Trying back out

Quick - Welcome to the HSBBWEB!

Do you have a local pitching instructor for hire that can work with you? A local baseball academy? Former college/pro pitcher who would work with you for a few bucks? Thats what I would be looking for.

Good luck!

If you want to try for pitcher, find a buddy that will don the gear and catch you at the Y.

There are two things to work on:

1) Effective pitches
see what pitches you can throw for strikes
only consider a pitch that you can win with
work on the rest

2) Control
control is not throwing strikes, control is hitting the spot the catcher calls for

Don't limit yourself to one position. Try out for the other positions that you are very good at. Most pitchers make good outfielders.

Bring your bat and have a buddy pitch the tennis balls to you to develop your eye for the ball. At the senior level of hs ball, you should have a slightly upper cut swing. You'll see more low pitches than high ones.

Quick

Need for you to answer a few questions.

Have you ever pitched before?

If you have, give us some idea about your background. Like have you ever pitched as a starter, reliever, closer? Or in a playoff game, championship?

Do you have an older brother, father or friend that can help you?

Some suggestions, grab the movie "The Rookie" and "Coach Carter" and watch it for inspiration, so that you think more long term rather than just for one season.

Fill a 5 gallon bucket with 25 to 30 baseballs.

If you can find an old mattress, paint a target on it so that it represents the size of a strike zone, top of the knees to the elbows. Section it off by drawing intersecting lines so that you end up with four quadrants. Put it in the garage so that you can throw to it from the outside in.

Practice throwing to the target, starting from the set position, feet apart shoulder width. Begin with no wind up. Let your hands fall to the a point below your belt as you stride toward the target. Make sure the ball is inverted (facing toward second base) before you throw the ball over the top in a 12 o'clock to 6 o'clock plane, so that your throwing elbow is at the level of your ear at the top of your throwing motion. This is called throwing-over-the-top.

Throw everyday (rain or shine) at least two buckets and preferably until you feel your arm slightly fatiqued. Always throw easy at first to warm up your arm than increase the speed.

Do this work on your own without breaking your discipline.

Then run, run, run, everyday, mostly uphill or the stadium steps to increase the power of your maximus glutimus muscles. And finally do 100 leg lunges everyday to get your thigh muscles ready to take the pounding you're going to ask them to do during your throwing sessions.

After you've done thousands of these you might be ready.

Quick,
Good advice given by justbaseball and RR. I was just reading tonight about Josh Sullivan, a teammate of my son at Auburn University last year. “Sully”, as we all called him, was a great kid and a hard worker too. He didn’t play baseball in 2003, and in 2004 was a back up catcher. Sully had pitched just one inning prior to the 2005 season but really applied himself in the off season and won a spot as a weekend pitcher in the starting rotation in 2005. Admittedly Sully was a great athlete but to show you what hard work and proper instruction can do, he was drafted in the 2005 draft by the Colorado Rockies in the 5th round. I’m not saying you’ll be drafted but you can greatly improve your chances of making the team if you work hard and get some proper instruction.

Hey ramrod, I'll answer your questions.

No I have never pitched, I figure getting back into the game pitching would be the easiest spot for me to get back into. Since I can do it by myself and not needing anyone to help. So no I've never pitched before, but I figure I can learn and get better, maybe be a opener. I've played right field most of my time, sometimes center field (I'm left handed) And the reason why I didn't make the team last year was I couldn't make the long throws. Should I try out for outfielder again, will it be easier than pitcher?

And no I live in a town of 40,000 not many people try out for the baseball team (not that very good of a team) but I just want to play because I miss it, not to take serious or want to win championships or tournaments, just to have fun. Thx a lot guys the advice was great!

Try to become a pitcher on your senior year is maybe late and even if you have been cut from the team last year because you did not have a good arm... Maybe get into the game at 17 when you stop playing at 14 is a hard thing to do and more when you are a mid player. Yes you want to play but high school season starts soon. Did you work out in gym and practice a lil'? Because it's great to have some dream but you have to work for! BUT ... NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE and if you're a left handed and IF you have a good bat and a strong body you can try to first base... you don't need a very good arm and more often in youth baseball the 1st baseman is a player without any positions but a good hitter.

You can try here but don't forget you have to work hard for your dream...

Franck

PS if you are interested since junior yr... why did you havent play in a summer team to get back into the game and not have to do it during the winter...???

Oh and there is no pitching instructors where I live, unless you count my dad or friends helping instructing me

There hardly is ever a summer league for baseball here unless it's for the older adults, not really one for teens unless it's softball. But I've made a commitment that I'm going to practice EVERYDAY. I've always been a good hitter since I was a kid. I think I might try out for pitcher or centerfield, what I think I need to work on is my long throw. Any suggestons, also in february every tuesday and thursday we have a open gym is when we get practice with the team before try outs. Also not to sound like a brown noser but I asked the coach if I could be his lab assistant during class, maybe to ask some questions and get pointers and find out what positions he needs on the field and what will help.

