Research Findings

Guest post by Ken Krause, Life in the Fastpitch Lane blog

With all the crazy parent stuff that goes on these days, many teams and programs have adopted the so-called "24 hour" rule. With it, parents are not allowed to talk to coaches about something that happens in a game, or playing time, or any other issue until 24 hours after a game.

Yet often the same coaches who want parents to take 24 hours to cool down forget they can use a little cooldown time too, especially after a poor performance by the team. That can be a huge mistake for a couple of reasons.

One is that it's tough to objectively assess the facts of a game in the heat of battle or directly thereafter. What seems like a horrible game at the time may not look as bad when it's a little further in the rear view mirror.

The other is that you may say something to blow off steam at the time that comes back to bite you in the behind later. Any experienced coach can tell stories about things that were said that could never be unsaid. It can lead to all kinds of trouble.

Does your team need more speed, power, quickness, bat speed and agility? If so, you are probably looking for a good softball specific training program. We have a high performance softball training program specially designed for travel ball and high school teams that requires little equipment for an affordable price. To order, click here

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RECOVERY AND REGENERATION
Ice Therapy
by Laurel J. Freeman

Ice, anyone? Ice isn't just for cold drinks. In the past eight to 10 years, many studies have shown the benefits of ice as therapy. Here are the answers to some common ice-related questions.

What does ice do?

Ice is one of the simplest, safest, and most effective self care techniques for injury, pain, or discomfort in muscles and joints. Ice will decrease muscle spasms, pain, and inflammation to bone and soft tissue. You can use ice initially at the site of discomfort, pain, or injury. You can also apply ice in later stages for rehabilitation of injuries or chronic (long-term) problems.
During an initial injury, tissue damage can cause uncontrolled swelling. This swelling can increase the damage of the initial injury and delay the healing time. If you use ice immediately, you will reduce the amount of swelling. Ice decreases all of these: swelling, tissue damage, blood clot formation, inflammation, muscle spasms, and pain. At the same time, the ice enhances the flow of nutrients into the area, aids in the removal of metabolites (waste products), increases strength, and promotes healing. This "ice effect" is not related to age, sex, or circumference of the injured area.

Guest post by Ken Krause, Life in the Fastpitch Lane blog

The latest issue of Fastpitch Delivery, the official newspaper of the NFCA, contains an article that covers a position statement from the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) regarding the increase in injuries in youth sports. Essentially, they attribute it to the face that it seems athletes these days never get a break. They are pretty much required to play their sport — in this case fastpitch softball — year 'round.

As has been mentioned on the Discuss Fastpitch Forum before, the NATA focuses particularly on over-use and repetitive use injuries. Running and throwing are called out particularly — both overhand and pitching for the latter.

It is a fact that in our society we place a high premium on winning. As a result, more and more teams seem to go non-stop. The end of one season blends into the beginning of the next. In fact, in the battle for players some teams are now holding their tryouts BEFORE Nationals are completed. That's just wrong on so many levels.

[caption id="attachment_1278" align="alignleft" width="275" caption="Static stretching in warm-ups - DO NOT!"][/caption]

This morning, like I do every month,  I was perusing the latest edition of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.

It's the gold standard when it comes to stay on top of the latest scientific advances in strength and conditioning. All the best research in the field are published in this peer-reviewed scientific journal.

In nutshell, it tells what's effective and what's not.

While I was perusing the latest edition, I came across YET ANOTHER study that CLEARLY shows that static stretching done as part of a warm-up DECREASES performance.

Definition of static stretching: A type of stretching in which a relaxed position is held without moving for a significant period of time. As opposed to dynamic stretching in which the limb is moved vigorously to stretch.

Softball is a speed and power sport. Doing static stretching as part of a softball warm-up turns off your nervous system and decreases performance.

You see, the nervous system is responsible firing up your muscle fibers when you need speed and power. If it's turned off - it will not firing up these muscles fibers quickly and effectively!

If you want to know whether or not your child has "softball" DNA, there is a company that now provides a service to parents of young children to help them determine which sport they'd be best suited for genetically.  That's right, this company, Atlas Sports Genetics, does DNA testing on swabs from the inside of your child's mouth.  The testing supposedly shows whether or not your child would excel more in sports that require endurance or sports that are more based upon fast twitch movements.

Of course there are people who don't think this testing is a good idea.  Some feel it would discourage kids from playing sports.  The president of Atlas Sport Genetics feels that the testing would encourage kids to try more sports.

What do you think?

Would you pay to have your child do this testing?

Read the article and learn more about Atlas Sports Genetics HERE

Several times over the last few months, I have mentioned that research has shown that swinging a heavy bat (or adding some weight to your bat) to warm-up while in the on-deck circle before an at-bat is detrimental to your performance. Doing this reduces your bat speed, it does not increase it.

