You can find the answers to most of your questions regarding an organization by perusing their web site, assuming they have a web site. A fastpitch softball team without a web site, should consider getting at least something online. It isn't a good sign when you encounter an organization which does not have a web site.
You want to see that this organization provides contact information for a decent sized coaching staff at various age levels - that is if this is the sort of organization you seek. You also want to see something on there about their tournaments and clinics. And you should be able to learn about their typical schedule - how many and what quality of tournaments they play. This should tell you about all you need to know about a team at least in the sense of what you can learn about them before you make contact.
The real learning about a team occurs once the team has been organized. Sometimes even the most apparently well run organization is really just a rec/all-star organization in which the folks running it happen to be very good at pretending they are something they're not. Some of your decision making must be done in person. Don't ever be afraid of being a pain in the butt by asking lots of questions. When you're fact-finding, it is your right to ask as many questions as you want. Just make sure you are asking the right kind of questions. Don't for example concern yourself only with whether my kid is going to get lots of playing time at which position.
Ask more general questions about the organization. How was this formed and when? How many teams and players are involved in the organization? How far of a draw does it have - how many towns are the girls from, what areas? What kind of tournaments do you play, where? Do you ever send teams to nationals, which ones? How long has this particular group been playing together? How are coaches selected and is there any particular overall organizational coaching philosophy? You can come up with your own batch of questions but the point here is they should be concerned with issues which provide you a flavor of what this organization is all about.
So that's a bit about organizations and teams, and how you should inquire about them. The more important issue is really about the prospective player. If you're the one playing, I have to ask you what age group are you in, do you plan to play school ball, what are your objectives in finding a team, are you aspiring to a college scholarship or even the opportunity to play in college with or without a scholarship, what is it you are really looking for? A player should understand where her game stands today and where she wants to take it. If a player wants just to see lots of action against pretty good competition without being pressed by coaches and the competition into stepping up her game, then the top level organizations should probably be avoided. If, on the other hand, a girl wants to reach as high as she possibly can, she ought to try out with every decent organization she can find and then make up her own mind about where she would like to play based on interactions with the other kids at tryouts.
When I contemplate this sort of question, there is a side issue which often arises. Sometimes parents will write to me and ask my opinion of a strategy they have put together. They allow their kid to "play up" on an older team in order to get a better experience. They don;t want to spend the money or drive the distance to practice every other day that a higher level team in the appropriate age group would entail. Instead they'd like their kid to play against soi so competition but in an older age category. I'm not against this strategy per se - it was common when I was growing up. But there are some problems which should at least be considered.
When, for example, an 11 year old plays for a 14U team or a 13 year old plays for an 18U team, there are significant maturity level differences which can be problematic. 14 year old girls are frequently well past puberty while 11 year olds are just entering into it. 13 year olds might be smack dab in the middle of puberty while a couple 18 year olds on the 18U team are, shall we say, not quite pristine virgins. I don't like talking about the whole sex thing but, as I'm sure you are aware, ball players do not hold back much from their teammates regardless of age differences. And at these ages, this does very much become an issue. You have to ask yourself what ancillary issues you are willing to face in order to allow your kid to play up rather than play with a higher level, more expensive but more age appropriate group.
Let's just summarize this discussion to see if we can draw it to a close. There are all sorts of organizations out there but they generally fall within or around a couple categories. There are well established, well run organizations which have been around the block several times. There are also teams which are just the local all-star team which is now playing tournaments to give the girls some challenges and additional playing time. There are other organizations which are far more sophisticated than the all stars who organize girls from a broader geographic area, play better tournaments, and generally provide more challenges while keeping together a decent group from year to year. You can try to learn about these organizations and tea,s through whatever means you have a available. The internet is one such tool. You have to know what the player herself's abilities and goals are to find the right match. And ultimately you have to make the decision in person after you've had the chance to quiz coaches and members of the organization. Ultimately it is probably better to find the right level of team in the right age category unless you have a very mature, street-wise kid.
As a final discussion item, I want to speak to parents of kids who are very good softball players in their local leagues and want to step out about a couple of issues. This is the other kind of "help me find a team" inquiry I get. First off, if you venture into the travel world, you are going to see some kids of very high abilities. Do not react to these by thinking to yourself that my kid just can't play like that. That isn't true. Anybody who works hard at this game because they enjoy it, can bring themselves up to a very high level. That's not to say every kid has the potential to make Team USA or even obtain a scholarship. But every kid has at least enough potential to become quite good provided that she receive proper coaching and work at her game. Playing against really good players is the route to excellence. Joining a team even though your one reservation is this may be just too difficult, will most often result in incredible development.
Also, please do not stick with the local all star team or get your kid playing up an age group on a less demanding local team rather than checking out travel merely because you want her to play with kids she knows. if you venture out to travel, one of the things you will experience is your daughter retains all her local friendships while supplementing them with new ones from outside your immediate community. That can only be good in the sense that your daughter should become somewhat more socially sophisticated. Your kids will be exposed to far more than they can possibly get otherwise when they play for a genuine travel organization with a broad geographical pull.
