Mental Game

I have a pitcher on my 16U Travel team that hits 60 MPH on a regular basis with movement. Problem is once a runner is on base she starts rushing her pitches and can easily walk 4 in a row. The last season has gotten worse and worse. Her pitching coach is constantly changing her motion and the results are the same. She is a GREAT kid and hard worker so it bothers me to see her struggle as she has. I have tried positive steps, removing her after she threw a good inning, trying to build confidence. Still no avail! Any tips are how to get the mental aspect to her, she has SO much talent and just cant harness it. Very frustrating as a coach to see this. Pitching coach drives me nuts when I get her and she has made more changes to the motion making it impossible for me to correct.

Thing is, a coach cannot fix a mental problem. It's not like a mechanical problem where you can demonstrate what she's doing wrong. All you can really do is more of what you have been doing and wait for the kid to shake it on her own. You just have to keep reinforcing that nothing changes just because there are base runners and hope she learns to believe it.

It sounds like you're a supportive coach.

What are her parents like. Do they pressure her?

Forget the P, work with the C.

If things start going sideways the C needs to be taking, yelling, comparing boyfriends, whatever.

DNeeld said:

Thing is, a coach cannot fix a mental problem. It's not like a mechanical problem where you can demonstrate what she's doing wrong. All you can really do is more of what you have been doing and wait for the kid to shake it on her own. You just have to keep reinforcing that nothing changes just because there are base runners and hope she learns to believe it.

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I disagree with the bolded. The coach is probably the only one who can fix this. This is not going to be an easy process, it will take a lot of effort on both the pitcher and the coach. I promise, it will be effort best spent.

Start with why she gets flustered. Is it because she gave up a hit, a walk, or because her defense made an error. This matters because it helps you to frame her mindset. It sounds like she is keeping the mistake with her and over thinking the following pitches.

After the first walked batter, go to the mound and have a talk with her. Ask her what she is thinking during her pitches. Pay attention to words like "I can't walk the next batter.", "Don't throw a ball", Don't mess up." Anything along those lines means you have to get her to retrain her "self-talk" into positive words. "I am going to throw a strike." "I am going to challenge her." "She is not hitting this next pitch."

Next, you should get all your players focused on "Controlling the controllables." They really only can control themselves. Your pitcher should be thinking things like, "I am going to make her pop this up." It freezes the runner, and we get an easy out. "I am going to make her hit it back to me so I can make the double play." "I am going to make her hit it on the ground for an easy double play." Or, "I am going to strike her out." Notice though, the strike out is the last thought. Ideally, we are working toward not getting a walk, so that means we are in the strike zone, trying to create a result off a pitch, other than a ball.

Next, and most important is developing a ritual for when the result was not beneficial. Simple things like walking to the back of the circle, taking a deep breath, and then proceeding to the rubber. Some add, grabbing a bit of dirt and throwing it away, to symbolize, throwing away the last play. These rituals are essential to get the mind right for the next task at hand.

Lastly, have game goals for your pitcher. Simple, measurable goals. Things like, no walks for three consecutive innings. Easy to accomplish, and measurable. Throw first pitch strikes to five batters in a row. Again, easy to accomplish and measurable. Keep increasing the difficulty in small increments throughout the season, and by Nationals, you should have a stud pitcher who doesn't get flustered. These small goals, when written down by her, and held by you, are easy ways to refocus her. Post-it notes work great in this. Give her the goal back with a big check on it, once she completes it. Now she has a way to visualize her successes.

I hope these suggestions help. Remember though, you have the power to fix this.

One last thing...If parents are causing the frustration, developing the rituals and goals will help you have that tough conversation with the parents but it gives them something tangible to wrap around and perhaps help you with her, instead of hurting her.

Coach Lou

I have no idea where you are or what city you're close. But, I'm sorry... even the best PC in the world cannot fix what you're talking about (assuming I read this right). You can't teach a kid experience. You cannot teach a kid how to react when the pressure is on (and everyone's idea of pressure is different). Some fall back into old habits.. some try to aim the ball, some just lose control.

What she needs is a sports psychologist. Even if you have her watch 5 min videos on YouTube. Or if you live near a college that offers the program, perhaps the professor will let the students in class come work with your team. Learning how to stay even keel, not to get up or down and stay level headed, how to tune out sound around her, etc. are all things a Sports psych can help with.

When I was with the National team, we had access to the US Olympic sports psychs and had to attend classes. It was phenomenal information. These are things that coaches usually don't specialize in. And it's probably the most overlooked aspect of mental toughness. Some girls get tough when the pressure is on. Others break down. These are the ones that can use this info. NOTHING can replace experience but a close 2nd is a sports psych coach who can help the emotions and toughness needed.

Bill

Problem is once a runner is on base she starts rushing her pitches and can easily walk 4 in a row.

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I'm scratching my head on this one...at 16U, she should be pulled after two walks.

Very frustrating as a coach to see this. Pitching coach drives me nuts when I get her and she has made more changes to the motion making it impossible for me to correct.

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Are you telling her "do A" as to her pitching motion during the game? Are you trying to "fix" what her PC is doing?

You don't need to be attempting to fix her motion. That is the PC's job. Right or wrong, s/he is the gal/guy who is in charge.

Your job is simply to evaluate her.

Take a look at the The Mental ABC's of Pitching by H.A. Dorfman. Keep it with my softball stuff and refer back to it often. DD and I went through the book in small sections. Found it to be very useful.

i would go as far as to set expectations with the pitcher. my DD did struggle at times and her Coach told her, hey, you've got 8 other people behind you (well technicall 7, catcher is in front) and that usually calms her down.
but if her parents or PC is expecting her to do perfect everytime, that can mess with her mind.

The mental preparation starts long before she hits the circle in a game. It should have started months before when the pitcher is working on her own. What many kids are missing is a pre-pitch routine. Something they are familiar with before they step on the rubber to throw the next pitch. Many kids are used to working at the 30 minute lesson pace. Hurry back to the rubber for the next pitch because we're short on time.

What my DD did was after a pitch or a play was over and she had the ball in her glove she would walk to back of the circle and pause for a couple of seconds. Relax her breathing and then walk up to the rubber and take her position on the rubber. She would get the pitch call from the catcher and deliver it. The routine never changed whether she was cruising along or the game was on the line. The other thing my DD had was the natural ability to drop into the "Zone" once she stepped on the rubber. Her coaches would get frustrated at times when they tried to yell things to her when she was on rubber. She had everything tuned out. The best visual example of it I have ever seen is from the movie For The Love Of The Game. It's the scene where the Billy Chappel character takes the rubber for the first pitch of the game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gXXtjHDDis Some are born with it. Others are able to learn the skill. Others never master it.

Another thing they can try with the girl is simulated innings. Put her up against a top hitting lineup from top to bottom with every small mistake costing her. Work them over and over so when she gets into the situation in a real game she's had the feeling of being there before and it doesn't overwhelm her.

She sounds like a promising talent. Hope she can correct what I call "The 6" Problem" which is the space between her ears.