Now, I know many of you are skeptical about that when you saw Major League players doing it. Let me tell you why MLB players are NOT a reference when it comes to the best practices in sports sciences.

One of major problems in youth softball in North America is our short-term focus when it comes to softball training for young players.

For example,in the 12U category, we are thinking about winning  tournaments, dominate the opponents, going to Nationals, etc. rather than to focus on building fundamental skills and thinking about the long-term development of the kids we work with.

We tend to forget that 12U is far from being the "be all and end all" of softball. It's rather just an "early developmental stage"  in the career of a softball player.

One of the topic I'm really passionate about talent development and what it takes to help athletes achieve their full potential.

I've studied this stuff a lot over the last 10 years and it has become one of my specialties.

My final major paper for my Master's Degree was on the long-term development of elite softball players. I also did study talent  development as part of my doctoral studies and coaching certification courses.

Based on my expertise on the subject, I've been part of a committee with Softball Canada that has been working over the last few years to put together the "Long-Term Player Development Guide for Softball  in Canada".

If you ever thought that stretching could be important to improve your game, it's now been confirmed!

As you know, softball is sport of speed and power. Anything you can do to increase these 2 very important physical qualities will improve your game and make you a more dominant player.

We've always thought that stretching was important to prevent injuries but it also improves running speed.

The results of a recent study that was looking at influence of flexibility training on running speed is now confirming it.

Sustained and regular flexibility training for the muscles around the hip and the knee joints (glutes, hamstrings, hip flexors, quadriceps, calves, low back, etc.) increases range of motion around the hip and knee joints.

This increased range of motion improves stride length and overall running mechanics. Running speed is directly influenced by 2 factor: stride length and stride frequency.

So, if you improve either one, you'll run faster!

You should always take a few minutes after a workout, practice or a game to stretch. Hold each stretch for at least 30 seconds (up to 60 seconds) at a mild point of tension. Repeat for tight muscles. Focus on the lower body muscles to increase your running speed. You should stretch at least 3 times a week to see significant results.

I just came across a very interesting research study that compared hitting and pitching records and career lengths of 312 sets of brothers who become major league baseball players.

Researchers found out that older siblings at non-pitching positions had signficantly higher batting averages and longer career than their younger siblings. However, the differences for pitchers were not statistically signifiant.

These results corroborates other studies that have shown that first borns are more likely than later born siblings to be higher achievers.

In the case of pitching, the authors think that many different factors may be operative for pitchers.

I would be really curious to learn more about the reasons why first borns are more likely to be dominant players and have longer careers.

Any ideas? Feel free to comment below.

Reference:

Abel EL, Kruger ML. Performance of older versus younger brothers: data from major league baseball. Percept Mot Skills. 2007 Dec:105(3 Pt 2):1117-8.

I was just cleaning some old files when I came across a scientific article I had kept on the specificity of sport training for the enhancement of base running speed in softball players.

In other words, the researchers wanted to know: does strength training increases base running speed?

Their research findings  indicated that strength training does increase base running speed. More specifically, they reported a strong correlation between the training of large lower body muscles like the quadriceps, the buttocks, and the hamstrings and the increase in running speed.

There's no surprise there but it's always nice to see scientific evidence supporting this.

What's the bottom line?  If you want to get faster, in addition to learning how to running more efficiently (improving your running mechanics), you also have to do strength training. You especially want to focus on exercises that target the large lower body muscles like squats, lunges, step-ups, deadlifts, and so on.

Reference: Jocson, M., Tant, C.L., Beasley, L., & Miller, S. (unknown). Specificity of Sport Training for the Enhancement of Base Runing Speed In softball Player. In Proceedings of International Society of Biomechanics in Sports, Madeira, Portugual.

I read a lot of stuff to stay up to date with current trends and latest research findings in softball, strength and conditioning, sports psychology, nutrition, sports injuries and so on.

In one of its latest publication, the NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association) has a great article on the importance of core training for softball pitchers.

In a nutshell, the authors are explaining that:

1) Instability occurs in the softball pitching motion due to the re-distribution of weight and this can create mechanical problems for pitchers.

At the beginning of the pitch all the weight is on the back leg. Once the lead foot hits the ground the weight shifts and most of it is distributed to the front leg. A weak core will not be able to withstand the pressure and that leads to bad mechanics.

The job of the core muscles is to be strong enough to support the pressure and keep the body stable during the pitching motion and counteract the instability produced by the weight re-distribution producing an efficient and fluid motion.

2) The core is responsible for creating rotational power. A well-trained core allows to put force and power behind each pitch.

For years, we've heard that the windmill pitching motion is natural and safe for the body unlike the overhead throwing motion that baseball players use.

The common belief is that overhead throwing motion puts a lot more stress on the shoulder and the muscles, tendons, and ligaments surrounding it and that leads to way more injuries than underhand pitching.

