Pitching instruciton affirmation

[starsnuffer]

I just got back from the 3 day ASA National coaching school in Livermore, CA. The Team USA softball coaching staff gave 2 days of instruction on hitting, fielding, catching, and pitching. Coach Mike Candrea taught the hitting and infielding sections, and it was really cool to be 15 feet away from him while he held a bat and broke down the swing for 2 hours (holding a bat and showing, not just talking about it).

Mike White (University of Oregon and former mens Team USA pitcher) is the current pitching coach for USA softball and gave several different presentations on pitching, again, breaking down the motion and using examples from the top men and women pitchers. It was really nice to see that he is teaching the exact same thing that many of us here have come to expect, basically mimicking what Bill Hillhouse teaches. Sure, some of the descriptive words were different, but the motion is the same. Everything from hiding the grip in the glove, to using a sprinter start without turning the foot out, to keeping sideways and making sure the ball is pulled down through the circle with the elbow leading to produce good arm whip (he spent 20 minutes on this without once having to use the "IR" buzzword, even though it's the same thing), to a natural follow through (no hello elbow) and a calf to calf finish with the feet.

I'd actually went into the conference expecting to hear all the oldschool nonsense, given what the current (younger) Team USA pitchers actually do, but Mike was humble and explained that at the level they play at, he works with what he is given and doesn't try to change everyone. The reason that they're out there teaching coaches who teach young kids how to pitch is the way he hopes what he teaches will effect the players that will hopefully be in the next (2020) olympics.

Just thought I'd share, it was a great conference and I learned a great deal. For the price (about $200) and the small audience (about 200 coaches) it was a great event and the staff spent a lot of time on Q&A.

-W

 

[Mr T]

I should have gone. Do you know when it will return to this neck of the woods?

 

[BoardMember]

Glad you enjoyed your first national coaching school event. Always good to expand the knowledge base and put some new and improved coaching tools in the tool box.........

I thought it was rather ironic in the post how you mention that "some of the descriptive words used were different"........

And in the same breath call I/R a "buzzword", and then say that "no Hello Elbow" was emphasized........Without describing that as a "buzzword".........

Interesting how we're all geared a little different regarding what pushes our buttons.........

Thanks for sharing..........

 

[Sweet Lou]

I should have gone. Do you know when it will return to this neck of the woods?

I was thinking the same thing. Livermore is pretty close. That would have been fun.

 

[quincy]

DD is in a pitching clinic with 7 – 12 other pitchers. I know the instructors are smarter than me, they have experienced the journey. We do a lot of hello elbow drills then when the girls actually pitch most of them do not do hello elbow. The pitchers that do hello elbow are trying to do what the instructor asked them to do.

 

[Ken Krause]

Quincy, keep in mind that when a lot of these players transition from playing to instruction they haven't really thought through what or how to teach, or what they do when they play. They decide to give lessons and start with what they were taught originally. The ones who become good at it are the ones who decide to look into it more and see if there's a better way to teach the motion.

When one of my former students was still in college she was asked to teach pitching to a small group of local rec players. It would've been very easy for her to say "yes" and then just go over there and wing it. Instead, she contacted me and asked "How do you start a bunch of beginners? It's been a long time since I was one." That is a smart pitcher.

Now a year or two later she has graduated and has a job teaching in a regular facility. I'm sure she will do a great job because she's smart, and has the dedication to seek out information. I'll be mentoring her as best I can from a distance -- not telling her what to do, but moreso where to look for information to develop herself. It's always better when it comes from the inside.

 

[lhowser]

Good to hear that about Coach White

(he spent 20 minutes on this without once having to use the "IR" buzzword, even though it's the same thing),

What is funny is some have though of IR as a "buzzward" when all along it is simple a medical term used to describe what a pitcher is actually doing when pitching correctly.

From the The Free Dictionary online

Internal rotation,
1 the turning of a limb about its axis of rotation toward the midline of the body.

It think the "Hello Elbow" style of pitching should be referred to as using "External Rotation" according to this site

 

[Hillhouse]

Whitey is considered by many to be the best pitcher of all time. His stats and record are remarkable and I've never met anyone with more softball knowledge than he has. As a young pitcher growing up, he was my idol. It was a dream come true to play on the same team with him multiple times, including the National team. He has truly forgotten more about pitching than 99% of the world will ever know.

Eriksen and I were teammates as well and he was a damn good catcher. We played on club team and national team stuff together several times. When the rest of the world started to catch up to the USA, Eriksen was a BIG reason why the US stayed on top.