Download The Athletic Pitcher Program
Building the Foundation Every fall a new team steps on campus, and it is my job to give them the foundation for success. The first official gathering of the pitching staff has nothing to do with catch-play routines, arm exercises, or bullpens. Instead, our first official meeting covers philosophy and the characteristics I look for in a good pitcher and competitor. I believe this information is just as important as the Xs and Os of pitching mechanics or throwing the curveball. In my program, the foundation for pitching success is built around the intangibles that can be realized only by a staff with the ability and the aptitude for success. In my years of coaching, I have seen plenty of talented arms, but talent never wins if it isn’t complemented by the right attitude and mentality. The following are some of the intangible aspects of pitching success.
The Athletic Pitcher: Overload/Underload, Long Toss, The 10 Year Rule, Deliberate Practice baseballthinktank December 1, 2013 Baseball Training, Featured Post, Pitching Mechanics Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google+. Athletic Republic programs and equipment train baseball players for balance, dynamic stability, forceful power, and speed. Athletic Republic’s ProBatter® Pitching Simulator gives a hitter the opportunity to face a game-like situation. Jun 24, 2008 The Combat Pitcher program is a step up from Coach Ron Wolforth's previous program 'The Athletic Pitcher Program'. The Athletic Pitcher program has been the #1 pitcher's training program in the.
Download The Athletic Pitcher Program 2017
Want the Ball It is impossible to hide on the mound because everyone’s attention is focused on the pitcher. A player who wants to be a pitcher had better love this aspect of the game and must thrive in the spotlight. Some of the best pitchers I have been around were good because when the spotlight was on them, they elevated their game to another level—most of the time a level they couldn’t reach in practice. Give the ball to the players who want it the most because they tend to be the players with the confidence and competitiveness to succeed in games. Pitch to Contact From the first day we meet, I stress to pitchers that we are not going to be a staff that is scared to pitch to contact. As one of my assistant coaches likes to say, “If you are scared, buy a dog.” When a pitcher delivers a pitch with the intention of missing the barrel of the bat, he usually ends up overthinking and being too fine with the delivery.
There’s been no change in the 3 years I’ve been a customer, I have contacted customer service each and every year and no changes. This would never stand for an ‘American’ sport like NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, etc.
Instill the “here it comes, hit it” mentality with your pitching staff. If you instill this mentality, your staff will challenge hitters with their best stuff, rather than worry about nibbling around the strike zone or trying to get hitters out by relying too much on trick pitches. One thing I tell my staff to give them confidence in attacking the strike zone is to watch hitters take batting practice. Even in batting practice—when the hitter knows what is coming and the coach is throwing a batting practice fastball—hitters still make outs more times than they are successful.
The Athletic Pitcher Program
The mind-set of believing and trusting in pitching to contact is what we like to call the “nine-on-one mentality.” This means we have a team of nine defenders against one batter. I ask my staff the following question: “If we were in a street fight and we had nine of us against one of them, would you like our chances of succeeding?” The answer is always an overwhelming yes. Take this analogy to the pitching mound. Make your staff concentrate on throwing effective strikes by pitching to contact. Just like in the street fight, the chances for success are very good. The last area I address when dealing with pitching to contact is not changing based on the hitter. I have witnessed countless pitchers cruise through hitters they perceive to have limited ability.
However, when the big cleanup hitter or All-American comes to the plate, the pitcher changes to try to miss his bat. As noted earlier, pitching to miss barrels leads to a passive approach on the mound. I want my staff to be aggressive in everything they do. I can live with failure if we get beat while being aggressive, but I will not tolerate failure when the staff is being passive. Even when the best hitter in the world comes up or when King Kong steps to the on-deck circle, the pitcher should have the confidence to take the hitter out of the equation and focus on the glove.