Lost control whiile on the mound!

Question
Hello. I have a nephew who is a Freshman at a D2 baseball program. He isn't a "lights out- 95 mph" pitcher, but has great off speed pitches, about an 87 MPH fastball, but his #1 quality as a pitcher is control.  Out of high school, many schools, because of the small high school he went to, didn抰 look him at. He was invited to throw for the pitching coach and they signed him because of his great curveball and PINPOINT control. (In high school he walked 2 batters in 86 innings his senior year)

So this year, he comes into the fall competing for a spot to throw out of the bullpen some. Well, he earned a spot as the #4 starter. They have developed him a great change-up and a slider. He didn't walk a batter in 35 innings this fall. His coach has told me that he throws the best bullpen sessions that he has ever seen. Best control on the team, full of seniors. So the season starts and he begins 2-0 with a 2.00 era. Then all of a sudden, he started throwing balls. Missing up. Getting behind every hitter. He will pitch 6 innings and give up only 2 hits, but 6 walks?  Three in a row even!  What in the world can this be? Yet, during his bullpen sessions during the week, his control is pinpoint!

I guess that it may be 2 things. First, his coach has got him doing a quick leg-high leg during delivery to add velocity. He has worked as he has added a couple MPH, but he so inconsistent in his delivery, every time looking different.  Not sure, but my nephew says he has done this new delivery so much that he can't go back to his slow old delivery.

Second, and probably what the real problem is, is he is so nervous. Coming from a 1A high school, to playing top 15 ranked teams in the nation. He is just spooked and he has ZERO confidence in his stuff. He says now it has gotten in his head and on 2-0 or 2-1 counts, he thinks, "please don't throw a ball" in between pitches. The coaches keep putting him out there but he keeps walking them. His numbers are up to ERA 6.00 and 3-2 record with 40 innings pitched. He has only 15 strikeouts, yet 30 walks. And when he starts walking, he will walk 3 or 4 in a row. He doesn't have any K's because of no confidence in his stuff!  In his 28 earned runs, 20 of them have been from walks. His batting avg against is still down around .190 and every batter he faces on his team says he has such good movement and awesome stuff.   But giving away runs with walks.

What, if anything can he do to get outta of whatever is wrong? What's wrong with him? And can you teach a kid to be confident?  What can we do??

Thanks!!


Answer
Hi Mr. Bates,

I think it is great that you are taking such an active interest in your nephew's baseball career.  Sounds like he has had a very good high school career and is struggling a little at the college level as a freshman.  This is not at all surprising and most players have some difficulty making this transition.  When he overcomes this bad stretch with some more practice and experience, this will be good for him as it will give him more confidence for the rest of his overall career.  

At the moment; however, it seems the big issue is control.  Generally, control comes down to two issues: physical and mental issues.  You could be correct that the higher leg kick is causing a problem with his control.  This can occur because the higher kick creates a balancing issue that affects the throw to home.  However, it could be that this issue has been resolved through his repetitive practice of this new motion and has now become a mental issue or block for him.  There seems to be some indication of this because you said he does not have control issues when practicing in the bullpen, but they do show up while on the mound.  This can occur because he is pressing while in the games.  

I can suggest a few things he can look at and consider:

1.  Videotape his pitching while in the bullpen and in the games.  Review the tapes and see if you can see any changes in his pitching motion.  If there is a change in the motion, you can have him key on fixing that motion in practice in games.  Over time, the muscle memory can take effect and cure in hitch in his pitching motion.

2.  Improve his balance on the mound.
If balance appears to be an issue because of the higher leg kick, consider having him do some basic Aikido exercises.  Aikido is a martial arts discipline that focuses on discipline.  Here, is a link to an example of how you can use this for hitting although it works as effectively for pitching as well:
http://www.baseballtrainingtechniques.com/Baseball-Hitting/

3.  Use visualization exercises to prepare mentally.
Many top pitchers (and hitters for that matter) have learned the value of using the same rituals to mentally prepare themselves to pitch.  Some of these can be as simple as helping block out background noise.  Here, is a link to one example on my website:
http://www.baseballtrainingtechniques.com/Baseball-Pitching/Baseball-Pitching-Mi...

I would also suggest he look into NLP training and some baseball products like ebooks and dvds that focus on the mental side of baseball.  These products can help him get his confidence back.  Here, is a link to an example of one product I am looking at now:
http://rmtforbaseball.com/  

I have not had a chance to review this product, but will be including one soon on my website if you want to wait before you recommend it.  However, the key is for him to soak up and learn some good mental routines he can use on the mound.

4.  Consider taking a little top speed of the fastball.
Some pitchers seem to do better with control if they take a little of their fastball.  It seems to have an effect on all pitches as the pitcher feels more in control.  I have a feeling he is pressing trying to throw a really fast fastball and it seems to be counterproductive.  See what happens if he takes a couple of miles off his fastball.  Some pitchers like this more because they know they can always dig a little deeper at points in the game to throw their best heat.  

I think all the above tips can help him pinpoint the underlying issue. Try to get him to relax and keep the proper perspective.  He can figure this out and should be comfortable knowing that he has had excellent control in the past.  Basically, if he could do it before, he can certainly do it again.  He just needs to give it some time.  

Best,
Jack Elliott
http://www.baseballtrainingtechniques.com