Efficiency at its best

After game two of the 2012 season, we have won both of our games and are feeling pretty good this morning as we wake up and prepare for game number three.  After coming from behind to win our opener against Blackburn College in a game that we didn't play very well in, yesterday's victory against the #4 ranked team in DIII gave us an opportunity to see and feel what it is like to successfully compete against top teams.
On Sunday we had some struggles with all aspects of the game--- potching, hitting, defense and baserunning.  We fell behind 4-0 in the second inning.  To the credit of our players, nobody pressed any panic buttons and we came back to win the game 8-7.

As far as piching is concerned, we learned first hand that it isn't easy to execute pitches to close out a long inning. We threw over twenty pitches in each of our first two innings, and the difficulty of pitching well and maintaining a proper and positive demeanor when some bad luck occurs was apparent to me, especially in the second inning.

After two quick outs, Blackburn hit a bloop single, then a base hit that traveled fifty feet and then a bunt single.  A bases loaded walk resulted in a run, and some negative thinking ultimately led to two more walks before we went to the bullpen to get out of the inning.

Two senior pitchers finished the game and our offense scored plenty of runs to start the season on the right track.

Yesterday against #4 Christopher Newport University, senior Jason Fryman found himself in a pitcher's duel.  Though he hit CNU's leadoff batter, he cruised through the first three innings without allowing another baserunner.  We gave up a run after they hit two doubles in the fourth, both of which I still feel were the result of poor pitch selection by the pitching coach, whoever that clown is!!
Ultimately, Jason was so efficient and allowed only one infield hit the rest of the game and had no walks, throwing only 98 pitches in nine innings.
Last night Jason told me that on the night before, he kept visualizing the execution of all four of his pitches.  The result was really a sight to see, as almost every pitch he threw hit the spots that he was trying to hit.  He got ahead of hitters, got leadoff batters out, and competed like it was business as usual as our defense made every play and our offense scored three big runs in the 8th to secure a 3-1 victory.
This was an almost perfectly pitched game, but as good as it was, today is a new day and when we get to the park we're going to have to compete with another nationally ranked team on their home field.
We haven't made an infield error yet. With that kind of defense and a team of battlers, we're anticipating another successfully competed game today!

First pitch in one week!

We are now exactly one week from our opening game of the season.  In Demorest, Georgia next week, we (Adrian College) will play against Blackburn College on Sunday, Christopher Newport University on Monday, and Piedmont College on Tuesday.  Two of those teams are ranked in the DIII pre-season polls, so we have an opportunity to test ourselves right away.

As has been the case for a few decades for me, this is an exciting time of the year.  We have had the unusual  situation of being able to have several practices outside in February this year, so the anticipation of being able to compete against other teams in warmer weather is exciting.  In addition to our first games approaching, our good friends Luke Harrigan and Xander Younce at Alderson-Broadus College in West Virginia have played games for two weekends now and we have cheered them on from Adrian as they earned their first victory yesterday.  Next weekend they will host Hillsdale College and my son Eric Theisen and of course for me that will be a win-win situation.  I try to give each of them scouting reports on the other......right Luke????

This week in our final preparations we will continue to have our pitchers throw live to our hitters in the batting cages.  Some of the pitchers will have their mound days adjusted according to the projected pitching schedule during our first week of games, which includes seven straight days of varsity games in Georgia and Florida and an additional five days of junior varsity games.  Some of the pitchers will throw up to 90 pitches in their sessions this week, others will throw 60-80, and a few may throw multiple times this week at 20-30 pitches per session.  They know that what I am hoping for is that they will all be as close to 100% when we step on the field next weekend.

During this last week of preparation I also try to pull back the reigns a bit on their conditioning, although we still have to maintain our strength and endurance, and hopefully the pitchers will continue to get their own work done in the weight room outside of practice time.

This is also a week to remind them of some of our team pitching goals and how we can achieve those goals during each game, inning, and at-bat.  The goals are meant to help us focus on what is important for pitching success and for giving the team the best chance possible to win each game, one at a time.

A big part of achieving these goals has to do with the mental approach as individuals and as a team.  We can't underestimate the importance of confidence, body language, positive self-talk, visualizing success, and selflessness when it comes to being team players.  Trusting ourselves and our teammates and believing in each other is perhaps the most important function of winning teams, so this week there will be many reminders of the mental aspects of team play as well as being physically competent and ready to play next weekend.

Good luck to Luke, Xander, and Eric as friends battle from opposite dugouts next weekend!!!

Live pitching and living in college

We are now almost two weeks into our pre-season practices and just over two weeks from opening our season in Georgia.  I have to admit that I am pretty excited about the depth and talent that we have on our pitching staff again this year.  Even though we lost our two senior aces from a year ago, it seems like we have more depth than ever and we're going to need it to achieve our team goals.  One thing that is so true in college sports is that every team has seniors who graduate, move on, and need to be replaced.  As much as I love the guys we had last year and in so many previous years, it is important in every season to focus on the players we have now rather than the ones whose positions we are trying to fill.

In saying that, something that can be easy to forget when we get out on the field for practices and games is that the game we play is only a part of the lives of our players.  Sure, for most of them it is a big part of their lives, but as college students they often find themselves in stressful situations academically,  financially, with roommates and significant others, and with their family members.  They may have loved ones with illnesses or other hardships, sometimes have to deal with family deaths or tragedies, and of course they are still expected not only to come to practice with a focus on improving and being team players, but they re also trying to progress toward their educational goals/degrees and maintain high standards of conduct.

For many years I have tied to make the point that since our student-athletes love the sports they play, they can use their practices and games as a time to be free from the stresses of the rest of their lives.  They can spend a couple hours each day working toward team goals without worrying about the other things that may keep them pre-occupied or up at night.

As coaches, we hope that our athletes are able to use their sporting activities as a type of temporary escape from other potentially stressful situations.  At the same time, we often don't even know what those circumstances are for many of our athletes.  Additionally, we hope that the way they choose to spend their free time doesn't increase the stress in their lives, but instead that their chosen activities help to free them from an unnecessary burdens they think they must carry.

We never know for sure the burdens that may interfere with our players, or even with other people we spend time with at work and home.  All we can do is try to care and in our own ways try to show that we care.

Tomorrow we will have eight pitchers throwing 60 pitches apiece to live hitters in the batting cages.  I know they will all do pretty well, and that some of them may have some anxiety about doing it or the first time this winter.  It's just possible that any nervousness they have tomorrow will seem like nothing compared to some of the other things they deal with in their daily lives.  All I hope for is that they have fun, improve, and understand that their teammates have their backs!