I never really understood just how protected and homogenized my kids upbringing had become until we ventured out to travel ball. If I ever think about it, the local experience is just too limited. Everybody in our town is in about the same socio-economic range, has about the same sized house, shares common values when it comes to things like school, etc., etc. This has its place but it limits the experiences a kid learns to cope with. The travel teams we have been associated with involve a far broader spectrum of economic levels and life experiences. My kids have attended religious ceremonies I wouldn't have even dreamed about without them having been exposed to kids from several other towns. They play with kids who have very high and very low income levels. They encounter kids who are both far more highly academically ambitious than they are as well as kids who are truancy problems. They see the world more for what it actually is now that they play travel ball. And many of their closest relationships are with kids from out of town. They don't have to fall into the usual cliques when they see these kids. It provides them the freedom to actually be who they are without all the typical social competitiveness.
That about sums up what I wanted to say about finding a team. there is a whole world out there and it is complicated. But you're an intelligent person and can figure things out for yourself. My job is not so much to intruct but rather to spur thought in you. Good luck in your search.Labels: parents, teams
Permanent Link: Find Me A Team!
 
Defensive Softball - Howard Kobata
by Dave
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Yesterday, within the context of a rotational vs. linear hitting analysis, I wrote a passing comment about another subject. I wrote, "Kobata fielding techniques are best, particularly for infielders - but that's a discussion for another day." A reader of the site wrote in to ask me about this. He said, "Kobata?? - I was wondering if you have any articles on Kobata fielding techniques? I'm not familiar with this and it sounds interesting."
I suppose it never occurred to me that many in this sport are still unfamiliar with defensive softball as taught by Howard Kobata. So today I'll touch on some information regarding this essential part of your softball knowledge base.
Howard Kobata resides in Southern California where he teaches defensive softball skills on a private and clinic basis. He was a baseball player who moved to SoCal from Hawaii and, like so many other top softball coaches, played fastpitch softball after his baseball playing days were over. He has built a career by studying, perfecting and teaching defensive softball.
Once his playing days were over, he coached girls fastpitch softball at a very high level, including many top 10 finishes at ASA nationals and one national title. He gives clinics locally and to organizations around the country. His skills are included in a package of videos which are available for purchase via the web.
I first encountered the name Kobata on several softball forums. Visitors inquiring about all sorts of topics were told to keep an eye out for Kobata fielding clinics in their areas. To the neophyte, this seemed like excessive hype but it was, for me, something to at least keep in the back of my mind. When clinics were held in my area, I figured I'd have my kid give one a shot but, to my surprise, I was told that girls attending these clinics should be at least 12, probably older, and be extremely serious about softball, not to mention currently playing at an advanced level. So I resigned myself to waiting a few more years.
While I waited for the day that I could see Kobata in action, I learned that he had produced a couple of defensive skills videos. I went online to see if I could find them, I discovered Howard's site SoftballSkills.com and surfed through it for a while. On the site I found his defensive softball series. Unfortunately I found they were only available in VHS and because we no longer owned a VCR, I wrote him to inquire about whether he was going to make these videos available in DVD format. Luckily he wrote me back to say he was planning on doing just that and I would have my videos in a few weeks. These are currently available in DVD format.
The videos are: Softball Skills - Series 1, Catching and Throwing; and Series 2, Fielding. Series 1 costs $30 plus shipping and handling. Series two is ten dollars more. But if you buy both, the price comes down to a total of $50 plus S/H and sales tax. It is well worth the expense.
I dare say that neither tape is exclusively concerned with just one aspect of softball defense. The two together form a nice cohesive whole and consist of an intensely packed series of skills and drills which totals to about an hour and twenty minutes. But it is a long hour and 20 minutes. You will have to go over and over each one of the segments to capture even close to a majority of the information provided. I doubt that all the hours I have devoted to this have yielded even a small percentage of what is there.
Howard Kobata suggests that you watch this series with your glove in hand so you can act out the things he's teaching you. I'll go a bit further than that. My approach to watching these videos is a study in itself. What I suggest you try to do is sit through one video played straight through in its entirety without trying to do anything more than just watching and listening. Then I suggest you get out your mitt and a pencil with some paper so you can dissect it properly. You will want to watch each segment several times, with frequent stops during each, and jot down your thoughts. That will take you a significant amount of time since you will be stopping the video to write down a lot of little tips and aspects of these drills and skills. Then you'll want to craft some drills for your team and give them a try. Then you'll need to come back to the videos and watch some more, jot some more and then give something else a try. This is certainly not a one-time deal where you sit and watch two videos over an hour and a half and then put them on your shelf to collect dust.
Kobata emphasizes sound defensive skills and how to best develop them through drilling and attention to the smallest of details like ready position, footwork, where in your stance you pick up the ball, how your body pivots around the fielded ball, and the best approach to making a throw. Some of it you will have heard from other coaches - in fact many of Howard's drills are in common usage. Some of it will strike you as obvious but something you hadn't thought of quite the same way Howard said it. Some of it will offend your sense of how to play the game - as you learned it twenty years ago ... in the hands of an unqualified coach. All of it is relevant to anyone attempting to do a good job of coaching a fastpitch team whether that team is an 8U rec program or an ASA gold team. It is also relevant for parents of girls who play the sport at all levels.
