I was recently at the Rising Stars Exposure Tournament in January.  It was interesting to me to see how many players had given a “verbal commitment” to a university.  This is not a new practice but I see so many more players are doing this earlier and earlier.  A verbal commitment is a commitment to play at a certain University prior to the signing period.  What is upsetting is that the players who are doing this are freshman and sophomores.  Now, I know the times are changing and recruiting is tougher for universities. But committing to a school verbally only hurts the player. For example, if a coach who accepted the verbal leaves the school a verbal doesn’t mean anything.  It actually doesn’t mean anything at all.  Meanwhile, an athlete stops doing all the recruiting things she needs to do to get into the school she wants.  The University continues collecting “verbals” and keeping good players from other schools without any penalty if things don’t “pan out” for the player.  Is there any recourse if a University changes their mind?  NO.  So.. is this something a young player should do?  Absolutely, not.  If you are a junior or senior in high school and have had a lot of contact with a University, maybe.  But just know until you have a signed Letter of Intent (which you sign in the fall of your senior year) nothing is guaranteed.

Hi Everyone,

It has taken me awhile to understand what a blog is. Then a good friend mentioned to me that he just wants to know what I think. So I am finally ready to write. You know I have a lot to say, so here it goes…welcome to my first blog.

I am out on the fields everyday with athletes and coaches, I see things that work and things that don’t. One of the things that I believe is really affecting pitchers is the “caller.” My definition of a “caller” is a person who is calling the pitches, who acts as the personal coach for the pitcher, and who is willing to take responsibility for what is happening with the pitch. I realize that a lot of “callers” are calling pitches for their own daughters, so this can be tough for both the parent and the pitcher. The first rule is you must separate yourself as their “dad” or “mom.” I understand a lot of you come to lessons so you are automatically elected, but you must see your daughter from neutral eyes. Otherwise you are not a good candidate to call pitches. Some questions you might ask yourself before taking the job are: What will best serve her to perform? How can I support her so she allows me to help? Who do I have to be and how do I have to be so that she can perform in games? Lastly and most importantly, am I willing to be her biggest fan? The last on is tough to do because you get frustrated. That frustration is your own, your pitcher needs someone on their side always! It is scary out there especially when things are going poorly. That is when the “caller” needs to be the pitcher’s saving grace. You are in this together.

The other day I had a lesson with a 10 year old pitcher who was having control problems. She told me that her dad (caller) said “she was not committed to the pitch.” Of course I laughed and asked her if she was committed to the pitch? She responded, “I don’t
know.” So I said, well what is it that you want to throw? We decided to throw what she wanted to and she started to throw strikes.
The moral of the story is, if you are calling pitches that your pitcher is not in agreement with you are not going to get great
results. The way to get in sync is to spend time getting to know them as pitchers. Discuss what they would like to throw in certain
situations. Find out what is working best and what will work effectively for that day or game. When you have these conversations
with pitchers you are gaining trust and awareness. Part of your job is to make them feel comfortable so they throw under pressure like they do in practice. That is ultimately what everyone wants. This does not just happen. We are all responsible for creating comfort for the pitcher. When we don’t, we get terrible results and sometimes tears. To me this is avoidable. When I was pitching, I listened to an instinct that told me what pitch to throw. When you and the pitcher share this instinct, pitching is like art. When you
are aware of your communication with the pitcher, you will discover how enjoyable and easy calling a game becomes. At Cal. St. Fullerton we had two catchers. One who knew me and understood how I liked to be called, and one who I really struggled with. My results were obvious. All pitchers deserve someone to work hard to get to know them. They work very hard and are the key to success for many teams.

So listen to your pitchers. Have a relationship with them so they understand, no matter what happens out there you are on their side. I cannot tell you how many of my pitching lessons struggle because the “caller” has their own idea of what works. Most of the time they don’t realize pitchers have other pitches. So my advice to you is to get to know your pitcher, understand how she operates. Is she a control freak? Is she aggressive? Is she passive? Is she scared to make a mistake? Does she fold under pressure? Once you start to understand them then ask yourself who you need be to and how you need to be in order to have her be successful.

Remember: Check your ego at the gate!!
JoAnn