Quote for the Week

“If you want your children to turn out well, spend twice as much time with them, and half as much money.”

– Abigail Van Buren

Quote for the Week

“It is not what you do for your children, but what you have taught them to do for themselves, that will make them successful human beings.”

– Ann Landers

Happy Birthday to Our March Players!

Wishing you all a wonderful birthday and year ahead!

Matthew S.
Micah R.
Noah C.
Brody B.
Logan S.
Walker B.
Jackson B.
Gunnar N.
Gregory M.
Henry J.
Mason L.
Steven G.
Luke M.
Jordan C.

Helping Throwzone Alum Aaron Cross in a Time of Need

Sharing this to help one of our own: Aaron Cross was a long-time client at Throwzone Academy, who drove here from the city of Banning every Sunday for a standing 1 p.m. session about 8 years ago. Aaron and I kept in touch even when he was starting his career as a baseball coach.

Aaron was in a devastating car accident and has no health insurance. You can read what’s he’s going through in the link, and it’s mostly to get back to California where his family is. I wouldn’t normally ask something from people, but Aaron is such a special young man – respectful, always listening, with a good sense of humor. I ask that if you can give, it would be amazing. No matter how small it might be, it all adds up. Thank you in advance for any support.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/please-help-aaron-cross-devastating-car-accident

March 2023 E-Newsletter: Now What? (That One Time I Pitch Well)

I remember pitching in my first collegiate game. It was a Saturday mid-afternoon. The weather was amazing, and I was pitching for the University of Arizona, my dream school.

To be honest, all I can remember from that day is that I went 7 innings, gave up a run with a few strikeouts, and got our team into a position to win the game — which we did, 4–1.

The other thing I remember is an all-out brawl from one of our resident tough guys who got slid into a little too hard for his liking. Everyone piled onto the field, but one of the veteran pitchers saw me getting ready to join them and pulled me back, telling me to stay in the dugout and focus on the game, and I’m glad he did.

That’s all I remember from that day. I know I pitched another 5 and 1/3 innings during my next outing, and I was all the rage until the next outing where I “wet the bed” and didn’t see much action for the rest of the year.  

That’s how it goes in college and sometimes high school as well. So, now what?

There are different ways to handle this situation. Whatever is best for you is what you should do, but I’ll talk to pitchers and ask why they’ve been struggling — when their velocity goes down and they can’t seem to throw strikes any longer. What most pitchers and/or players will say is, “I don’t know what I’m doing.” And this is where players get in trouble.

It’s vitally important to assess what you are doing and see if there’s a better plan for getting the results you want — WRITING DOWN what you need to work on, then formulating a plan of action to accomplish that goal.

Sadly, very few do this. They rest on the laurels of their best outing and just assume they’ll continue to do what they do, believing they’ll “find it” again. As Ron Wolforth, my good friend and mentor, always says, “Hope is not a plan.” These should be words to live by, especially for an athlete.

One of our biggest training events of the entire year is our summer training camp, which is designed for players to assess what they need to do and create a plan to put that into practice. Our 2023 camp is intended to help all players create a foundation of strength for their throwing arm, as well as a total body workout program that will help in their recovery and take the stress off their shoulder/elbow complex. Whether it’s our younger players’ camp or our older players’ camp, there is something for everyone.

Creating a plan is vitally important to creating necessary changes. Whether you’re building a house, a high-rise, or a meteoric rise to become a better baseball player, that plan needs to be attended to daily. Putting our plans into play, seeing good results, and achieving the success we want in this game are all necessary for continued growth. 

Our summer program is the only throwing development camp in Southern California that fits a player’s specific needs and is based on their body size, composition, and strength (current and future). This camp is where your plan will just be better than anyone else.

Our training classes during the week are also a fantastic way to build a foundation of throwing mechanics and develop new neural pathways to create greater consistency in your player’s pitching. In other words, more strikes.

It’s sometimes sad when a person continually goes back to talking about the good ol’ days. It was that one moment for them, but sadly, could have been so much more. 

If your son has a fleeting moment of success, then there’s more in his “tank” than anyone might have realized. It’s just a matter of harvesting it and cultivating the process. It doesn’t mean every kid gets drafted professionally, but the journey along the way can be life-changing.

Let us help you in your pursuit of excellence. Whether it’s right now with classes during the week and/or our summer camp, we can assist you in your pursuit of excellence and create a not-so-surprising STUD baseball player: your son.

Until next time…

Jim