Howard does not necessarily agree with the assertion that his in-person clinics are not suitable for younger players. He says, "there is not much I can do if the player is still afraid of the ball and cannot learn to catch correctly." Also many of the clinics held by organizations located out of state are mixed age ones and "sometimes the weaker player has trouble keeping up with the others." My sense is the key pre-requisites for a Kobata clinic are motivation and no fear of the ball. Howard notes that when he works with teams, "not everyone really wants to be there and so attitude problems may arise." But he has worked with highly motivated 10U teams, eventually moving to fairly advanced skills.
Aside from the issue of whether or not Kobata clinics are right for younger kids, the skills taught on the videos are entirely appropriate. From your first catch with your 8 year old daughter to your last coaching assignment with the high school state championship team, there is something to be gleaned from the Kobata defensive skills video series. And, if you're but a mere parent, it doesn't really matter if you expect your kid to get a college scholarship or if your highest aspirations are your kid's simple enjoyment of the rec league for a few years. If you study this information, learn it and learn how to explain it to others, your kid will benefit. The true value of sport, in my humble opinion, is learning to do something difficult the right way. And this series will teach you to teach kids to do just that.
I don't know what else I can say about this series or Howard Kobata without gushing even more than I have. Let me add that Howard is totally devoted to the sport. He is not just in this to make a few bucks. He is a nice enough guy who bothers to take time out to respond to e-mailed questions. What comes through in his replies to questions is total, complete, 100% devotion to the sport and the skills he has developed.
I've seen a lot of cheesy videos and other products which have apparently been made to make money. They use famous people to endorse products. They presume to teach topics whose names are attractive to people involved in the sport. But very few effectively teach the subject matter. The kobata series was the most pleasant surprise I found in the many purchases I have made to date. I strongly urge you to pry the fifty bucks from your wallet and give them a try. if you are not pleased, I cannot offer you a refund - though maybe Howard would. But more importantly, if you are not completely impressed with this product I really would like to know why in detail. I do not expect I'll have any takers on that challenge.Labels: defense, fielding, kobata, video
Permanent Link: Defensive Softball - Howard Kobata
Rotational vs. Linear Hitting
by Dave
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
I've found myself in a quandary for quite some time now. Several years ago I overheard a discussion about linear vs. rotational hitting. It wasn't actually a full blown discussion. It was more of a brief editorial without any substantive factual support. I'll get to that discussion and subsequent ones in a moment but it piqued my interest enough to make me question almost everything I've ever learned about hitting. Unfortunately, there is no neat and complete work which fully analyzes the difference between the two hitting mechanics styles. There are materials out there to be sure but none of them satisfactorily answered all the questions which developed in my puny brain.
The discussion I overheard involved two mothers of travel fastpitch players in the age range of 13 to 15 years old. The first parent, the relative "expert" had taken her daughter to get hitting instruction and stumbled upon a rotational mechanics instructor. The second parent was asking about hitting lessons because her daughter was mired in a slump. The "expert" was telling her friend about how she really had to get her kid in to see hitting coach Y because he favors rotational over linear hitting mechanics. The "expert" was claiming that rotational was good for girls because it generated far more power and was easier to learn. She said something like: "just look at the way my daughter X is hitting. She's driving the ball over the outfielders' heads. And it's all thanks to coach Y. Also, I hear UCLA has been teaching rotational hitting for years and now all the colleges are using it for softball. If you want to get a scholarship, you've just got to learn rotational hitting."
Subsequent to this discussion I have seen numerous posts on softball forums in which one parent asks about criteria for selecting a coach for his or her kid. Invariably a host of experts will come onto the forum and tell this parent in absolute terms that whatever they do, they should make sure they put their kid into private coaching if and only if the coach teaches Kobata fielding techniques and rotational hitting mechanics. I agree with the first claim - Kobata fielding techniques are best, particularly for infielders - but that's a discussion for another day. I just wasn't so sure about the rotational hitting question.
Because I am a student of the game, I've been on a quest to see if an average ordinary human being can learn about the differences between the two styles of hitting. My answer is yes ... and ... no. There are some absolute facts I want you to consider in the analysis of rotational vs. linear swing mechanics. This should bring you to about the same state of educated confusion in which I currently find myself.
Learning Materials
First off, there are a lot of materials out there for those interested in learning about hitting. My funds are not unlimited so I chose just a few to look at. These materials are definitely not enough to really gauge the substantial differences between the two mechanical styles but I'm getting ahead of myself.
One item I purchased in my quest to distinguish between the two hitting styles was a video entitled "Rotational vs. Linear - Which Swing Will Help You Hit Best" by Andy Collins. Mr. Collins has a web site you can peruse for more information or to buy his video. It can be found at TheInternetHittingCoach.com Collins does a decent job of explaining some of the similarities and dissimilarities between the two styles but I wouldn't buy this video to learn about hitting. I found his presentation skills to be somewhat lacking. And based on the 43+ minutes of this video, I wouldn't hire him to coach my kids either.
