Coaching Science versus Myths, Misinformation and Conventional WisdomMenlo Park Little League Baseball 2014

Quotable Quote“Baseball has traditionally been a game of failure, coached by negative people in an environment of misinformation.”

Dr. Tom HouseConsidered by many to be the “father of modern pitching mechanics”

Defining: Conventional Wisdom

It’s easier to identify problems with what a pitcher is doing than it is to fix the problem.A lot of instruction is based only on what coaches think they see.

Therefore, for decades, coaches developed their instruction based on flawed data.

Coaching was based on conventional wisdom repeated so often and for so long that everyone began to accept it as fact.

When combined with information that was wrong, inappropriate, or improperly used as the basis of a teaching protocol, this “wisdom” created an environment in which motor-learning problems become the norm, not the exception

A Fact

• The human eye can see only about 32 frames per second, while most of the critical movements in pitching take place at 250 to 750 frames per second.

• Technology, specifically 3D hi-speed video motion analysis allows us to research what a pitcher’s body actually does to initiate

more Standards

• I WILL EXECUTE MY PUT-AWAY PITCHES

• I WILL SHOW NO EMOTION

• I WILL SHUT DOWN THE BATTERS I FACE AFTER MY TEAM SCORES

• I WILL NEVER SHOW UP A COACH

and more Standards

• I WILL MAKE EFFECTIVE PITCHES WHEN I AM AHEAD IN THE COUNT

• I WILL GET HITTERS OUT BEFORE “BALL THREE” PITCH COUNTS

• I WILL CONCENTRATE ON EVERY PITCH

• I WILL COMMAND MY FASTBALL AND I WILL THROW IT

and still more Standards

• I MUST PITCH INSIDE

• I WILL COMMIT TO PROPER PREPARATION

• I WILL FIELD MY POSITION

• EVERY PITCH I THROW WILL HAVE A PURPOSE

Tempo

• CONTROL THE TEMPO OF THE GAMEA pitcher’s tempo is the single most important aspect of pitching.

• Rule of Thumb:Pitch. Get the ball back from the catcher on the dirt. Get on the

rubber. Take your sign. Pitch.

• Working fast keeps the fielders and umpires in the game. The quicker you work as a pitcher, the more attentive and alert your position players will be behind you. That means better defense. Plus, working fast doesn’t give the hitter opportunity to think what you might throw on the next pitch.

The “Light System”

• Green Light• Yellow Light• Red Light

Green Light

• Go… You are repeating your rhythm, and attacking the zone, and locating with command. When you are in this “zone,” keep working fast and controlled. Keep attacking.

Yellow Light

• Slow down… Umpire makes a bad call, front-side is rushing, missing up in the zone, or even laboring late in the game. We must have the ability to get off the mound, reset ourselves, and get back to green.

Red Light

• Stop… Back to back homers, giving up a bases-loaded triple, or in general, a real rough patch in the game. We then would completely reset ourselves, stop what we are doing, take the hat off, take the glove off, and go to our focal point.

The Road to Mental Toughness

• The first step on "The Road to Mental Toughness" is to make a personal commitment to become mentally tough.

Making a firm commitment and honoring that commitment is the only way to find out how good you can be in baseball.

Keys To Mental Toughness

• A commitment is a promise. You are saying you promise to complete an action or to be a certain way.

• Your season will be determined by the degree to which you honor your commitments.

#1: Focus on Things You Can Control

• The only things you can control are your focus and your body. If you could control getting a hit, why would you ever make an out? If you could control winning a game, why would you ever lose?

You can control you and that's about it.

#2: Focus On The Present Moment

Imagine you are pitching. If you are about to make the first pitch of the game, what should your focus be?

THIS PITCH.If you just gave up a two out walk, what

should your focus be?THIS PITCH.

If you just gave up a three-run, two-out, two-strike home run, what should your focus be?

THIS PITCH.

If the batter just smashed your first pitch of the third inning off the wall in right field, what should your focus be?

Back up third base!

Then, when you get back on the mound, what should your focus be?

THIS PITCH.

