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This is how coaching is supposed to be done.
8kFastpitch offers top-notch in person lessons for pitching, hitting, strength and conditioning, as well as virtual lessons so that athletes from any distance, can benefit from training with Coach Michaela.
Allow me prove to you, just as I have for hundreds of other athletes, why my keen eye for detail, my ability to explain and work with today’s youth, and my extensive knowledge about the game, will help your daughter reach her goals.
8k Pitching Philosophies and Coaching Style
After years of studying and analyzing the pitching motion, even testing out new methods and pinpointing shortfalls in my own motion during my peak years of playing, I have gathered a coaching method that has proven to help guide fastpitch pitcher athletes become successful with speed, accuracy, movement, mental toughness, preparedness, and one of the most overlooked or underrated aspects of coaching pitching: remaining injury free throughout the longevity of a pitchers career.
I will never stop learning and listening in an effort to continue to get better, but my NON-NEGOTIABLES as a coach will always be not sacrificing sound, proven pitching mechanics, in an exchange for speed. These mechanics are usually in the form of poor posture at release, throwing with the arm away from the body, and having a super tense, restrictive release point.
I’m a firm believer in utilizing the strongest part of a female’s body in order to produce velocity; the core and the legs. This includes the proper launch position at the very beginning of every pitch and having a strong, long, leg kick that positions the body over the pitchers arm side (what I commonly like to refer to as the players engine). This allows the lower half to take on the majority of the force required of the pitcher instead of the pitching arm. This also positions the arm over the athletes engine thus protecting the shoulder and elbow from common pitching injuries.
Posture, rapid hip open and closure, stride foot strike positioning and ground force, drag positioning, glove side use, arm circle path, all play important roles in allowing for accurate and consistent release points for the ability to locate, and put spin on the ball. And all take time (and lots of practice) to build strength to...speed will come!
More spin equates to more velocity, movement, and accuracy.
Hot button terms such as whip, hello elbow, internal rotation, snap, are in my mind, all rolled into the idea that if you combine all the aforementioned roles of the motion, plus optimal timing, plus the ability to remain loose at the time of release, speed and accuracy will ensue.
All of the moving pieces of the pitching motion are insignificant, however, if a pitcher is not mentally prepared for the pressures that come with leading a team at the center of the field. I will challenge girls to think and speak for themselves, push them to work physically hard, and to even set them up for failure so that we can work on recovery and facing that reality before it happens on the field. I take pride in my ability to get to know each girl individually in order to develop customized coaching plans and ways to communicate to them that best suits their specific needs. But I cannot stress enough the importance of the work put in at home as a pitcher.
Lessons are for learning, home is for practicing what has been learned.