The Texas Pitching Institute Presents: The Top 27 WORST Mistakes Made By Pitching Coaches (Bravely submitted by real coaches)

Transcription

1 The Texas Pitching Institute Presents: The Top 27 WORST Mistakes Made By Pitching Coaches (Bravely submitted by real coaches)

2 Worst Pitching Coach Mistakes With Corrective Suggestions 1. I think the worst thing I have used and now makes me cringe is trying to get pitchers into a balanced position as a starting point for throwing a pitch - Balance is really another way of talking about control of the body. The ability to balance on one leg is not as important as being in control of all of your actions. 2. One of my biggest happened in my early years. Since I had not been a pitcher I jumped at a chance to have my "trainer" who had helped with college pitchers take over my pitching job. What a big mistake! He knew nothing about Pitching just how to take care of pitcher's arms. He was too embarrassed to tell me and it took me a few weeks to see that our pitchers were getting NO real coaching!! - Just because I have hung out with millionaires doesn t make me one. Do your homework on coaches and instructors. 3. My 10 year old sons pitching coach is constantly comparing my son to other students his age and it absolutely drives me insane. I teach my son to be humble and stay in the zone, accuracy over velocity right now, no matter how hard he pitches. We work on mental toughness outside of lessons and he plays at a majors level. He is very quiet and never discusses his games with this coach unless specifically asked but he will never go into detail. The coach is convinced that because the other 10u is bigger and throws harder (and brags a lot more!) that he is better and I truly hate that. We are there to learn and get better not listen to the comparison unless it is constructive criticism designed for growth. - Do your best to try and address the individuals needs and when you are with that player, be with that player. I would only encourage comparing to another player if you were confident that it would be a positive competitive tool that could be used for the player s individual development and helps push and motivate all those involved.

3 4. My High School coach would make all us pitchers run 4 miles daily...not sure how much help that was to us. I felt like I was in cross country. - Distance running for pitchers is a time honored tradition and USELESS! The truth is that most coaches don t know what to do with pitchers so they have them run, to act as a babysitter. Distance running trains the pitcher to operate in a different energy system than the one he uses when he pitches. Therefore, the cardio benefits that the coach thinks he s getting don t properly transfer onto the mound. Sprints would be far more beneficial. 5. I kept my ace from starting a game in a tournament when he was at full rest and ready to go because the next team we were to play (IF we won the game in front of us) was a better team and I wanted the ace to pitch against the better team. Obviously, we lost the game and ended up in the losers bracket...lesson = win the game in front of you and worry about tomorrow's game tomorrow! - Aces are meant for the big game, which doesn t necessarily mean against the best team. As a coach, plan ahead and try to determine which game is the most pivotal and put them there. Then, do you best to continue to develop the rest of the staff to be of equal caliber. 6. High School baseball coach of 10 years and his assistant coach, a college pitcher, continue to instruct pitchers to balance for a 5 count; given that this was taught 30 years ago and is now a velocity killer one would think they would learn. Also, this coach and his staff, one a college pitcher, continue to employ a 3 man rotation and over the past 2 years has caused pitchers to throw over 120 pitches per outing as needed to go 7 innings without regard to today's sports science medical data showing the injury factor (all of this in March, April, May in Pennsylvania. One pitcher from 2015 season already had T.J. surgery and this season he has pitched a freshman for over 121 in a game and a sophomore over 110 in a game both in April. HE cites PIAA rules do not have pitch counts they have innings. PIAA, behind the times, allows 14 innings in a calendar week and should a pitcher throw 1 pitch it counts as an inning, 4-5 innings requires 2 days rest - 6 innings or more 3 days rest. I even sent them the Safe Pitching publication with all the facts they accumulated. - Pitch counts and Innings counts I believe are a nice attempt to place a band-aid over a gaping wound. I believe that pitch counts are more for the protection of the

4 pitchers FROM the coaches. There is NO magic number that says if you only throw this many, that you will be fine. Coaches need to pay attention. Fatigue is the #1 precursor to injury. If you can t figure out that your players keep getting hurt, and that MAYBE you re responsible for it and you need to make an adjustment in something you re doing, then you shouldn t be coaching. 7. My son is a 6' 4" freshman pitcher who loves to play the infield at first base, and is very good at it. SO I have seen a lot of bad ideas, choices and just dumb thing by coaches. The big one was " I don't care how you get the pitch to the plate just get it there!" This was told to my son by a pitching coach we used for about a year, who coincidentally played 12 years in the majors. Now we have spent a year with another working on fixing mechanics. - One thing I ve learned is that just because someone played at a high level themselves, doesn t mean they can teach. Most of the time, they were able to figure out what worked for them, but doesn t apply to anyone else. 8. An instructor for my son once said " I can t fix his chicken wing " - Chicken Wing is a sign of lack of strength and stability of the shoulder blade. It is totally normal and common for this to occur in youth to young teens because of their lack of over all muscle development. But it is fixable and necessary in order to be able to increase velocity and protect the arm as much as possible. 9. My personal favorite (from his HS coach) we are going to make you a PO ( pitcher only)? to which I said "as a freshman...really? 10. Towel Drill - used to do it quite often w/ pitchers. Have heard to many negatives about it. Don't utilize that drill anymore. - The Towel Drill can cause a lot of damage to the arm because of what it unintentionally promotes on the throw. A natural movement of the arm after it releases the ball, is for it to pronate (rotate inward so that thumb is pointing down). The Towel Drill seems to promote guys to keep their palm facing the ground, effectively eliminating the pronation effect and causing the elbow to lock out in a very violent and dangerous manner.

