Aerial 16U pitcher

I came to Ontario from France in 2018 as a coach for a baseball center near Barrie. I was in charge of the winter development program. It was in this capacity that I met Trent.

After the winter, I left the indoor baseball center and stayed in touch with some of the players. Matt: Trent's dad called me and asked me to give Trent private lessons! I said yes and thus began a wonderful collaboration.

In July 2020, I moved to Ottawa. After a few months of weekly private lessons (disrupted by the pandemic lockdown), I had to leave all the players I was coaching...

A year after our last meeting where he told me that he had been signed by the Barrie 16U team , on Friday September 3rd 2021, Trent left for Ottawa with his team to participate in a tournament. I had the opportunity to work with him for an hour. Trent is taller than me now and still throws well...but he struggles with control and hitting for some reason he doesn't understand.

The first thing to know is that Trent has an aerial profile. When rotating or moving, his center of mass will shift from the right front foot to the left front foot, to the right heel side, then to the left heel side. (This is specific to Trent, not to everyone).

When his center of mass is on his right front foot, his body coordination is at its best. As soon as he places his center of mass on his left heel, he loses all coordination. But the body is intelligent and it adapts to keep the highest level of perfomance regarding circumstances.

As I began throwing with Trent to warm up, I saw that he often landed on his left heel, his right elbow was very below the shoulder line, his right hand moved supine from the glove to the throwing position, the ball faced the sky rather than the center of the field, he used his right arm too much to throw, and he threw across his body.

So the first thing we did was figure out why he was landing on his left heel.After an evaluation, I discovered that he had a primitive reflex that prevented his nervous system from properly controlling the landing in a direct line to the target, opening his hips and implying that he was landing on his heel and accross.

Next, we did a motor preference assessment. We discovered that his motor shoulder is the left one. It is from this shoulder that he can generate maximum velocity. We also found that he has better coordination when his arms are supinated. Finally, he is an axial (no arms and legs wide moves) and unit (no big hips/shoudlers separation). 

So we worked on the different mechanics to come up with a more fluid and efficient motion.

He took advantage of 4 innings as a pitcher during the tournament to exploit our work. This resulted in an earned run average of 0, 6K, 2 BB and 2H. In 4 at bats, he achieved 3H and 1K. The best reward was probably hitting the winning RBI in the final game.

I don't know what Trent's long term plans are for the future. I do know that he will play next year for the Ontario Astros and I am very proud of what he has accomplished so far! No matter what level he reaches, the most important thing is that he builds in a positive way.

Trent is like many players, when he understands why he does things, it's easier to adapt, improve and increase his confidence. And to do that, you have to interact with him, observe, ask questions. Try corrections and adapt according to the feedback! No dominant model will allow all players to become the best they can be. Coaches must individualize and put the athlete at the center of their concerns.