USSSA Pride Head Coach (National Pro Fastpitch League);
OC BatBusters Head Coach;
3x ASA National Championship Coach;
3x PGF Championship Coach;
2x USSSA World Championship Coach;
Founder of Team Mizuno and is the organization's Director of Player Development and College Recruitment;
Head Coach for Team Mizuno's 16U Travel Team
Two of the most important positions on the field are pitching and catching. Mike Stith takes you behind the scenes of a Team Mizuno pitching and catching workout. Beginning with the catchers, Coach Stith takes the viewer through a typical workout highlighting throwing, framing, blocking, and conditioning. Moving to the pitcher, Stith has them perform spin drills, pitch to the catchers, and strengthen their arms with extended pitching.
Catching
The catching workout begins with a throwing progression, specifically throwing from the standing position and dropping down to the knees. Controlling an opponent's running game is important for limiting their scoring opportunities. Coach Stith demonstrates three drills the catchers perform to practice throwing out potential base stealers. The catchers also work on two framing drills, and have four blocking drills they must execute. Conditioning is a critical part of the catcher's position. Stith guides you through a series of challenging conditioning drills that are catcher specific designed to strengthen the lower half, quads and core to improve lateral movement and bouncing back up to their feet to make a quick and accurate throw when necessary.
Pitching
Moving on to the pitchers, Coach Stith has them warm-up their arms and proceed directly into their spin drills. Getting the correct spin on each pitch is important as the spin is what will cause the pitch to break. After the spin is warmed-up, Stith has the pitchers throw each pitch to their catcher, working on spin and location. The pitchers will also throw extended pitching, as they increase their distance from the catcher, which will strengthen their arm and help them to throw harder. Finally, the pitchers wrap up the pitching workout by running foul-poles to develop leg strength and endurance.
Let Coach Stith show you the pitching and catching workout that has allowed his battery to bring home multiple championships by dominating opposing teams.
74 minutes. 2013.