How to Reduce the Parent/Pitcher "Arguments" During At-Home Practice

Hey There Friend!

Some of the common frustrations that I hear from pitcher's parents occur during their at-home practices.

Do any of these things hit home with you and your daughter?

• She won't listen to me when we practice together at home even though I'm telling her the same thing as you!
• I can't say anything to her without her telling me "I know mom/dad!"
• She gets mad whenever I correct something during practice!
• Our practices often end early because we are both so frustrated!

While I can't promise to get rid of these things entirely for you, I DO have 5 things that I think will really help keep you both focused and allow you to work together in a more enjoyable way during at-home workouts!

1. Have a practice PLAN and let your daughter have INPUT on it!

• Knowing exactly what she is doing DURING her practice BEFORE it starts is a great way to keep a focus on WHAT you want to accomplish each day!
• ASK your daughter WHAT she wants to focus on during practice and make sure to include that in what you do!
  • The more input she has, the more buy-in you will get from her during at-home practice.
  • This is HER journey and helping to support/reminder her of her goals during workouts is a great way to keep her focused on the daily process it takes to reach them.

2. Keep workouts MOVING and not too long!

When I design workouts for my students they rarely take more than 30 minutes to complete. If you get "stuck" on one thing for too long it tends to lead to more conflicts during your practice.

You can get things accomplished in even shorter sessions (5-10 minutes) if you do them daily! If your daughter gets frustrated easily, try these short practices and focus on ONE thing that she chooses. Once she gets in the hang of these shorter workouts and figures out that they can be FUN with you, she will be more willing/able to do work up to slightly longer sessions!

3. Use Video!

I'm sure you've heard the comments: "I know!" or "I AM doing that!" at some point when you've practiced with your daughter. Likely the start of one of your "arguments" during your workouts!

Instead of TELLING her that she isn't doing something like you believe she should be doing it, SHOW her!

Your camera on your phone can be your best friend during these times. When you see something you want to bring to your daughter's attention, film her and ask her what she sees in the video!

Allowing her to discover the things you see happening can help her take ownership of the problem and motivate her to want to correct it without your "reminders" that could likely lead down a road that neither of you want to travel!

4. Talk LESS, watch and listen MORE!

It's important to let your daughter lead your dialogue during practice. Telling her something after every pitch makes her:

Eventually stop listening to you

OR

Rely on you completely to make corrections for her!

As a pitching coach it's my job to teach my students WHAT they need to practice at home and give them the TOOLS to WORK on those things. It is NOT to correct or comment on every pitch they throw.

When you are working with your daughter at home, you ARE her pitching coach!

Make sure you aren't doing all the "work" for your daughter by telling her every move to make. Allow her to fail, make a correction, fail again, make another correction, etc. until she eventually LEARNS.

You don't want her to get frustrated and shut you out because you are correcting her so much OR learn to rely on you for constant feedback any time she struggles.

Encourage her to ASK for your help if she wants you to "watch" something for her during practices. Again, allowing her to take ownership of her workouts is what allows for the most growth and learning!

5. REVIEW the workout after you complete it and plan for the NEXT one!

This process can be super quick but is important!

You can do this verbally OR your daughter can use a practice journal.

I ask all my pitchers to log their workouts in a journal. They include what they accomplished, how they felt AND what they want to accomplish next!

This is a great way for them to be able to reflect and see progress over time!

Give these ideas a try if you and your daughter struggle with staying in a good place during your at-home workouts. While I can't promise that they will eliminate all your disagreements during practice, I can assure you that they will absolutely help!

Remember that your daughter's pitching journey will have ups and downs BUT should be mostly FUN for her!

Keep things in perspective and do your best to help her ENJOY your time together during your at-home practices!

All My BEST,

Myndie