5 11. One I taught which I cringe now. Always teaching getting to "balance position". Actually going to stage where had players balancing on balance beam. - Trying to balance straight up and down makes it very difficult to move in a lateral (left & right) direction with any kind of speed or explosiveness. Since that is what you are trying to create when delivering a pitch, your lower body is not as involved as it could be, therefore, placing more stress and responsibility on the arm. 12. The other was a teach from another coach. He would spend massive amounts of time making sure back leg, after leaving contact with the ground, would follow a definite pattern. All the pitchers he worked with had to have the same leg action after ball release. - It has long been said that pitchers need to finish in a fielding position after they throw. Anyone that has pitched knows that dealing with comebackers are purely a reaction. When pitchers concentrate on trying to get to a fielding position, they short cut the necessary procedures that the body needs to take in order to properly decelerate the arm. When the arm ends up stopping prematurely, you are setting yourself up for major problems. 13. Hold change up grip on Palm. I've tried to throw a circle change forever. I finally heard a good tip to hold your change up out in your finger tips. After I started doing that, I was able to control it, had a good speed & good movement. - The Change Up is a feel pitch and you have to be comfortable holding it and throwing it. The best way to develop your Change Up is to find a grip you like and then throw a Fastball with it in order to gain that feel. Once you have that, then you can begin to experiment with the pitch and take something off it. 14. Long stride. When I have a long strife I throw the ball high. I've shortened my stride & focus on getting my upper body over my front knee & I'm throwing down in the zone with all pitches. - There s been a lot of emphasis lately on stride length. The idea is that if you stride farther, you will throw harder. The truth is, is that stride is the result of the process, NOT the goal itself. It is true that higher velocity guys have longer strides, but it is because they are able to get their mid-section, torso, hips moving

6 towards the plate better than others. As a result of this movement, the stride becomes longer. If you are overstriding, you will have difficulty getting an effective and consistent release point. 15. Youth coach forcing kids to throw Curveballs, when they didn t know how to do it, with total disregard for the players health. - Although the much of the research shows that a properly thrown curveball is not any more detrimental to the elbow than a fastball, the chance that a youth player is taught it properly is very remote. To force a kid to throw one is not only irresponsible but dangerous. Too many parents/coaches are more concerned with winning, so by throwing a pitch that hitters are prepared to hit, they bypass the understanding of development in favor of wins. 16. Teaching pitchers to point at their target as they release the baseball, effectively aiming it. - First off, anybody that has competitively thrown a baseball has also probably experienced the desire to aim a throw. Inevitably, they have also probably experienced how it makes it much harder when you do. The other part is that aiming the ball tends to create a pushing action that will eventually lead to elbow and/or shoulder issues as well. The solution is to accelerate your arm so that your release point can get more out in front of you when you throw. This will allow you to get better feel and command of all of your pitches. 17. Tall and Fall method where the pitcher stands as tall as possible on their leg lift and then falls forward into their throw. - This has been a popular teach for a long time and it is nothing short of disastrous. In order to effectively and efficiently throw a baseball, you need to be in control of your movements as best as possible. I don t know about you, but falling has never created a sense of control for me. As a pitcher is falling, his timings are inconsistent, if even predictable. His rhythm and tempo will also be greatly affected. When you are out of control of your body, then your body can t really contribute the way we need it to, therefore, placing more stress and responsibility on your arm. This will, no doubt, lead to arm problems.