I've seen good coaches teach and the one thing all the good ones have in common is an ability to break skills down and explain them so even an idiot like me can understand them. That was not a quality I would ascribe to Collins. I had to pause the video on numerous occasions and go back over what he just said in order to make sense of it. I believe had a better script been written and practiced, the video could have been more beneficial. As it is, it appears to me as if this was done in a single shoot with no retakes or analysis about how to make things more clear. Unfortunately, that's true of most softball and baseball videos.
I'm not so much criticising Collins - I only met him this once for just 43 minutes and I'm sure he knows what he is talking about - but the video did not teach me much I hadn't heard before, elsewhere. And some of what appears in the video does more to confuse the viewer than to clarify things. For example, the theme of the video is the differences between linear and rotational. Very young students demonstrate the mechanics. But among those demonstrating linear mechanics was a player who I think had been trained mostly in rotational. And among those demonstrating rotational were several who most definitely were using linear style. Had I not realized that, I would have been more lost than ever before.
If you want to know the differences between the two hitting styles, this video will help you to do that but you have to bring some knowledge and you have to pay close attention to Collins while ignoring his students. I recommend this item only as part of an intellectual exercise of distinguishing between rotational and linear hitting mechanics. If you want to really understand the differences, make a choice and teach others, you're going to need far more than this. And since it costs $40 plus shipping, it may not be worth your while.
Another item I purchased was a paperback book named "Lau's Laws on Hitting" by Charley Lau, Jr. Lau is the son of a former Major League batting coach - one who has taught some of the most recognizable names in the game. The book set me back $22 bucks and seems like it was worth the money. But Lau does not specifically teach rotational mechanics. If I had to characterize him as belonging to one camp or the other, I'd put him in the linear camp. I'll explain why later but the thing which most distinguishes Lau from other hitting instructors is his emphasis on top hand release. And Lau would most definitely take exception to being placed in the linear or rotational camps. I believe he sees himself as above that debate and maybe he is right.
Lau's book is not the most well written piece of literature you will ever read. But he does make his points. Like any sports book, it is a difficult read in the sense that things don't flow all that well. You'll want to read a section, then put it down, perhaps re-read the section you are pondering and then move on, though slowly. Most sports writing is second rate since your average ball player and coach is more about doing, showing, and speaking as little as possible than he or she is about putting things in writing. Also, it is very difficult to put these things in writing as I learn every day.
Because this work is in the form of static book pages, it does not give you a similar experience a video does. That's not necessarily a bad thing since it is often impossible to see what you need to see with the naked eye when a full speed swing is performed. The Lau book provides plenty of still pictures, many involving major league noteworthy hitters. That's probably a better way to examine hitting mechanics. But my one criticism is some of these hitters are definitely linear and some are undeniably rotational without there ever being anything said to distinguish between them. Now I understand that Lau in some ways marries the benefits of each into his recommendations but for the very early hitter, that may not be the best approach.
Lau's book is worth the money you need to buy it and the time you will have to put into reading it. It does, if you put in the effort, teach you some practical lessons about hitting. But my sense is this not really for the beginner. You have to take Psychology 101 before you continue on with a major in the subject. I suggest trying to get your arms around linear vs. rotational and then getting your copy of Lau's Laws.
Some Commonalities
There are a number of shared elements of rotational and linear hitting mechanics. The first and most important one is the stance. Despite what you may hear on the street, moving from linear to rotational should not necessarily involve a stance change. Every time you switch hitting instructors, you are probably going to encounter stance correction or even a complete remake of the stance but that is not actually due to which camp the instructor belongs to.
The best way to think of hitting stance is the two key elements, athletic position and balance. Athletic position means with your feet further apart than your shoulders, knees bent or flexed, butt down a bit and with a slight bend to the waist. It is the position a linebacker or defensive back takes before the snap. It is the position a basketball defender assumes. It is the position a boxer punches from. It is the position which is the most common element among all of sport aside from curling or bowling, thus the name "athletic position."
It is always comical to me to hear the phrase "feet shoulder-width apart." My shoulders are about 29 inches across but my inseam is only about 28 inches - I've got an odd shaped body. If I put my feet shoulder-width apart, I'm probably doing a split! And most people stand athletically with their feet further apart than shoulder width. The athletic position varies based on the player's individual body shape and size. And most importantly, an athletic position is required regardless of hitting style used.
In order to accomplish an athletic position, you cannot have your legs straight with knees locked. Similarly, your back cannot be perfectly straight, pointing upwards. If you bend your knees a little while keeping your head up, your butt goes down and you will most likely bend slightly at your waist.
I've heard many claim rotational hitting involves torquing the body backwards but that's not necessarily the case. To hit - to use your body's kinetic power to strike a projectile moving at an impossibly fast speed - you've got to be balanced to begin with. This is true whether you are using rotational or linear mechanics.
I've also heard folks claim that rotational hitting does not involve that first step which linear hitters use. Yet I've seen hig level successful rotational hitters take a full, long step and linear hitters whose front foot is glued to the ground. To step or not to step is a question you must answer regardless of the style of hitting you are using. Whether you are a linear or rotational hitting, there is no moral or other obligation to step or not. All hitters decide whether to take a step, lift the foot and put it back down again from where they just picked it up, or to stride a bit towards the pitcher.
