September 2, 2011 By The Pitching Academy Leave a Comment

College Baseball Recruiting: Writing a Letter

Are you in the process of trying to figure out which school is right for you? Maybe you are frustrated because you know you have the proper skills to play for most colleges but you just may not know how the recruiting process works? Don’t worry if you fall into these categories; you are not alone!

One of the most frustrating parts of being a talented high school athlete is that you don’t know the first steps of getting recruited to a good college or how to “get your name out there”. Another frustration you may share with others is that your High School coaches don’t have a clue either. Some athletes think if they are good enough they will get noticed. Well, that’s certainly not the case.

It’s time to roll up your sleeves, lace up your shoes and get to work. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Coaching Pitchers, General Baseball, General Hitting, General Pitching Tagged With: College Recruiting

August 8, 2011 By The Pitching Academy Leave a Comment

What You Must Know About Mistakes

I’ve been helping out with a handful of tryouts the last week or so and have seen lots of nervousness among the athletes trying out. In fact, I gave the ball to one pitcher before he was ready to display his stuff in the bullpen and his hand was shaking visibly. I felt bad for the kid.

So, today I wanted to help relax some of the athletes (and parents for that matter) who have yet to tryout for the next season. If you’ve already gone through a tryout, poke this information away for next time you encounter a situation where your skills are on display. [Read more...]

Filed Under: General Baseball

June 22, 2011 By The Pitching Academy Leave a Comment

Are you a good pitcher?

There is some great competition out there these days. That especially rings true if you are a right-handed pitcher. A right handed pitcher is the most competitive position in all of baseball. How are you going to stand out?

How much do you know about biomechanics? pitching mechanics?

How much time do you spend each day on your functional fitness?

Are you mentally and emotionally stable on the mound?

Are you eating like a winner? nutrition plan?

How’s your attitude on and off the field?

Do you consider yourself a leader?

Do you set pitching specific goals? If so, what are you working on right now?

Do you have the courage to tell your coach you want the ball in a crucial situation?

Does your coach and your team have confidence that you can do the job anytime?

Are you fully prepared each game mentally, physically and emotionally? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Coaching Pitchers, General Baseball, General Pitching, Nutrition, Pitching Grips, Pitching Mechanics, Pitching Tips, Pitching Workouts Tagged With: Pitching, Pitching Mechanics

June 14, 2011 By The Pitching Academy Leave a Comment

Where Pressure Comes From

Sunday evening I sat down in front of the TV to watch the Miami Heat take on the Dallas Mavericks in Game 6 of the NBA Finals. Getting late into the game, the Mavericks opened a pretty hefty lead, though not out of reach of the Miami offense. I kept waiting for the LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh show to make one last run… but they couldn’t. Something seemed to create a stiffness in their play. Wade dribbled a ball off his foot, and James tried to push the ball up the key while guarded heavily by three Mavericks only to throw up a ridiculously nonathletic shot. What causes this stiff play in sports? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Coaching Pitchers, General Baseball, General Hitting, General Pitching, Hitting Mechanics, Mental Game of Baseball, Pitching Mechanics

May 31, 2011 By The Pitching Academy Leave a Comment

If Your Effort Doesn’t Match Your Dreams… You’re Screwed

Both Dan and I work with a lot of athletes throughout the season. One of the things that irritate us the most as instructors is when athletes say they are going to work hard on their skills and then put in a half ass effort during the week. Sometimes all we have to do is paint a picture of what college and professional baseball is like and the work habit and effort required to make it to that level of baseball. Other times it’s just a massive disconnect between the mouth of an athlete and his body. His words communicate that he’s serious about baseball and working hard, but his actions speak otherwise. Sadly, it seems like it’s always the talented athletes who choose this unfortunate path. [Read more...]

Filed Under: General Baseball, Mental Game of Baseball Tagged With: Mental Game of Baseball

May 30, 2011 By The Pitching Academy Leave a Comment

Baseball: Confidence In Crucial Situations

Last week I had the opportunity to watch a lot of baseball because the High School playoffs were going on at UVU. It’s always fun to see players perform well under “pressure situations”, but its also nerve racking to see very talented players lose it and perform well below their capabilities. I saw both this week.

