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Life Lessons Life Lesson #67: K.I.S.S It !! Keep It Simple Stupid... The topic for this month’s Life Lesson came from a question I frequently receive from caring parents and coaches: “What should I tell my kid when he’s on the mound? Do I encourage him with praise and cheering? Do I remind him of his mechanics and technique? Or do I keep my mouth shut and just let him fire away?” In my opinion, there’s a delicate balance between releasing your athlete to the competition of a baseball game and providing steady coaching guidance to help a kid keep a level head. Especially for the pitcher position, where seemingly the mind is as powerful as the arm! To better explain my point, I’ve borrowed a phrase from my 8th grade algebra teacher: K.I.S.S. IT = KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID We probably should say ‘keep it simple silly’ but that’s not what my teacher said. And if the word ‘stupid’ was okay for a bunch of 8th graders, well then it’s got to be okay for a community of baseball parents. Please don’t be offended ;-) My experience has shown that the most successful guidance a parent can provide a pitcher is (#1) a simple keyword or phrase related to the physical motion combined with (#2) verbal / mental encouragement to throw aggressively. Throwing aggressively is a relative term. It doesn’t mean overthrow or come unglued. More importantly, it helps to avoid the athlete guiding, trying to control, or aiming the ball too much. It is our goal to help the athlete do as he’s done hundreds of times in practice – reach back and fire strikes. Be himself! I often tell young pitchers: “I want your parents to see YOU on the mound. Whether you throw 55mph or 155mph, we need you to be you. Throw the stinking ball!” In deeper, more philosophical terms, we want the athlete to detach from results and not worry about what might happen after ball is released. Instead, we want that pitcher to follow a brief mental plan or checklist, and then aggressively and confidently do his best. Again, be himself! The results will take care of themselves, and will undoubtedly be directly related to where that athlete is at on his development as a pitcher. If he’s been working hard on his daily homework, if his mechanics have become muscle memory, and if you’ve helped him to consistently work on the mound in practice and bullpen sessions… then those factors will show in a strong performance. And if he hasn’t been working, well then, that will also show. Specific to pitchers, my favorite instructional guidance phrase for an athlete is this: “Take a deep breath… get to your #1 (balance point) smoothly and under control… reach back and let it rip!” I want the fundamental key to be a controlled balance point. This means that at roughly the halfway point of the delivery, THE ATHLETE IS STILL IN CONTROL. He will not fall victim to gravity or simply go along for a ride down the mound. Also, he will not allow the pressure of a game to speed up his motion. Instead, the deep breath taken helps to calm his nerves and loosen any tension. A smooth leg lift to the balance point means that the athlete can now separate the throwing hand and glove just as the leg starts moving down and out to home plate (called breaking or separating “in rhythm”). And all of this takes place with a smooth tempo and aggressive delivery. No over thinking!! I should be clear to point out that we do not want a stop at the balance point (#1 or leg lift position). We do want balance, we do want to stay in control and we don’t want to rush. However, this does not mean a stall or break in the natural momentum of a pitching delivery. Work to find a phrase that keeps your athlete aggressive. Look for tendencies like a lack of follow through or decreased velocity which likely mean the athlete is over-thinking and overly cautious. You don’t need to see 90+ miles per hour, but you definitely want to see your athlete give his best effort. And I promise this much: the results of an athlete giving his best effort will drastically outperform the results of a guided, controlled, and timid delivery! Here’s to working hard and having fun along the way. This wonderful game can teach us so much! If you are interested in the way I teach pitchers, check out the new and improved website for my book: www.coachingthebeginningpitcher.com. Also, check out our page on Youtube for the first installments of video tips (working on them!!): http://www.youtube.com/user/Lifeleticstips |
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