The most important commonality between rotational and linear hitting is the object of the exercise which is, of course, to hit the ball. If you can't vector the pitched ball, you can't strike it. That means regardless of style, you must maintain a "quiet head." You cannot hit the ball if your head is bobbing and weaving.
Some Fundamental Differences
As I said, the most important commonality between rotational and linear hitting is the object - to hit the ball. The differences which arise between the two styles are the manner in which one works the lever - the bat. Basically all hitting involves moving a lever into a position from which it is most likely to strike a ball while using the highest possible bat velocity since kinetic mechanics tell us that speed plus velocity produces force. The object of hitting is to convert energy from the body into the bat. The difference between the two styles is predominantly how you create the force and how you convert it to the ball.
Linear and rotational hitting presumably start with essentially the same stance. But difference occur immediately afterwards. The linear hitter commences forward momentum by pushing with the back foot in what is commonly referred to as "squishing the bug." Charley Lau criticizes this term because he fears a hitter will move ball of their foot in an attempt to really, really kill the bug. But that's not actually true. You do not actually perform the same motion you would if you were squishing a bug. Basically, you shift your weight from being balanced upon the entire ball and toes of the back foot to the inside of the ball and big toe. Then you push with about 60% of your weight on that back foot. Often linear hitters accomplish this slight shift via a step and that's why rotational advocates often claim that linear hitters always step. But you can accomplish this without stepping and many linear hitters do.
Rotational hitting does not involve this pushing off the back foot per se. Rather this style involves a pulling with the hip with weight more on the front foot. The hips kickoff the frontwards torque while with linear hitting, the back foot does this job.
Another important difference between the two styles is the movement by the back arm. In rotational hitting, the elbow is in, next to the side. Linear hitters chop down at the ball and, as a consequence, their elbows aren't in nearly as tight to the body.
This brings up another important difference between the two styles. In rotational hitting, the bat head often drops below the batter's hands. In linear hitting, the batter is instructed to keep the head above the hands. Yet in order to hit a low pitch, it seems impossible to accomplish the task by hitting downwards without constantly pounding the ball into the ground. And always having the bat head below the hands would cause a hitter to constantly pop-up on higher pitches. So while these are definite differences experts commonly cite, I have my doubts about whether each camp actually follows the precisely correct mechanics all the time.
Similarly, while rotational hitting mechanics involves opening the hips immediately, it would seem a hitter would not be able to cover the outside of the plate - a frequent destination for pitches. The linear hitter keeps her hips closed as long as possible and then flies them open right before contact which would seem to make her vulnerable to inside and low pitches. I suppose every hitter has her weaknesses but I doubt this is always predetermined based upon which hitting style is favored by her instructor. I've seen rotational hitters cover the plate just fine and I've seen linear hitters drill the inside and low pitch over the fence.
There are other differences and similarities between linear and rotational hitting. I doubt I know half of them and among those I do know, I can't mention all of them here. I'll cover some more in the next section as I discuss some myths about differences between the two.
Some Other Relevant Facts
Collins rotational vs. linear video claims that the object of rotational hitting is to drive the ball upwards and outwards - over the fence. It also claims linear hitters look for basehits more than power. I can see the point in this but Ted Williams - the man often cited as the father of rotational hitting - was as much a hitter for average as he was a big time home run hitter. It would be quite wrong to claim Williams or any other rotational hitter sacrificed average for power. Similarly, many hitters who do not follow precise rotational mechanics do hit lots of home runs. Rotational hitters do tend to hit the ball more on an upward arc than do linear hitters. But it would be wrong to say all linear hitters are line-drive or ground ball hitters.
Another fallacy I think which has been propagated is the notion that linear hitters hit the ball with top spin while rotational hitters hit it with back spin. I've heard a number of comments which suggest 90 - 95% of all major league hitters use rotational mechanics. I've also heard many a fellow making the move to a new infield position bemoan major league hitters propensity to roll their wrist over one another and hit the ball with wicked top spin. Many of the specific hitters I'be heard mentioned are rotational and many are linear. So how it is possible to claim one or the other always hits with this spin or that, I just can't say.
Another item I find of interest to an analysis of linear vs. rotational hitting mechanics involves something I saw for the first time last year while watching professional baseball on TV. The station I was watching found a way to freeze frames in which contact was made. The primary focus of this analysis was to see the manner in which bats flexed. That was quite interesting but I found something else interesting. Every one of those hitters was in about the same position when he made contact. All of them had their weight on the front foot (a rotational mechanic). The front leg was straight and at a 45-55 degree angle to the ground. They all pretty much had their back feet in what would best be described as a linear position but without weight on it - a rotational characteristic. And their arms were all extended in the same manner with front arm leading the way - similar to a golf swing - and back arm leading the bat to the right position while adding some additional force. Bat heads were above or below the batters hand depending upon where the pitch was. All had their hips open at that moment before contact. And all had their shoulders in about the same place - halfway open on the route to full upon contact as they drove the ball. Some rolled their hands and some didn't - that seemed to be dependent upon the baserunner situation rather than each individual's style. This was true regardless of whether one would characterize the hitter as rotational or linear.
