Strength Exercises

Photo Courtesy of realsimple.com

Being a Pitcher can put a lot of strain on your arm and shoulder so being an active participant in the weight room is a very good idea. If any person does any type of strenuous activity in sports and does not have the sufficient amount of muscle to complete the act they will easily tear something. Some simple but very effective exercises to do in the weight room are as follows.

• Over the shoulder dumb bell lifts
• Single Arm Rows
• Side Shoulder Raises
• Upright Row with a weighted bar
• Bicep curls with a weighted bar
• One-Arm Dumbbell Triceps Curl
• Alternated Dumbbell Press

All of these exercises above vary in the spot on your body that you are training but it is also important to strengthen your core as well. Whether you are hitting, pitching, or playing in the field in the sport of softball or baseball, your core strength plays a huge factor. My advice would be to do a lot of sit ups and use a medicine ball. Always continue doing more sit ups every week. Being a pitcher is a lot of tough work but in the end all the hard work you put in will definitely pay off.

USA Olympic Softball Players Featured in ESPN's The Body Issue

Photo Courtesy of ESPN The Body Issue



At first glance many people may be very confused by this photo. It is not what you think, I promise! This photo is from ESPN's Annual magazine called The Body Issue. This magazine features athletes with little or no clothing at all. The purpose of this magazine is to try and break the mold of all the bodies we are used to seeing within the media. These women from the USA olympic softball team posed for the first issue in 2009. This magazine features not only lean in shape athletes but short stocky and heavy sumo wrestlers as well.

Jessica Mendoza is posing in this photo, she is the woman who is 8 months pregnant. When asked of her thoughts on the magazine and purpose of her being in the photo she said...

"I see this as almost groundbreaking and kind of changing the mold of what we see as beautiful," Mendoza said (you could hear her infant son burbling in the background).

"To be honest, I'm sick of working with young women, girls, teenagers, and they are constantly thinking they're too fat or too buff or too this. . . . They want to look like the Paris Hiltons of the world. It bothers me because it's so unrealistic. There are so many beautiful bodies out there. Athletes are not. And I just want every young girl to see their own body, or part of their body, in this issue."

Interview above courtesy of David Gibson, politicsdaily.com

Now it is up to you to decide whether you can appreciate what ESPN is doing with The Body Issue. Is it for the purpose they are portraying or are they just trying to make an extra buck by putting nude athletes in a magazine?

To have a Pitching Coach or not to....?

Photo Courtesy of softballtips.wordpress.com

There comes a time in every young girl's pitching career that she either thinks about getting a pitching coach or decides that she needs one. My best advice to give any girl out there is to make sure you have one. A pitching coach is a good tool to have but lessons with your pitching coach do not need to take place everyday. It would be great if both parties could contribute that much time but this would also get expensive. Having a pitching coach is a good idea because by having one you can allow yourself to grow as a pitcher. Your coach can see your habits and fix them, teach you new pitches, and also attend your games to see the different things you may do in a game compared to practice.

Some Tips to finding a good Pitching Coach are...

• Make sure they are a reliable credible person. It would be a good idea to have a girl instructing you that at least played college softball.
• Make sure they are friendly and like to engage with you.
• Also, if you feel they don't pay enough attention to your personal needs move on to someone else.

Softball - There's nothing soft about it!

Many people think that since the name of our game is softball, that our ball is actually soft. For those of you who have never touched a softball, I can assure you there is nothing soft about the ball we play with. Also people say baseball, softball…what’s the difference, there is none right? WRONG! There are many differences between the game we play and the game our brothers play and it’s definitely more than just the fact that our ball is highlighter yellow.

In baseball the bases are 90 feet apart where as in softball they are just 60 feet apart. In softball the pitching rubber is just 43 feet away in college at least and the pitching mound is baseball is 60 feet from the catcher. You may realize now that softball is a faster game than baseball. A lefty slapper in division 1 softball makes it down the line in about 2.7 seconds on average, that doesn’t give much time to mess around when a ground ball is hit in the infield where in baseball I’d like to say everyone seems to take their sweet time on making a simple play. Just shared a few differences in these two very different games, but which is better?

That is for you to decide!

Phases to Pitch Speed

There are 3 key things that need to happen when throwing your fastball to maintain your pitch speed.

• Explosive drive off the rubber
• Weight back on the downswing
• Pushback on the stride leg

When you want to have explosive drive off the rubber you really need to focus on "exploding" just like a sprinter does in track. It is how fast a pitcher comes off the rubber that really will tell you how fast her pitch is going to be. A lot of pitchers have been told the longer step they take the more velocity they will have. That is not true, the more explosive the harder you will throw.



When reaching back in the downswing it is crucial to reach toward second base. Although in this picture the pitcher isn't reaching back yet you can still see the conscious effort she is making by keeping her arm straight all the way through to keep good velocity. 

The last step is to finish with a good pushback resistance. Just as a batter does when they are batting a pitcher needs to keep her weight on her back leg to really be able to release and downswing successfully.

The Ultimate Act of Sportsmanship

An Inspiring Softball Story



Photo courtesy of seattletimes.nwsource.com

I came across this story a few years ago and it is a story that moved me so much when I read it so I think I should share it with everyone. Something remarkable happened in a softball game between Central Washington and Western Oregon, something Sara Tucholsky would never forget. She had never hit a homerun in all the years she played softball, but on this day she did. With two runners on she proceeded to take her run around the bases but as she ran over first base she realized that she had missed it. Being an honest player, she turned back to go and touch it but as she did her knee buckled and she fell to the ground in enourmous pain. None of her teammates were allowed to touch her as she would not get credited for the homerun, she would only be awarded a single.