I would throw a football to maintain arm strength. I grew up in the Bronx so we changed sports with the seasons.

My method would be to play catch and do a sort of long toss. Similiar to a good baseball warm up I would find my max out point and then start bringing the ball down for a bullet, or in baseball a throw on the line. This method kept me in shape.

At 16, I could throw a football seventy yards with height and fifty with juice on it. It should convert to being able to throw to the plate at a decent depth to catch a runner trying to tag up from third. Always remember to warm up your arm in any sport.

Give it a try.

First - Stop throwing tennis balls!!! It's very dangerous as they are far lighter than baseballs. I admire you for wanting to play so badly. Here are some suggestions: Go to your baseball coach and tell him that your goal is to be a contributor to the baseball team as a senior and ask him for advice on how you can best help the team in 2006. Let him know that you are 100% committed and have been working hard every day to make the team. Perhaps he can give you an idea of someone who can work with you or of an off season workout plan he has. Talk to your teammates - it's easier to throw when someone's throwing the ball back to you. You should be in a weight lifting and running program specifically for baseball. If you would like, my e-mail is Baseball1228@aol.com and I have a workout program my son uses that I would be happy to share with you. Let me know. Hopefully you can earn yourself a spot on that team next season. Good Luck!

quote:

Originally posted by Quick:
Hey ramrod, I'll answer your questions.

No I have never pitched, I figure getting back into the game pitching would be the easiest spot for me to get back into. Since I can do it by myself and not needing anyone to help. So no I've never pitched before, but I figure I can learn and get better, maybe be a opener. I've played right field most of my time, sometimes center field (I'm left handed) And the reason why I didn't make the team last year was I couldn't make the long throws. Should I try out for outfielder again, will it be easier than pitcher?

And no I live in a town of 40,000 not many people try out for the baseball team (not that very good of a team) but I just want to play because I miss it, not to take serious or want to win championships or tournaments, just to have fun. Thx a lot guys the advice was great!

***********************************************

If I was in your shoes I would contact this coach and talk to him about your goal to play for your local high school.

Ask him if he has a rostered LHP that would be willing to work with you...I did this for my son and it worked out pretty well.

I'm assuming you are in Quincy Indiana...if not please correct where.

At Quincy University

Brian Unger
Men's Baseball - Assistant Coach
Email: ungerbr@quincy.edu


Brian Unger
Brian Unger enters this fourth season as an assistant coach for the Quincy University baseball team, his third as the top assistant coach.

Unger’s coaching duties include serving as the program’s recruiting coordinator, supervising the varsity pitching staff and the scheduling, organization and general operation of the junior varsity program. His recruiting abilities have paid off, having helped assemble one of the top rosters in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

"Brian is one of the hardest working assistants at the NCAA Division II level," McVey said. "His passion for the game is unmatched and he will make a fine college head coach one day."

Unger, who earned his bachelor’s degree from Quincy in 2003, played his final year of college baseball with the Hawks. As a senior in the 2002 season, the left-handed pitcher made 24 appearances and five starts. In 63 innings of work, Unger went 5-1 with a 3.43 earned-run average, 47 strikeouts and 18 walks.

Unger, a Waterloo, Ill. native, was a 1998 graduate from Gibault High School where he was a basketball and baseball standout. Unger played his first two seasons of college baseball at Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville and spent his junior season playing at NCAA Division I University of Hawaii-Hilo.

Unger, who is currently working on his master’s degree in education administration at Quincy, spent the summer of 2005 coaching the Galesburg Pioneers, one of the newest teams in the Central Illinois Collegiate League.

Thanks so much guys for the advice! You guys rock! Yesterday I threw for an hour, first time since the Summer that I've thrown and my shoulder is aching! Feels good though! And thx RR I emailed the guy today and I will let you guys know how it goes!

Hey guys, turns out that I made the team! I am closing picture on the team, I know it's not much but it's way better than what I'd thought I'd do! Thanks a lot Ramrod! I did get pitching lessons for two months before try outs and if it wasn't for that I don't think I would've made the team. Now I'm working on my high school career (well now it's almost an end, sucks playing just your senior year) but I already have a spot on a college baseball team I'm looking at. Seems are goin good and I'm glad to be back into the sport!

Congratulations on making the team!

Way to go, Quick. You did a lot of things other guys your age would not have done: you asked for advice, you followed up on the advice, you put in the effort, and you achieved your objective. Even better, you updated the folks who originally helped you out. You're a class act. Congratulations!