Change is a Funny Thing

​Change is a funny thing; we always hate it so much while it is happening and then look back realizing it was exactly what we needed to become a better version of ourselves. I got to college as a freshman, and was told everything I had been taught my entire life was wrong - the way I held the ball, the way I snapped, the way I dragged my foot, the way I finished my pitch. Literally almost everything. By the time my family got to see me pitch at the end of the fall season, I didn’t even look like the pitcher they had sent away to college just a few months earlier. It was absolutely the most difficult time of my career. I lost my identity as a pitcher, I lost my love for going to practice every day, but worst of all I lost my confidence.
           
            I understand the philosophy. Break a pitcher down and build her back up to get her to buy into “it”. You break her to get her to mold into what the program wants her to be. BUT why does there have to only be one way to do things? What if multiple ways can be successful? For example - look at the “figure four” versus the “open and close the door” debate. (A “figure four” motion leaves the hips completely open at the end of the pitch with the foot up the in air like a four. An “open and close the door” motion closes the hips at the end after the pitcher releases the ball.) There are pitchers on the national and international stage who are extremely successful using both philosophies. So why change it if it isn’t broken?
           
            Going through this experience as a collegiate pitcher has made a huge impact on who I am today as a coach. I feel like I say over and over again that my job isn’t to reinvent the wheel. Whether I’m working as a private pitching coach with my young students or with my collegiate pitchers, it’s the same concept. If you can show me that the way you are doing something not only works, but works consistently and is successful then why would I change it? Your definition of consistency and success may be different than mine though.
           
            When changing things, sometimes it is hard to see the big picture. You may have to take a step backwards to then take three steps forward. Anything we try that is new might not be amazing at the first few times we try it. As pitchers we often fail to see the big picture when changing a pitch or mechanic. We get stuck in the mindset of “it worked better before I changed it so I’m going to fight the change to get better.” I do not ask my pitchers to change things just because I want them doing it “my way.” Often times, if you can make the change and develop the muscle memory, the pitch becomes much more effective than it previously was. There is always a method to the madness.
 
            Before you can truly be successful when changing things, you must buy in to then see the results. This becomes the tricky part due to the fact that as human beings we are result oriented. We want to “see it to believe it.” This is part of becoming a mentally tough pitcher, you have to believe in it to see results.