![]() ![]() ![]() But that’s all I know about her.”Įxcept for softball players and those in the game, that’s all know most people know about Jennie Finch, who is considered by many to be the most famous softball player in history. “I see her on the celebrity All-Star Game every year, and I know she played softball, so she must have been good. Dodgers and MLB baseball fan, knows the name Jennie Finch and even recognizes her face. Trust your stuff and go right after those hitters.Karen H., an avid L.A. “As a pitcher, if you believe in yourself, your teammates will believe in you and play well behind you. In other words, your practices have to match your game speed. ![]() You would have been used to throwing it at 80 percent effort.” “If you practice your curveball at 80 percent effort and break a nice curveball, then get in the game and throw it at 100 percent effort, you’re not going to know how to break that curveball for a strike. Your adrenaline, those butterflies at game time will be used to your advantage. It must be at that 95, 96, 97 percent level, so when you get into the game you can reach your 100 percent, 101 or 102 percent level. To do that, she says, “Your practice has to be at a high level. You want to stay at your 100 percent level.” “You never want to drop down to your opponent’s level,” she says. You cannot simulate game action or game speed without approaching practices at full speed. Stay challenged.”įinch says part of challenging yourself to be a great player begins in a practice setting. “Sometimes when things are going bad you have to think about cheeseburgers, the ocean, whatever gets you to a happy place. ![]() You have to lead your team from that circle.”įinch advises to use your mind as a weapon to keep yourself focused on the job at hand. Your teammates look to you and look to the mound before every single pitch. You worked hard to have that ball, that game in your hands. Your defenders don’t want to be behind someone who doesn’t want to be in the circle. Have that game face out there on the mound. “Be that consistent pitcher on the mound. “I love not being able to tell if a pitcher is up by 10 runs or down by 10 runs,” Finch says. But that consistency statistically is a reflection of a consistent approach and mood on the mound. She recorded a 119-16 record in her four seasons and a 1.08 ERA while striking out 1,028 and walking 244 in 876.2 innings. Her college career at University of Arizona was equally stunning for its consistency. She also registered 411 strikeouts while walking 39 batters in 250.1 career innings. She was 38-2 with a 0.39 ERA in her remarkable career with the U.S. Finch showed it in her overall play and that was revealed in her staggering statistical achievements. I’m challenging you.”Ĭonsistency is important is so many ways. You better believe in yourself, because there is nothing worse than playing defense behind a pouty pitcher. “You work hard to be in that circle,” she says. Jennie Finch’s consistency is reflected in 157-18 career record in college and on the U.S. “If you are thinking the batter is a great hitter, she becomes a great hitter.” Despite having eight teammates playing defense behind us, and an arsenal of pitches at our disposal, it’s not unusual for a pitcher to give an opponent too much credit. “If you have that little doubt, or that negative thought – if you’re thinking, don’t walk her – what happens? You walk her. “She has to believe in each pitch before you throw it,” says Finch. You have to be confident on the mound to be successful.”Ī pitcher must be committed to each pitch. “Ninety percent of pitching is right between your ears. “Confidence is so important,” says Finch. Olympic gold medal softball pitcher Jennie Finch addresses a wide range of softball topics while focusing her attention on the critical area of confidence, specifically confidence on the mound.įinch also tunes players into the equally critical area of practice habits, which she believes will, in turn, effect positively or negatively upon a player’s confidence level. ![]()
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