Post by Admin on Dec 16, 2012 18:52:47 GMT -5
Today Kristina Thorson, all-star pitcher for the NPF Akron Racers, released a bevy of valuable quips she has learned playing softball over the years. She gave insight on throwing certain types of pitches, getting recruited for college, coaching kids, valuable wisdom from her favorite coaches, developing your skills, training, determining what type of pitcher you want to be, and her philosophy on pitching. Here are a few of the gems:
Quote
"I was inspired to work harder than everyone else; I tried harder than everyone else just to show people I could do it."
"You stunk worse than skunk poop," a former coach said to Thorson after a season away from travel ball.
Practice is key! Work harder.
The best thing that ever happened to me was coaches telling me NO.
The one thing I can say about recruiting...it's your job. You need to email the schools you're interested in frequently.
Get on a team that goes to good tournaments and good fields. Be yourself, email them questions; coaches are people, they want to know you.
Target your schools you actually like, keep a list and contact those...School is very important, that's why it's "student athlete."
Top speed is not that important; good mechanics and change of speed are very important.
Pitching is legs and finger.
Do anything you can do 5-6 days a week or at night to make you better; it's not about working harder but smarter than others.
Set goals for yourself—I want 20 good pitches of this, 20 good of that. You'll get better and smarter.
With kids you need to teach them focus mixed with fun, keep it short and fun, take breaks, and work smarter.
Practice doesn't make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect. If it was easy, cheerleaders would do it.
Figure out what kind of pitcher you are...pop-up, ground ball or strikeout.
As a pitcher your job is not to strike everyone out; your job is to let your defense make plays and get outs with you.
The key to a change-up is to sell it.
Elbow must stay in when throwing the drop, if it comes out you risk ligament damage.
Quote
"I was inspired to work harder than everyone else; I tried harder than everyone else just to show people I could do it."
"You stunk worse than skunk poop," a former coach said to Thorson after a season away from travel ball.
Practice is key! Work harder.
The best thing that ever happened to me was coaches telling me NO.
The one thing I can say about recruiting...it's your job. You need to email the schools you're interested in frequently.
Get on a team that goes to good tournaments and good fields. Be yourself, email them questions; coaches are people, they want to know you.
Target your schools you actually like, keep a list and contact those...School is very important, that's why it's "student athlete."
Top speed is not that important; good mechanics and change of speed are very important.
Pitching is legs and finger.
Do anything you can do 5-6 days a week or at night to make you better; it's not about working harder but smarter than others.
Set goals for yourself—I want 20 good pitches of this, 20 good of that. You'll get better and smarter.
With kids you need to teach them focus mixed with fun, keep it short and fun, take breaks, and work smarter.
Practice doesn't make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect. If it was easy, cheerleaders would do it.
Figure out what kind of pitcher you are...pop-up, ground ball or strikeout.
As a pitcher your job is not to strike everyone out; your job is to let your defense make plays and get outs with you.
The key to a change-up is to sell it.
Elbow must stay in when throwing the drop, if it comes out you risk ligament damage.