Finding Time for Pitching Workouts as a Multi-Sport Athlete

Hey There Friend!

Does your pitcher participate in more than one sport?

Does she often have trouble juggling all the practices, workouts and games that are expected of her?

Do you often feel like her time is over-scheduled and can't figure out where she can fit in time to work on her pitching while in-season with other sports?

Are you concerned she isn't progressing as much with her pitching because she isn't able to practice as much as girls that only play softball?

Well, I have some ideas in this article that will help you help her, my friend!

First, I think playing more than one sport is GREAT!

A few of the benefits of being a multi-sport athlete include:

• Fewer over-use injuries due to changes in movement patterns from sport to sport
• Developing overall athletic ability
• Figuring out your true passions - how do you KNOW what you like to do until you try it?
• Less burnout from only having ONE focus all year long
• Exposure to different coaches and teammates
• Learning to embrace different roles and ways to be a good teammate

However, the time commitment it takes to play multiple sports will undoubtedly make it more challenging to get workouts fit into your schedule.

So, how do you help your pitcher continue to develop her skills as a pitcher WHILE she is in-season for another sport?

Here are FOUR things that will help!

1. Create an AT-HOME workout space

Time is a precious commodity and having to "GO" somewhere else to do a workout just doesn't work for crazy busy families!

An at-home workout space doesn't have to be anything fancy or large.

You don't need full pitching distance to get better!

Find a spot that your pitcher can throw balls into a net in the garage or basement OR socks or a Nerf ball into a wall somewhere in her house.

An at-home workout space allows your pitcher to fit in a workout whenever she has the time available taking AWAY the problem of having to GO somewhere to practice. It allows your pitcher to do a workout ANYTIME her schedule permits!

2. Focus on short, frequent practices that work on improving ONE thing

A lot can be accomplished in 5-10 minutes IF you have a plan on WHAT you want to improve AND invest in these workouts frequently!

Pitching is a SKILL that must be practiced to see growth.

Playing other sports will certainly help your pitcher improve her overall athletic ability.

However, just like she must shoot a basketball to get better at making shots, she MUST pitch to see improvement in that skill!

Will making 10 free throw daily help her become a better free throw shooter? Of course it will - as will doing 10 correct reps of something with her pitching will help her become a better pitcher. What will determine how good she gets at a skill, shooting or pitching, is how often she does it!

Our body and brain will forget something that we don't do regularly.

I will often ask my young students question like this:

Which of these 2 options will help you improve your reading skills the most?

Option 1: Read for 1 hour every Sunday (total of 60 minutes)

Option 2: Read for 5 minutes every night before bed (total of 35 minutes)

Without hesitation, they choose Option 2 and they are correct!

You learn best when you practice frequently. It doesn't matter if it's learning to read, how to shoot a basketball or how to pitch!

Only working on a skill occasionally, even if it's for a longer amount of time, just isn't as beneficial. Your body and brain forget what is learned when it's not reminded frequently. When you only practice occasionally, you have to re-learn what you've forgotten over and over again!

Do you want your pitcher to improve her mechanics, power or command of the zone?

Encourage her to do 10-15 correct reps working on ONE thing EVERY day. That will only require a time investment of a couple minutes!

It's the process of repeating that skill CORRECTLY and CONSISTENTLY (preferably daily) over a few weeks WILL help her LEARN that skill!

Remember, it's not only HOW LONG you practice that matters. What matters is HOW FREQUENTLY you perform CORRECT REPS!

You don't always need more than a few minutes a day to improve IF you are consistent about investing!

3. Make practice part of your DAILY ROUTINE

ORGANIZATION and having a SCHEDULE is a must when you are busy, and let's be honest, we are ALL busy!

Finding a consistent time in your day that you can work in 3, 4, or 5 minutes of practice is one KEY to your SUCCESS even when you are crazy busy!

What time might work for you?

• first thing when you get up in the morning?
• right before you take a shower at night?
• how about fitting in 1-minute right after you brush your teeth in the morning and at night?!

PLAN a time and then TAKE ACTION and get in those daily reps!

4. Prioritize your time and PLAN when you will MAKE time for longer workouts each week.

Ask your pitcher:

• How important is being a GREAT pitcher?
• What are your goals for this competition season?
• What do you want to work on improving during the off-season?

Help her understand that her commitment to the process must match the goals she's set for herself.

Remind her that if she WANTS to be a great pitcher, she must make sure practicing it is on her priority list!

Many of my pitchers use the practice journal I provide them with to PLAN their longer workouts each week. They sit down (the younger girls with a parent) on Sunday night and look at what their entire schedule looks like that week.

Once they know their schedule, they choose which days AND at what time they can fit a longer workouts into their schedule. They then write "full workout" in their journal as their commitment to doing the work and then will highlight or circle it when they complete it!

If your pitcher has times in her schedule where she is only able to get a couple longer workouts in each week, her consistent, 5-minute, daily workouts will help her keep progressing with her pitching while she is playing another sport!

Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out OVER time. As coaches and parents, our responsibility is to provide our our athletes with tools to help them stay committed to their pitching goals even when they are busy with other sports,

Give these things a try with your pitchers who are also multi-sport athletes. I'd love to hear how things go!

If you have questions about anything or have a topic you'd like me to cover in a future blog post, don't hesitate to email me HERE!

All My BEST,

Myndie