Some other considerations for you
One of the reasons I am most concerned about rotational vs. linear hitting is I want my daughters to play high school ball. Whereas I grew up learning linear mechanics and my kids first instruction was also this style, their likely high school coach is a recent convert to rotational. However, he is not well versed in the mechanics of rotational hitting. He teaches elements of it but his instruction is not complete. Also, I live in fear that one day my kids will decided they want to play in college and they won't be able to since "all the colleges advocate rotational mechanics." I expect there is some truth to that and that my concerns regarding high school playing opportunities will come to fruition. Yet I've heard many people in the sport claim that if you can hit well, no coach is going to mess around with your swing. That may be true or not - I can't say. But one of the things you may want to consider if your daughter is going to see a hitting coach is the mechanics he or she teaches vs. what the current team coach, the high school coach or anyone else you might encounter advocates. Possibly the worst of all scenarios is to have a kid lose their ability to hit because their are too many voices saying different things in their ear.
Conclusion
I've tried to give you a flavor for what the differences between rotational and linear hitting mechanics are. The differences can be summarized as 1) Rotaional hitting involves pulling the body forward with the hips, keeping the bat head below the hands, and pulling the bat through the swing while keeping the weight on the front foot; and 2) Linear hitting involves pushing off the back foot, keeping the weight back, and chopping at the ball with the bat head above the hands until impact. I believe that there is nothing quite so neat or simple about real world hitting. I believe many of the claims of parents regarding what is involved in rotational hitting are quite wrong. I think a player can be successful using either. It is more a matter of preference than it is of one being superior. And if all this gives you a huge headache as it does me, I strongly encourage you to find yourself a really good slap-hitting instructor and put all this stuff behind you!
Until then, please gather you own information and write me if you want to correct something in my understanding. Buy Charley Lau's book for some useful information. Buy Collins video if you want to compare and contrast the two styles. And realize there is nothing out there which will give you a complete comparison.Labels: batting, hitting mechanics, linear, product reviews, rotational
Permanent Link: Rotational vs. Linear Hitting
My Arm Hurts!
by Dave
Monday, February 19, 2007
A reader of this site wrote in regarding an injury she experienced last year during the high school season. She says:
"I've had it happen to me before in 8th grade ... It felt like I had just learned to throw for the very first time ... My arm felt really numb ... I just had no feeling in the throw. Coaches said it might have been a pinched nerve. Fast forwarding to high school, we would practice everyday after school. As a catcher having to do the regular warm up along with warming up the pitcher and later jumping in with the team in situational defense practice, this was something I wasn't used to. For rec ball we'd only have practice twice or three times a week and for my club travel ball team, we only practiced around once or twice a week and I would never have to throw as much. I guess through this change, I just unaware of the fact that each throw I made was hard. I never realized that I should have only concentrated on the throws in plays on the field rather than in warm up. But anyway, last year my arm and shoulder were hurting. It happened around the beginning to middle part of the season. It had been hurting me but I never bothered to do anything about it because I had always thought it was just "soreness." But it started affecting my game. It was a flashback to 8th grade, I no longer could throw the ball like normal. Even stopped thinking about it but still my throws would never make it to the target. During the school day in class I would just be sitting at my desk listening to a lecture and this tingly numbness feeling in my arm and shoulder. My arm started to feel weak and there was a burning, stabbing pain running down my arm. My coach told me to ice it and take ibuprofens. It took weeks, I think even a month or so for it to finally wear off."
If you've ever experienced something similar, you know exactly what she is talking about. You don't have to be a catcher to have had this happen to you. And once you experience it, you will never forget it. Your arm hurts before, during and after practice. It hurts during school. It hurts while you are trying to get to sleep at night.
This happened to me at the same age - 13. I was out practicing with my rec team in March - we had no school team in junior high school. I was moving up to 14U from 12U and I wanted to impress the other kids with my arm. I whipped a ball in from the outfield, heard a pop and felt my arm get really sore. At the time, folks used to say "you threw your arm out, son." Nobody had any good advice for me on how to get better.
I have no idea what the incidence rates for arm injuries in baseball and softball are. Usually when a player experiences this sort of thing, they do so in silence. I think that's because nobody has any good advice for you once such an injury occurs and most kids do not see real rest as an option. Most of the advice I have heard was similar to the girl who wrote in with the problem. Take some analgesics. You probably pinched a nerve or have tendonitis. Rest it, ice it, it will go away, eventually.
I do know that most players with arm injuries try to play through the pain and I doubt this is a good idea. The pile is high of players whose higher level aspirations were ended by arm injury. Almost every person I know who quit professional baseball prematurely, did so because of an arm injury - torn rotator or blown out tendon. From what I understand, "Tommy John" surgery is now almost as common for high school kids as it is for college and professional players who continue to throw despite significant elbow pain.
I can't offer up a diagnosis or recommend a cure for everyone who plays or has an arm injury. What I can do is suggest some common sense measures which may help you avoid this nasty experience. If you've already experienced something like this, I urge you to visit a competent sports medicine specialist who works with baseball and softball players on a regular basis. All arm injuries are not created equal. You could have bone spurs or serious tendon or ligament damage which, while not always hurting badly, could one day explode and end your career at an inopportune moment.