The first thing a mentally tough player does to shrink the game is focus on what he can control, the second thing he does is focus on the present moment.

He plays one pitch at a time.

#3: Focus On The “MIT”

• The final step in shrinking the game is to focus on the

Most Important Thing (M.I.T.).

Think of Focusing as “Connecting.”

Create a connection between you and the most important thing.

For hitters it's the ball. For pitchers it's the mitt. For fielders it's the ball, then the target they throw to.

The Three Steps to “Shrinking the Game.”

1. Focus on things you control2. Focus on the present moment3. Focus on the most important thing

Preparation & Routine

• Good players base their confidence on their approach, not just their results.

They focus on the process of playing rather than their outcomes.

"What do I want to have happen today?"

• “See it” in your mind's eye. • “Feel it” in your body. • “Do it” on the field

You may not be able to get very clear images of what you want, that's OK. For many athletes it's totally a feeling thing.

Feel what you want to feel.

That's PREP!

• 1. Pick Your Quality: How are you going to be today?

• 2. Release your circumstances• 3. Energize Your Body• 4. Pre-play Your Performance

Spend a few minutes before each game and practice to PREP.

Being prepared enhances your confidence and consistency.

Let's talk pre-pitch routine.

The on-the-field key to playing focused baseball is having a pre-pitch routine. • A routine is a set series of steps you take that gets you

focused. It “Shrinks The Game” and helps you lock in on

the most important thing you can control right now. Instead of being "hooked" by what has happened in the game, you are focused on your routine.• A routine is a recipe.

Ingredients of a Routine

• Confident bodyRegardless of how you feel, carry yourself the

way you do when you feel unstoppably confident. Be long, tall, loose and broad. Moving your body confidently creates confident thinking.

Check In

• Check inNotice how you are feeling. Do you have the

energy level that helps you play your best? Are you centered? If so, great, go on. If not, take extra time to energize or center.

Breath / Centering

• Breath / CenteringMy personal favorite. I love to see guys take a

breath between pitches.

Commit

• Commit to a PlanCommit to the pitch you are going to throw. Don’t

throw a fastball while you're wondering if you should instead be throwing a curveball.

Pre-play the pitch. "Connect" with your target by imagining what you want to have happen on this pitch. Feel it.

Cue Words

• Cue WordsSilently say a word or short phrase that

reminds you of a quality (such as "smooth" or "easy") or a mechanic (such as "stay tall" or "release point").

Trust

The goal of the routine is to keep your thoughts, criticisms, worries and fears out of the way so you can fully trust yourself on every pitch.

Let your body do what it knows how to do.

Sample Routine

• Pitcher's Routine1. Off the rubber• Confident body• Check “in” - notice how I feel. If I feel centered, go on. If I'm

"hooked" by something and don't feel centered, take extra time behind the mound to center.

• Check “out” – know the game situation and get an idea of what pitch I want to throw.

2. On the rubber • Take a breath• Commit to the pitch I'm going to throw• Connect with my target by Pre-playing the

pitch: see it, feel it• Cue word as I start my motion: "Free and easy"

3. During the pitch • Trust it, let it go

We Throw First-Pitch Strikes

• The first pitch is the most important pitch, period.This is particularly true in the first inning when

most hitters, the first time through the line-up – especially the lead-off hitter – like to take pitches. Challenge every hitter on the first pitch.• If a pitcher gets his first pitch over for a strike, his

opponent’s batting average will fall to below .200 on the next pitch. On the other hand, when a pitcher throws a first pitch for a ball, his opponent’s batting average will jump 200% to around .400 on the next pitch.

The Bottom Line

• Pitchers will challenge each hitter on the first pitch – especially the first time through the line-up, when most hitters take. Hitters only hit .130 on the first pitch, even if it is a batting practice fastball down the middle. We will not give the hitter more credit than he deserves. We will pitch aggressively and get ahead early in the count – the numbers are in our favor.

Our Pitch Goals for 2013

• 80% first-pitch strike ratio = 17/21

• 0 walks (with no one on base)

• We are committed to being the best team on the field, and we act that way through our body language

and composure 100% of the time.