7 18. Drop and Drive method where the pitcher buckles his knee during his leg lift as if he is sitting in a chair, and then drives forward in an upward manner. - This is another very popular teach because the idea is that by pushing hard off the rubber, you will be able to generate more power. To an extent, I agree, but the method is where I disagree. One thing I know for certain is that no two mounds are alike. What I ve seen for kids that drop and drive, when they drop, they tend to drive out and up. The last I checked, a mound goes out and down. So you have a pitcher and a mound moving in opposite directions. Not only that, but most pitchers will basically jump off the rubber, further challenging their timings, rhythm and tempo. This will definitely lead to more arm involvement on the pitch, placing more stress on it, which will lead to a breakdown. 20. Teaching the arm path of thumb to thigh, hand to sky to every single one of my pitchers. - This is amateur pitching coach 101, which is teaching everyone the same. Not only that, but the method by which you are teaching them, bio-mechanically does not work well with how the body is designed. My 2 year old has never been taught how to throw a baseball and he inherently already has an idea. Forcing a kid to get his elbow up can be setting him up for shoulder and elbow problems consistently. The key is to get the body moving more effectively and the arm will do what it needs to. 21. Making the palm of your hand face 2nd base as you get your elbow up and ready to throw. - This is so dangerous and detrimental to the structure of the elbow and shoulder. As violent as making an overhand throw is, forcing your forearm to turn 180 degrees opposite of what you need it to be to move forward in the throw. Your arm is supposed to externally rotate backwards as you move forward, which means the palm of your hand will be facing towards the sky. When you take that palm and first turn it away from the direction you will be facing, it places an extreme amount of torque and stress on the arm to then get into position to throw, if it s able to at all. 22. Teaching my guys to shorten their stride lengths when they throw Breaking Balls to get out over their front leg more and creating more downhill plane on the pitch. - This was something I remember becoming popular after the late, great Darryl Kile explained what he did to throw his trademark curveball. The problem with

8 teaching the shortened stride is that it basically negates much of the contribution that the lower half contributes into the throw. Is it possible that it will cause you to get your release point out in front more? Yes. Is it more likely that you will not get it any more out front than a normal throw and you end up altering your delivery so much that you throw with a lot of arm and create an inconsistent movement pattern that results in inconsistent, ineffective and telegraphed breaking balls? I would say, absolutely. 23. Teaching to pull the glove to the chest aggressively because that would cause the chest to rotate faster. - In theory, I can see how many would think this makes sense. In reality though, pulling your glove on the throw is not good, doesn t make you throw harder or make things easier. It s the exact opposite, in fact. A strong lead arm in necessary to establish a firm direction of where you are trying to throw the baseball. Once you get in position to begin rotating into the throw, you want that glove hand to lock up in position and just have the elbow rotate and fold into the body. You want to bring the chest to the glove and not the other way around. This will maximize rotation speed and keep the delivery together. 24. Paying more attention to pitch counts and what I was allowed to do in a game, instead of actually paying attention to my pitcher to notice if he was getting tired or losing his effectiveness. - I am seeing this more and more in today s game. In the world of pitch counts to prevent arm injuries, we still see them happening at an alarming rate. I believe that pitch counts are more effective in protecting kids from their coaches, but not much else. So with coaches so focused on how many pitches little Johnny has thrown, they are totally overlooking how little Johnny is actually doing. Just because you are allowed to throw 80 pitches does not mean little Johnny is prepared to throw that many. I believe that fatigue is the #1 precursor to injury. Coaches are pushing little Johnny to go all 80 pitches when he was physically done at 50. This is what I call a ticking time-bomb. 25. I would teach all my guys to throw over the top, like an Iron Mike Machine, because that would create more downhill plane. - This is such a bad teach, it s hard for me to get started with it. I have seen and worked with literally 1000 s of pitchers and maybe only a handful of them were true over-the-top throwers. Most guys are not anatomically built for their arm to go that high into the shoulder during a throw. They are forcing this action to

9 happen, which in turn, creates constant shoulder pains and issues, along with a forced motion that denies the pitcher the ability to maximize their throw. They work extremely hard just to get their arm around, let alone be able to put anything behind it. Some coaches are so committed to the idea that a kid should throw overthe-top instead of trying to help them find their natural arm slot. You ll know you found the right spot when a kid can freely move his arm through a throw with little to no effort, yet still maximizing his output. 26. I would teach the Up, Down & Out Method where you would lift your leg and be standing completely upright, then lower your leg straight down and then once it hit the bottom, would then go forward into a stride. - This teaching method is right up there with the Tall & Fall and the Drop & Drive. The lower half and hips area are critical to generating and transferring momentum and energy into a throw. The only way that you can do that is by creating a strong direction towards your target. When you are going up and down with your leg, without forward movement, then you are not generating much energy or momentum at all. Instead, consider what I like to refer to as Load As You Go. As you lift your leg, initiate the hips and lower half to begin moving you forward before you begin to bring your leg down. This is a lot more beneficial. The more involved your lower half and torso are in the throw, the more your arm can be a FACILITATOR and NOT a GENERATOR. 27. Twisting or Snapping the wrist when throwing a curveball. - Oh where to start on this. So let s talk about what your arm does AFTER you release a baseball. It pronates. What that means is that once the ball leaves your hand, your thumb rotates inward and eventually towards the ground so that the palm of your hand is facing outward. This happens in milliseconds of time. Kids that are taught to twist or snap a curveball are actually promoting a hand that is rotating inward when it should be rotating outward. You are promoting supination when you should be moving into pronation. This is a big problem and is extremely violent on the elbow.