3 Ways to Maximize Progress During Bullpens

Hey There Friend!

In last week's post I shared some ideas about ways to help you find more practice time for your pitcher. This week, I want to make sure you are doing everything you can to help her truly GET BETTER during those practice sessions!

1. Intentional Practice = Progress

Each practice session MUST have a small focus, something your pitcher is working to improve that day.

Let's say your pitcher is struggling with command of the zone because she is falling to her arm side after every pitch. Her pitching coach as told her that she isn't able to stay balanced through release because her drag is heavy and stopping her back leg from moving forward as she pitches.

In order to see progress with her command of the zone, your pitcher must focus specifically on keeping her drag light so that her back leg can move forward with her.

The intentional focus on this one, small thing during practice will help her with her balance, and having good balance will help her have better command of the zone.

Two pitchers can invest the same amount of time practicing and see vastly different results based on how intentional they are with their reps!

2. Practice must truly mean something to your pitcher!

One way that I get learning a skill to mean something pitchers, is to create a challenge or competition around it during classes.

Let's take that same example of being balanced through release. I can tell a class of 5  pitchers that I want them to stay balanced on their stride leg a couple of seconds after the ball hits their catcher's glove and then observe. A handful of pitchers will do this just because I asked them to do it, but the majority of them will balance on one pitch, fall on the next 2, balance on another pitch, fall on the next 3, etc.

In other words, me telling them that I'd like them to stay balanced through release doesn't mean enough for many of them to do it consistently.

I must find a way to make what I'm asking her to do mean something to HER, and so must you, my friend!

Here's how we do it:

Create challenges that ups the importance of focusing on what you want them to do.

Using the same balance example, I may say something like this to a class of 5 pitchers:

We are going to have a little balance challenge. You are all going to throw a pitch at the same time and I'm going to count to 3 after you release the ball. In order to stay in the competition, you must be standing on your stride foot until I finish counting. If you are unable to balance, you are out of the challenge. The last person standing is the winner and gets to pick something for everyone else to do...burpees, sit-ups, sprints, sing a silly song, do the chicken dance, etc.

It's amazing the focus you get when a pitcher feels like there is something on the line. Even a simple challenge like this ups their ability to focus on what we want them to do!

Teaching your pitcher HOW to find ways to make intentional practice meaningful to her is something that can produce better learning!

If she's struggled to throw her change-up with confidence consistently, tell her to imagine her team is up by 1 run in the state championship game, it's the bottom of the 7th inning, full count, bases loaded, best hitter on the team at the plate. She must throw her change-up! If she hits it, her team wins a state championship, if she misses they lose.

Some pitchers will get sweaty palms just thinking about this scenario. Encouraging them to use moments like this, helps them to make each pitch truly count during practice AND prepares them for those big moments during games when they happen!

3. Take time to reflect/journal following each bullpen

After each practice session, take 1-2 minutes to review how it went:

• What did I accomplish that I'm proud of during practice?
• What did I struggle with that I want to continue to work on in the future?
• What's one thing do I want to focus on at my next practice?

I provide my pitchers with practice journals that have a spot in them to reflect on things that are similar to this. You could encourage your pitcher to keep something as simple as a notebook with her during practice to write these things down!

Again, when I review practice journals there are vast differences in how well my pitchers set daily/weekly goals and review their progress towards them regularly. My pitchers that take the time to do this, almost always, make faster progress than the ones that don't!

I know you want your pitchers to get the most out of every bullpen they throw, my friend! You can maximize their learning in their current practice sessions by remembering these 3 things:

1. Help your pitcher understand how to be intentional during practice with whatever it is you are trying to help her improve. Her ability to think about, understand, and feel the "small" adjustments you are asking her to make will help her progress more quickly!
2. Make sure the things she is working to improve mean something to her. Create challenges or competitions to help her feel committed to the learning process.
3. Help your pitcher understand the importance of reflecting on her practice sessions and planning for the next ones. This can have a big impact on taking ownership of her learning and performance in the future!

These things will help your pitcher get the most out of her current practice sessions and drive her closer towards her goals, my friend!

As always, let me know if you have questions about anything or if you have a topic you'd like me to address in a future blog post. You can email me HERE anytime!

All My Best,

Myndie