In a moment of compassion, the first baseman from Central Washington decided to speak up. Mallory Holtman asked the umpire if her and another teammate from her team could carry her around the bases. After deliberation the umpires came to a decision that they agreed on. Mallory Holtman and the shortstop for Central Washington proceeded to carry Sara Tucholsky around the bases letting her good foot touch each base.

Western Oregon took the double header that day and Sara Tucholsky took her homerun. Although she was not able to finish her season due to the injury she took with her this great act beyond sportsmanship that these wonderful girls gave her. We all need to remember sometimes winning isn't everything, it is about just doing what is right.

Go ahead and see this wonderful story for yourself,

Video Podcast

Pitching Circle - A Mind Game?

Some people would say pitchers need a circle around the mound so they can keep track of where they need to be at all times. The circle comes into play when there are runners on base. When the pitcher has the ball in the circle, the runner can't really go anywhere. If they do they have to make a decision and stick with that decision. If they change the direction of their desired path they will be called out. When the pitcher has the ball and her arm cocked as if she is going to make an attempt to "get" the runner then the runner has free reign. But if she is covering the ball with her glove the runner has to stay there because the ball is in the circle. Also when there is a runner on base if the pitcher for any reason walks out of the circle when she has the ball then the runner also has free reign. The pitcher needs to remain in the circle to keep the runner where they are supposed to be.

The runner has to stay

The runner has free reign

Pitching Rules

What are all these lines for?


When one sees a softball pitching mound at the beginning of a game one will notice two white lines on either side of the mound.




Photo by POLINA YAMSHCHIKOV, ColumbiaMissourian.com


These lines represent where a pitcher can step when she is in her pitching motion. If a pitcher steps outside of these lines an umpire will call an illegal pitch. The consequence of getting an illegal pitch called on you is a ball on the batter and if there is a runner on they get to move to the next base. This rule has become quite controversial recently because they have been strictly enforcing it. There have been many instances where it has been a tied game and the winning run will be standing on third base. At this point if an illegal pitch is thrown the runner on third gets granted home and if that team is the home team the game can be over and they can win the game simply because the pitcher from the opposing team threw an illegal pitch.

 

5 day routine before a game

The Back Spin Change

The change up I throw is called a "back spin". This change up is one of the most difficult to perfect but also one of the most effective. With all change up's it is key to keep the speed of your motion the same as your other pitches. Lots of pitchers tend to slow down, their bodies sense that since the pitch is slower their body should go slower and this is where teams pick up on it. When releasing this pitch you want to focus on "shaking a person's hand" and just letting it flow. When you try to make your body do too much you will not succeed. You just need to let the pitch work. I hold this pitch like my fastball, just a normal C grip.

The Drop Ball

When this pitch is in motion it can be described as dropping lower to the ground as it crosses the plate. When this pitch is thrown correctly and effectively in result you will see a lot of ground balls and miss hits. The way I hold my drop ball is I grab the seams like a U. I put my thumb directly on the seam to the left and place my middle and index finger on either side of the right seam.

When throwing this pitch you need to focus on really getting your hand over the ball as quickly and sharply as you can. Some pitchers shorten their step because it makes it easier to get your "body over the ball" but teams will pick up on that. So once you feel comfortable you should go back to your normal step.

Pitching Exercises

There comes days when you are practicing but you have had enough of working on your different pitches. Sometimes you just want to work on maybe getting in better shape and doing drills to improve your pitching. Today I will give you some helpful things to do to improve yourself as a pitcher all around.

The first thing that is always good for a pitcher is to have a lot of endurance. The best way to build up your endurance is to run. After a game you should run at least one lap around the field for every inning you pitched. Although it is also very beneficial sometimes to go and take a 2 or 3 mile run when you can. Being a pitcher your legs are everything so you have to keep them strong.

Another good drill to do is to the mound and pitch a fastball. But after you pitch one you run back to the mound and pitch another ball. You contine doing this for as many mintues as you can and try to stay accurate. When you start getting all over the place it is good idea to take a break and do the drill 2 more times if possible.

The Curve Ball

The curve ball is a pitch that curves away from a right hand batter and would curve inside on a left handed batter. The curve ball can be thrown with the motion of your hand going on top of the ball or the motion of your hand going underneath the ball. I throw my curve with my hand on top of the ball so this is how you would hold that type of curve ball.

When releasing the curve ball you want to focus on keeping your arm close to your body just as you did with your screw ball. The less outer lateral movement you have the more effective your pitches will be. While and after you release the ball you want to focus on "putting your thumb in your pocket". If you remember this technique your curve ball will have a great amount of movement on it.

If you can keep your curve ball just on a small portion of the plate and then have it moving off right after you will be very successful. The curve base is a difficult pitch to hit when it is thrown well.

The Screw Ball

This is the first post of my blog. My blog post will all generally deal with softball. In this first blog I will explain to you how to throw a screw ball. The screw ball is a pitch that curves in on a right handed batter.

This is how you hold the grip for a screw ball. You put your index finger to the left side of the first seem and your middle finger on the left side of the second seem.

When you are releasing the ball you want to focus on keeping your arm close to your body. The idea of this pitch when you are releasing it to is think about turning a door handle. It is also beneficial to take a step out a little bit more than usual.

The screw ball is a handy pitch to have in your arsenal. It keeps batters off the plate and you will always have them thinking.