How to Start Preparing Your Pitchers for Game Planning

Table of Contents

• How to Start Prepping Your Pitchers for Game Plann …

• A GREAT Drill to Help Your Pitchers “Feel”

Total Reading Time: 5 minutes

The season is closing in and it’s time to start preparing. We take a look at how to help your pitchers get ready for game prep as well as an incredible drill to help them “feel”.

This newsletter is a result of my curiosity and love of learning. I want to quickly share these things with other curious, busy pitching coaches like you.

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How to Start Prepping Your Pitchers for Game Planning

The season is just around the corner and with it comes game planning. Sure, as coaches we can dive into the mineshaft of all the data, the charts and the video, but for many of our pitchers this will all be new.

Think about it from their point of view…all Fall, and so far all Spring they’ve been throwing bullpens and throwing some live. Week after week, pretty much the same routine.

Then all of a sudden you blast in with your charts and your data and your video, drilling down on minute points that few of them understand and POW - their minds are blown! Which makes them nervous and likely freaks them out.

So, with the 3 weeks left think about easing into game planning by starting to do it within your own team by prepping for your own hitters in Live.

Help each pitcher know:

• If they match up better against RH or LH hitters

• What hitters on your team they likely match up with (they probably know this already from who they tend to more easily get out during Live)

• The order they’re going to pitch in - and why based on how their movement and speed varies from the previous pitcher (to keep the batter’s off time)

NOTE: If you’re planning on using a “staff” approach for games this season, if you haven’t already bee preaching this approach then this is definitely the time to do so. The BIGGEST change will be in the concept of an “opener” versus what they’re used to thinking about “the starter”. But that’s a concept for another newsletter (AND our Monday, January 27 Pitching Zoom)

Then plan for at least 2 Live sessions per week the next couple weeks. These don’t need to be complete games, but should be long enough for you to sit with your pitchers ahead of time and do “scouting reports” on your own hitters:

1. Their Righty/Lefty splits (numbers of Righthanded and Lefthanded hitters they have)

2. The smash zone of each hitter (where in the zone the hitters tend to hit the ball their hardest)

3. The chase zone of each hitter (where the hitters will chase pitches without doing damage)

4. Give each pitcher the game plan for how they will approach pitching to their specific hitters.

5. Find out if any pitchers prefer to have their pitches scripted out ahead of time. If Yes, do they want the first couple of pitches/hitter scripted, 4-5 pitches for all the likely hitters?

If you’re not used to doing this it might seem like a lot for you at first. It is a lot. But all this planning and preparing becomes almost our entire focus once games start, so this “game prep” approach is not only great for your pitchers, but it’s good practice for us.

Here’s a sample layout of what this type of “Prep Week” might look like…

This type of Game Prep Week approach not only helps your pitchers learn how you present information, but it also helps them learn and how to take in the info that you show them.

And it shows you how much information each pitcher can handle, and how each pitcher likes to have that information presented.

A GREAT Drill to Help Your Pitchers “Feel”

As pitching coaches we rack our brains constantly trying to help our pitchers improve. If you’re like me, you think you’re making yourself clear, that you’ve gotten your point across, and yet your pitcher either doesn’t make any progress, or she has no clue what you’re talking about.

To me, teaching “feel” is one of the hardest concepts to get across. You can describe what they need to feel, but it’s like the age old example of “hot” - until you touch the stove you don’t really understand what it means.

I’m not a big drill person, but one drill I do like is pitching with your eyes closed. I know it sounds frightening, but when done correctly it’s extremely helpful.

After your pitcher has warmed up have her throw 1 pitch of whatever she’s working on, with her eyes open. Follow that with 1 of the same pitches with her eyes closed.

Alternate this way for about 4 sets of 2 pitches. Then, on the “eyes closed” pitch ask your pitcher to keep her eyes closed until she can tell you where she “felt” the ball went. She’ll usually say the pitch is far worse than it really was.

What’s amazing is that once she gets over the fear of pitching with her eyes closed, and thinking that she’s worse than she really is, she’ll start locking into the “feel” of her release and her pitches will usually become faster with better movement.

I know it sounds scary but give it a try - and let’s talk about how it went on our January 27th zoom.

Hope you enjoyed this Issue. If there’s something specific you want to read about send that to me at [email protected], or text me at (813) 368-2048

See You Next Week!