I once watched a 20 year old buddy of mine discover a serious injury unexpectedly. We were playing in a recreational men's slow pitch league. He picked up a simple base-hit up the middle and went to throw it back in but in the process collapsed and began screaming in pain. He had bone spurs which had been digging into his shoulder joint when all of a sudden the bone gave way. No, he never did recover from that. So, if you're injured, get checked out. If you're healthy, consider some common sense practices.
First off, picking up your glove and a ball, then throwing hard for the first time in months at your first practice is probably not a great idea. Whether you are 8 or 18, you should try to throw some in the off season. You don't need to throw hard, just throw on a regular basis. If you play travel, there's a pretty good chance that your winter workouts begin the day after the last fall ball game is played and in that case, you can probably skip down a ways. If, on the other hand, you compete in other sports, say for your high school, find some time on off days to throw a little before the season starts.
Maybe the school has time they can allow you to use the gym. If not, look around to find a facility where you can throw for not too much money. You can sometimes rent space at an indoor batting cage for a few bucks and if you bring enough friends, the price can be very affordable. If you've had several months off, throw easy with an emphasis on mechanics and parts of your body other than the arm. Throw with the long, loopy, leg-emphasis that an outfielder or baseball pitcher uses. Keep your motion long and your throws at light intensity.
If there is absolutely no way for you to throw before the season, take it easy for the first several weeks. I'm not saying you ought to throw so lightly that the coach cuts you or relegates you to the bench on the JV team, but do not throw with all your might from the first moment of the first practice. Especially at the beginning of practice, throw easy and loosely. Towards the middle of practice, after you've warmed up, you can throw harder.
One of the first things I noticed in girls fastpitch softball was that players always seemed to be throwing their hardest. Warming up from 40 feet, girls threw like they were trying to nail a runner taking an extra base. I saw this at tryouts for an ASA Gold team. I've also seen this with travel teams I've coached. From the first indoor practice to the last game of the year, my players seemed to always be putting everything into every throw. My own kids do it. There's no need ever for more than 20% - 30% of your throws to be at 90% - 100%.
Recognize that any throwing at all is beneficial to you unless you over stress your arm. You don't need to always throw your hardest in order to get stronger. I used to spend hours each day throwing with my friends. My arm got quite strong. But it wasn't necessary to always throw hard in order to build that arm strength. Every throw is exercise. You have to do some hard throwing eventually but soft tossing does help build arm strength. Particularly when you are doing pre-season throwing, just throw easily. Then as the practice season draws closer throw a little harder but not maximum strength. Then when you get into real practices, start out slowly and build up.
If you want to wreck an automobile, there's one good way to do it. Immediately after you start the engine, floor the gas pedal until the engine hits its maximum rpms. Do this everytime you get into it and before long you'll be needing a new car. Yet, that's what you do to your arm when you throw at maximum velocity during warm-ups or early in the season. If you want the car to last, you let it warm up a bit before you even pull it out of your driveway. Then you take it easy on the gas until the engine temperature gets to its normal level. When you buy a new car, you take it easy on it for a while until the engine wears in. Treat your irreplaceable arm the same way. Start out by throwing easy and gradually increase the stress. Your hardest throws should be reserved to well into the practice, say half way or later, and well into the season, at least after a week or two, maybe longer.
Don't forget to stretch your arm in pre-practice and pre-game routines. After she hangs up her bat bag, the typical player takes a jog around the field and then stretches. It's always advisable to get a little warm before stretching - stretching while cold has very little benefit. The typical stretch emphasizes the legs and then moves on to the arms, back, etc. It's important to stretch the large muscles and to do so after a light run since that warms them up. It's also important to stretch the throwing arm after it has been warmed. Running gets your juices flowing but it doesn't actually warm the arm up much. You have to do something with them to warm them before stretching does any good such as windmilling them slowly to get the blood flowing.
After you've done some light throwing in warm-up, that is a good time to stretch the arm muscles again. Actually I think it is always a good time to stretch your throwing arm. If you are standing around at any time during a practice or game, use that time to continue to stretch your arm. The more the better. In games, right after you come off the field and right before you go back out, you should make a habit of stretching.
So now, you've made sure to properly warm-up and stretch. You understand that you have to be warm to stretch so you continue to stretch your arm even after the initial warm-ups. You soft toss during pre-game or practice warm-ups rather than throwing every throw with all your might. The next thing I want you to consider is the benefit of long throwing.
The second thing I noticed in girls fastpitch softball is many of the high school outfielders I observed throw between innings from a very close distance - say 40 feet or less. I realize this is intended to warm them back up after an inning of sitting on the bench, but it seems silly to me to merely throw from a distance which will be shorter than almost any throw you are likely to make in the game. When you watch Major League Baseball, if you observe the outfielders between innings, they are almost always making long loopy throws. Longer throwing forces you to work proper mechanics and to use your legs, back and abdominal muscles more than short, sharp throwing. It also stretches out the muscles of the arm since you can't make a long throw using a short, snap-like throw to make the distance. When you are able to throw long distance in team practices or on your own, make a point to throw longer distance than you will need in games.
