Overcoming psychological barriers: tips for pitching as well in games as in lessons

Over the past few weeks I’ve begun participating in discussions on the message board DiscussFastpitch.com, which is a general gathering place for players, parents, coaches, and enthusiasts of fastpitch softball. One of the topics that came up recently was the difference in a specific young pitcher’s performance in games and team practices versus lessons with her pitching coach. In the latter, she had been quite good, while in the former situations she had been struggling, with a noticeable change in her mechanics.

This is something that affects a huge number of pitchers, so I thought it was important to write about it. Nerves can certainly affect a pitcher’s performance, and different people have nervous reactions to a wide variety of different stimuli. But sometimes a pitcher might not even feel any anxiety or sense of pressure whatsoever, and yet she still sees changes in her performance when a batter steps into the box.

Today I’d like to share some suggestions for how to deal with this situation. There is no cure-all method, since every pitcher has a different emotional makeup and reacts differently to different things, but these suggestions may be very useful to some. I’m going to write this from the perspective of a coach or parent trying to help a pitcher with this issue, but if any pitchers are reading please feel free to adopt some of these concepts in your practices.

What’s causing the difference in pitching mechanics?

In many cases, pitchers who pitch differently in game situations than they do in lessons may be doing so truly subconsciously, and the difference is as much a mystery to them as it is to you as the coach or parent. In that situation, it may be quite difficult to figure out the specific cause. However, often there will be something specific bothering the pitcher.

Be observant, and ask questions. Talk to the pitcher! Be nurturing, and not accusatory. Maybe she’s uncomfortable throwing to her team catcher and is afraid to say so. Maybe she’s afraid to hit batters. Maybe her lessons are indoors, and she’s uncomfortable with her feet on a proper pitching rubber. Maybe her team coach and her pitching coach are giving her conflicting instructions. Any number of things could be bothering her, and it’s certainly possible she can name them. Try to get her to be open about how she’s feeling when pitching in different situations, and make sure she knows that it’s always ok to share her concerns. Playing softball is as much about learning life skills and developing emotionally as a person as it is about becoming a better athlete. If a coach isn’t concerned with the players’ emotional well being, maybe it’s time for a new coach.

Simulate game situations in pitching lessons and practices

Whether the pitcher can identify the cause(s) of the discrepancy or not, it’s always a good idea to simulate game conditions as closely as possible during pitching lessons. With my students, I like to start lessons with drills and free pitching, and gradually introduce game-like scenarios as the lesson progresses. Sometimes that will allow you to find a specific trigger, and you’ll know what to work on. For example, sometimes certain students of mine will start throwing wildly as soon as I keep track of the count. Then I know they have a psychological reaction to the possibility of walking someone, even if no one is actually in the batter’s box.

Here are some game-like elements that you can incorporate into pitching lessons:

• Make sure the pitching surface is as realistic as possible. I strongly advocate having every pitcher practice on dirt with a stationary pitching rubber if possible, but it is particularly essential for pitchers who struggle only in game situations.
• Invite the team catcher to pitching lessons. The pitcher can get used to throwing to her, and the catcher can learn some of the pitcher’s idiosyncrasies. A good relationship with her catcher is invaluable to a pitcher. Depending on age/level, the catcher may even be able to learn enough to carry the primary responsibility of talking to the pitcher in game situations. Girls are often more receptive to advice coming from their peers than from coaches or parents.
• Have a batter stand in during lessons. If no one is available, rigging something is better than using nothing. One of those stand-up cardboard celebrities would work. I’ve used a PVC pipe stuck vertically inside a traffic cone in a pinch. If the pitcher has a known anxiety toward hitting batters, it’s a good idea to progress from something inanimate to an actual person in lessons.
• Simulate an inning at the end of a lesson. After I run my pitchers through all their drills and different pitches during lessons, I always end with a simulated inning. Preferably I have a batter standing in, switching sides of the plate periodically. The catcher calls the pitches, and the pitcher is free to shake them off. The goal is to strike out three before walking in a run. The lesson ends whenever one of those results is reached. If the pitcher goes home a little disappointed from walking four at the end of the lesson, it simulates the disappointment of a bad game. She has a goal to work toward for the next lesson. With an advanced pitcher, strikes that miss the catcher’s target can be called hits or foul balls.
• If the pressure of performing in front of an audience is an issue, invite friends or family members to watch part of the lessons.
• Make sure the pitcher has a mental list of positive affirmations to think about before pitching. During a lesson or a practice, commenting on a pitcher’s mechanical flaws is unavoidable for a coach or parent. However, it’s negative and overwhelming for the pitcher to remember all the things she’s done wrong. Instead, she should pick 3-4 things that she MUST do right to be successful, and visualize them before each pitch.

Simulate the feeling of a lesson before games

In her warm-up before a game, the pitcher should feel comfortable and completely in control. If she’s rushed, or her warm-up is too different from her warm-up in a lesson, she’s likely to feel uncomfortable and flustered. During lessons and practices, a sequence of warm-up drills should be used that can be used for warm-up before games as well. If the pitcher starts off the day feeling like she’s in a familiar routine, she’s more likely to maintain that comfort level once the game starts.

Focus on velocity

The most common manifestation of under performing in game situations is the pitcher will try to “steer” the ball into the strike zone because she doesn’t trust her mechanics enough to throw a strike when throwing as hard as she can. Often is the simple slowing down of the motion that results in loss of command and mechanical breakdown. In game situations, I encourage my pitchers to throw the next pitch harder whenever they miss the strike zone. In lessons, if the pitcher really pushes her velocity, hopefully she’ll see loss of command if she slows down, and she’ll trust what she sees and be able to make the connection between loss of velocity and loss of command.

Use pictures or video

Often, a pitcher won’t be able to feel the difference between what she’s doing in lessons versus games, even if the mechanics differ wildly. In this case, pictures or video may be useful. Take video of the pitcher in a lesson situation and a game situation, and sit down together and compare them. If she can narrow the problem down to a particular moment in the pitching motion, the pitcher may be able to focus positively on that concrete aspect of the pitch, rather than being overwhelmed by the abstract concept of just pitching differently in a game.

If you have any experiences in this area, or specific questions about your daughter/your student/yourself, please leave them in the comments!