I was re – reminded about the importance of mental preparedness. It is so important to have an “I can” attitude regardless of what’s at stake. Those players that keep a good handle on their emotions put themselves in a better position of success. But the question always arises “how do I do that?” You and I both know it just doesn’t happen. You have to work on your mental game just as much as you do any other part of the game to be a complete player.

Justin Su’a and I had a great discussion about being mentally prepared. I would like to share that with you today! It is so important that you play close attention to what is being said. I would save this in your favorites folder so you can pull this up whenever you need a quick reminder. [Read more...]

Filed Under: General Baseball, Mental Game of Baseball Tagged With: Baseball's Mental Game, Mental Game of Baseball

April 22, 2011 By The Pitching Academy Leave a Comment

Cross Training: Cardio For Baseball Pitchers

Cross Training: Cardio for Baseball Pitchers

If you’re like me you like to add some variety to your pitching workouts. Before the internet, I used to go insane trying to think of new creative ways I could workout and still get all I needed to ensure I would stay healthy throughout the season. With the internet, it has become easy to find what pitching workout routines work for you and which ones don’t. As you know, pitching specific workout routines can be a bit repetitive, but they don’t have to be. Today I want to talk about what pitchers can do to keep their cardio workouts fun and different every week.

If you have been receiving our newsletter for awhile now, you know that pitchers are not long distance runners, they are sprinters. Why? We start and stop all of the time. We need to work on explosive movements, quick bursts of energy toward the plate.

Here is a list [Read more...]

Filed Under: Coaching Pitchers, General Baseball, General Pitching, Pitching Workouts Tagged With: Pitching Workout

April 20, 2011 By The Pitching Academy Leave a Comment

Little League Baseball Coaches Beware!

Little League Baseball Coaches

As super league has already been in progress for a few months it is time for city league baseball (Little League) to get under way. Many cities in our neck of the woods started practicing a few weeks ago and had their first games this week. Many pitchers are involved in both leagues here in Utah and I’m sure it’s the same in most states.

This is the time of year where coaches need to be made aware how many pitches their pitchers are really throwing each week! If they pitch for you they most likely pitch for another team. It is also important to know how often your pitchers are throwing if they play other positions as well. I have talked to some coaches lately who said that between tournaments in Super League and city league their players had 8 games in 4 days. One father told me his son pitched two 3 inning games but failed to keep track of how many [Read more...]

Filed Under: Coaching Pitchers, General Baseball, General Pitching Tagged With: Baseball Pitching

March 2, 2011 By The Pitching Academy 1 Comment

Dark Clouds, Tryouts, and the End of the World

Dark Clouds, Tryouts, and the End of The World

High school baseball tryouts started Monday here in Washington. The weather? 40 degrees. Rain. Wind. I love it here.

Monday afternoon I went to help out with the tryouts at a local high school. There wasn’t a huge number of freshmen; the coaches only had to cut a small handful of kids. That part is never enjoyable, I don’t care how many times a coach does it. Fortunately, I didn’t have to be involved in that process. I just threw my two cents in on those I thought should work on their skills some more and give it a shot next year. [Read more...]

Filed Under: General Baseball, Mental Game of Baseball Tagged With: Hitting Instruction, Pitching Instruction

February 22, 2011 By The Pitching Academy Leave a Comment

New Pitching DVD

One of the most common requests we’ve been getting since the release of our DVD Series is if we could split up the information in smaller chunks and of course for a fraction of the price. Good news, as of last night, we’re now making available instant downloadable clips from our DVDs. There will be some more to come in the near future as well.

What clips are available? [Read more...]

Filed Under: General Baseball, General Hitting, General Pitching, Hitting Mechanics, Pitching Mechanics Tagged With: Baseball DVD, Pitching, Pitching DVD, Pitching Mechanics, Pitching Videos