A good throwing session would involve short warm-up tosses of say 15-20 minutes with stretching every couple of minutes. I would say start out at 30 or 40 feet but then move back 10 feet after each five minute interval. When you move back, this is also a good time to stretch for 30 seconds. Progress to throwing easily at normal distances, then do some long tossing at 125% to 150% of your normal game situation throwing. That means, for infielders, 80 - 110 feet, and for outfielders and catchers 100 - 130 feet. You should still not be placing a lot of stress on your shoulder and arm - use your legs and back, and keep your throwing motion long and loopy like an outfielder. Once you have accomplished this, you can move back in to game distance throwing and gradually pick up the intensity. Afterwards, it is a good idea, if you have the time, to warm down by shortening the distance and lightening the intensity gradually until you feel it is time to stop.
If you get pressed for warm-up time before a game or practice, well, there isn't much you can do. But don't try to throw hard until you are ready. You have to be able to find at least 5 - 10 minutes to throw - strech - throw before going into a game. If you don't have that luxury, you're going to have to use your head to try to find an alternative. And between defensive innings, take advantage of whatever time you have.
Whether you have time to properly warm-up before a game or not, during the game make sure to do some appropriate throwing and stretching to keep your arm loose and warmed up. Between innings, don't fall into the trap of doing a bunch of short, crisp throws. They'll only tighten your arm. If you're an outfielder, move back after a couple close-in throws and try to make some game-realistic throws at the very least. If you are an infielder, move back away from the first baseman to make throws longer than you will during the game.
I would like to address all catchers privately for a moment. I understand how you feel about your arm. It is a source of pride for you. You like showing it off - that's part of the reason you are a catcher. But another thing you have to show off, another reason you are a catcher is because you are intelligent. Don't do stupid things which hurt your arm.
I grew up watching a major league catcher named Jerry Grote of the New York Mets. I've heard him discussed as being one of the five best defensive catchers ever to have played that game. One of the things which would have struck you while watching him is he was a master of what I call flip back throwing. When he was warming up a pitcher or during the game when there were no runners on base, he would simply flip the ball back to the pitcher. He never threw the ball back at anywhere near 50% effort unless he had to. Baseball is different than softball because of its 90 foot base dimensions. But you don't need to fire the ball back to the pitcher every time.
One of the things I have noticed while observing higher level fastpitch softball is catchers almost always fire the ball back to the pitcher. After years of watching, I still don't know why they do this. It makes the pitcher work too hard to be prepared to catch the hard throw back and it wears on the catchers arm. Sure, it is good to keep your arm ready to make difficult throws but every throw back doesn't need to be at or above 80% effort. Learn to snap it back easily at 50% or less effort when you are working with pitchers in practice or during games when there are no runners on base. Every tenth throw, you can throw a little harder but most of your throws should be easy.
As a catcher who makes a lot of hard, 85 foot throws out of a squat position, in a quick release, snapping motion, you must pay particular attention to making sure you warm up properly and stretch. Fortunately, you have the opportunity to throw more than other players during the innings. As I said, learn how to make flip back throws and then stretch your arm every so often by standing up and making a full throw back to the pitcher at say 80% of effort. That should keep you ready to make the tough throws.
In practice, remember that every throw does not need to be at full strength. OK, you need to impress the coach. But if it is apparent to you that you are going to make 20 throws with the coach watching, start slow and gradually kick it up a notch. Emphasize your legs, back and the back part of your shoulder initially, while throwing say 60% - 70% for the first couple. Then pick it up to 80%, then 90% and so on. By your tenth throw, you'll probably be at full strength with plenty of time to spare to impress your coach. The worst case scenario is to make a perfect, hard throw on the first one, throw out your arm and then not be able to make the distance for the following 19 throws! That's my advice to all you battle hardened catchers - start slow and then pick it up.
Aside from this advice, keep in mind that nobody out there has perfect throwing mechanics but some have more perfect than others. Any imperfection of throwing mechanics holds the potential to cause injury. If you are a serious ball player, I suggest that you get personal coaching for your throwing mechanics. If you inquire at a facility which is known to provide lessons for various fastpitch functions like pitching and catching, inquire with them whether they have someone who can work infield or outfield throwing mechanics. If they say they do, ask to speak with the person who will coach you or schedule one session to see if they seem competent.
I had the pleasure the other day of watching an extremely competent baseball pitching coach working with a 14 year old pitcher. This coach's throwing mechanics were about as pretty as I have ever seen. And he was extremely patient with this kid, constantly reminding him of the smallest technical errors he was making. Not only did he instruct his student but he practiced what he preached. Every throw back to the student was done with near perfect mechanics. If you don't like your coach's mechanics or the way in which she corrects you, find another one. Competent coaching can be invaluable. Incompetent coaching can ruin your game or, worse, cause you to get injured.
To close up this discussion, remember to start out slowly, stretch when warm, continue stretching at off times, throw easy and gradually build up. That's true for each practice and the season as a whole. If you can, throw out of season. Do whatever you can to avoid an arm injury. Every throw does not need to be at full strength. You really do not want to ever experience a mid-season arm injury. It takes all the fun out of the game.Labels: injuries, pre-season preparation, throwing
Permanent Link: My Arm Hurts!
|
|
|
