08/17/2026
Downtime, and off season are times to reflect and recap. It’s also about resetting, and learning new pitches, or trying to level up your swing. I recently had 8 pitchers reach milestones and start to learn new pitches. With another 6 moving up to big ball and back to 40 feet. I only teach new pitches in the off season. I also only teach new pitches to kids who are ready for them.
Also I have a number of hitters, getting new bigger bats, and learning how to hit to multiple places, and hit the ball more effectively.
I don’t post a lot of videos of the girls, mostly because the internet is a nasty place for confidence with always telling someone they should be doing something different. I hate that. I see moms posting videos and if they knew how others talked about the videos, they wouldn’t post them. We live in the video age. Seemingly reel after reel hoping for attention. You will regret it. I vlogged for a short while, and the amount of hate in the comments was overwhelming. I had to turn them off, and they didn’t even get that many views. Most kids struggle with confidence already. That’s actually my biggest goal for them, to find confidence, and enjoyment of the game.
Who is working hard, who isn’t? Most of the time it’s a lie. False advertisement. I see posts from moms, and other instructors saying haw hard they were working, and at the other end of that camera would tell a different story.
I had a bunch of pitchers in the building Saturday and Sunday . It was probably the hottest days of the year. Not one complaint. They struggled because they are new to it. Still. Not one complaint. Not one word about the heat, or the amount of things they were doing, or had to do. Those are my favorite lessons.
The truth is all of this is work. I try to have fun with it. Sometimes I have to get on them to get my point across. Some people can’t handle truth, they would rather believe the lies. Lies that you don’t have to go hard to be a pitcher. Lies about speed being unimportant, lies about a specific style being bad for you, even lies about stories of why they do certain things. I can’t do that. Just know the truth lives rent free over here. Common sense isn’t common anymore. Common sense has taken a backseat to theory, and manipulation. Fight it, don’t let someone with no reasoning manipulate you into believing something they read on social media, or was told to them by some coach who is actually clueless.
This is my 20th year of trying to help kids get better at this game. I have downsized what I do. Because I wanted to be at home and spend more time with my wife. I can’t tell you how nice it’s been, and how much I appreciate being able to do that. I still love this game, and all the kids who dedicate their time to get better with me.
If you took the time to read this, thank you. Whether you are a hater, or an ally, taking the time to read stuff is important. Instead of watching some video.
