Using your celebrity wisely

The time I would have devoted towards blogging last week, was very happily spent writing my next article for Baseball Player Magazine.  I am very excited about this one, as it will be discussing how to attack that intimidating batter.  No matter how accomplished we are as pitchers, there are always a few batters who are a little imposing, but no hitter is ever unbeatable.  

I have still been doing "pyramids" workouts in my lifting regimen.  I do like these a lot, since they begin with light weight and continually get higher.  It is a nice way to warm up the muscles before doing heavier weights (though I find it unnecessary to ever do very heavy weights).  Sunday's workout was the AIDS walk: 6.2 miles to raise money for research.  This ended up being the AIDS run for Frank and I, who felt that the pace wasn't quite fast enough for us.  It took us almost an hour to even get to the starting point, so we were a bit restless by then and just ran it.  There was an unbelievable crowd and also a lot of diversity among the walkers.  It was also a beautiful day in Central Park.  

This brings up a very important topic: the influence we have as athletes.  Athletes always have others who look up to them.  This is both a tremendous responsibility and a wonderful opportunity.  On one hand, the incident with the Ward Melville lacrosse team has made headlines lately.  Many of the players were suspended for a game due to the poor judgement that they demonstrated by drinking and then posting their exploits on Facebook.  Though they had to endure some consequences, the example they set for the young lacrosse players who look up to them is a very poor one indeed.  Behavior like this also tends to perpetuate a bias about what athletes are like as people.  On the other hand, we have many athletic teams that boast tremendous GPAs or do things for the community (my college coach made sure that we volunteered every year as a team).  Either way, you have to realize how others are influenced by these behaviors.    Many of my students don't realize how the younger girls talk about them like they are celebrities or how even their peers regard them highly and with much respect.  For this very reason, we should always be an example of good sportsmanship, but in addition, we should look to help others and our admirers will look to do the same.  

Helping others comes in many forms, both large and small.  I know that many of my students are involved in teaching younger girls how to pitch.  This is a wonderful way to educate others about proper mechanics, help prevent injury, and hone your own skills.  There is a wonderful ripple effect that is created when you choose to do something of this nature.  Your students will then go on and share their expertise and so forth.  Helping others doesn't have to involve pitching, though.  It is more about sharing your special gifts with the world.  Maybe you read to elderly people at a nursing home or perhaps you help tutor your neighbor in math.  One of my students did a walk for cystic fibrosis this weekend.  Many of you are involved in autism research, youth groups, and community projects.  Doing this is not just a way to boost your college resume, but it is also a way to set an example for others. I have some of my own favorite charities including North Shore Animal League, Sloan Kettering, and Heifer International.  Use your skills outside the circle to help a greater good.  You will feel good about helping others, but you will encourage many to do the same.      

Not everyone is meant to be a pitcher . . .

Sorry that I have not posted in a while.  I have been both extremely busy and a bit under the weather, which is not a good combination, since I haven't really felt like doing much.  I have therefore very grudgingly abstained from pitching, and will wait a few more days until I am feeling better.  I have still been running and lifting and doing yoga, but have been taking it day to day.

This time of year, everyone wants to be a pitcher.  It seems like a very glamorous prospect doesn't it?  The ball is in your hands every single time, you get lots of credit for the win, everyone is looking at you, etc. . . .  Based on my involvement in the Lenox Hill Study, I have been fortunate enough to spend a bit more time at tournaments and games than I normally would, and guess what I am seeing among the older girls?  A plethora of young women who were pitchers at one time or another.

So what happened?  Did everyone suddenly hate being a pitcher?  Maybe they all realized how much extra practice is involved.  Maybe they realized how much more pressure is on a pitcher (more than any other player on the field, in fact).   Maybe they realized how emotionally draining it can be to work on mechanics relentlessly or to throw a no-hitter (or a great game) and lose to errors.   Some girls will literally destroy themselves as pitchers from the inside out - overanalyzing and not giving their skills enough value.  Wait a minute . . . wasn't this supposed to be fun?

The truth is, a lot of wonderful things come with pitching.  As in the pursuit of all wonderful things however, there is a tremendous commitment and struggle to rise above mediocrity and truly develop and achieve greatness.  Many kids who are natural talents when they are younger succumb to laziness or complacency (remember last week's blog?) and never reach their true potential.  What I have found to be an amazing commonality among every single pitcher I have worked with, without exception, is the fact that they have all gone through some major mechanical conundrum.  I mean something so difficult that it would almost seem impossible to fix.  At the time, it always does seem near impossible.  What separates the girls who go on to become the super powers of the pitching world and the girls who never break these bad habits is perseverance.  I can remember years back how Kaitlyn's circle used to go over her head, or Cat had no snap, or Liz had a crooked backswing.  I can go on and on.  We laugh about these things in lessons now.  It seems like it was decades ago.  Yet many other girls have gone through similar things and have decided "I am just going to keep on throwing side-arm" or "I am going to let my spin be imperfect" or "I don't need to use my back leg."  This is not always a conscious decision, but rather a decision made through work ethic or mental fortitude.  Pitching is not for the weak of heart.  You are the strong ones out there, girls.  Carry these lessons with you throughout life and watch how it breeds success in every direction.