As evidence, were are given the example that baseball pitchers are required to take a break of a couple of between starts where softball pitchers often pitch 2 games the same day and several in a weekend.

While we can't dispute the fact that softball pitchers throw a more than baseball pitchers, the belief that softball pitchers are less subject to injuries than is  a total myth.

More and more research studies are showing that the incidence of pitching injuries in softball is pretty much the same as in baseball.

While the windmill pitching motion might be a "little  easier" on the shoulder and arm, it doesn't make it "easy" on these structures!

In fact, the studies are showing that the windmill pitching motion is very tough on the body.

Softball pitching requires much effort and energy especially from the biceps. Each time a softball pitcher swings the ball around and then releases it at full velocity, the biceps are bombarded with lofty forces and torques which may cause strain and discomfort – Rush University Medical Center Chicago.

The windmill style of pitching in softball which required underhand throws, according to the medical doctor Verma, Nikki N. promoted more cases of anterior or front pain of the shoulders or biceps of female softball pitchers.

A study was made using seven female softball pitchers as test subjects were conducted. It utilized electromyography in order to evaluate and determine the muscle firing power of the biceps during the whole of the windmill pitch… The study resulted in a conclusion that was very much intriguing; according to the press release done, the force exerted by the muscle of the biceps area was very high compared to the overhand pitches done. Also, when the arm reached its full swing where it is almost entirely stretched to the back then rapidly shifts to a stance that is completely at right angles with the ground was when the total muscle contraction and force was seen and experienced.

I had the chance to work excellent mentors early in my career and to learn cutting-edge training stuff. Stuff that most people didn't even know yet.

One of those things was the importance of core training for sports performance. I learned its importance and how to do it way before every body started to talk about it. Thanks to my great mentors.

The good thing about "core training", unlike many other trends, it has NOT gone away even after many years. It has stood the test of time and has become a very important part of sports conditioning programs today.

This was confirmed by brief review - a summary of research findings about a topic - published in the highly respected Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research about the applications of core  training to sports conditioning programs a little over a year ago.

We can, without a doubt, affirm that core training is crucial to maximize sports performance.

On the softball field, this means pitching faster, hitting with more power, throwing harder, and moving more quickly.

A couple of months ago, I wrote about how core training is the secret to more power.

Let me make a prediction - the next breakthrough in performance enhancement will come from "head training".

A big part of it will come from integrating more mental skills training into our programs but I predict that biggest advances in the next 2 decades will come from vision, information-processing, and decision-making skills training - or if you want - cognitive skills.

Right now, a few people do a couple of drills and exercises that will work on these things but nothing that is really structured or systematic. I'm sure this is going to change within the next 10-20 years just like softball conditioning is now becoming a big part of serious programs and it wasn't not that long ago.

Just this past weekend, Cindy Bristow talked a lot about tracking and pitch selection.  There is going to be a lot more research on that aspect of the game in the years to come and eventually new training techniques and structured training protocols to train "cognitive skills" will come out and will be implented as part of the regular training of serious softball players.

In the mean time, I invite you to read the following article on sports vision for softball:

Many people are wondering what is the best way to increase throwing velocity. A study compared the effectiveness of two different training methods to determine which one is the most effective to increase throwing velocity.

Researchers studied which one of traditional weight training (typical strength training in a weight room) or medecine ball training (explosive medicine ball exercises) was the most effective and they determined than traditional weight training was more effective than using medicine ball exercises to increase arm strength and throwing power.

So, if one of your goal is to add a few mph to your throws, you are best at focusing more on traditional weight training. Medecine ball training should still be part of training regiment but should not be the central part of it.

Source:

Newton, Robert U.; McEvoy, Kerry I. Baseball Throwing Velocity: A Comparison of Medicine Ball Training and Weight Training. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. 8(3):198-203, August 1994.

Last week, I was having a very interesting discussion with some coaches about what predicts future success in our sport.

In some sports, predicting future success is a lot easier than in softball.

For example, predicting future success in track and field is a lot easier. Just by looking at times or distances, you can a pretty good idea about it.

However, in softball, there are so many factors and variables to consider than predicting future success is very difficult.

You can look at size, speed, power, athletic abilities, and just about any stats you want.

Are there some factors or measures that better predicts future success on the field than others?

According to some baseball specialists who did study the matter, yes, there is.

Of all the various factors and measures you can look at, there are 2 that tend consistently predict future success well in baseball:

1) Arm strength

2) On-Base Percentage

Of all the stats and athletic abilities you can measure, these two measures are the ones that best predicts future success on a baseball field.

I would assume that it holds true for softball.

It's officially confirmed - proper softball conditioning using the right exercises -  functional exercises (aka ''sports-specific" exercises) - increases arm strength and throwing velocity.

I've known a long time that strength training helped to increase arm strength and throwing velocity.

However,  I decided that it would be nice to gather some scientific evidence to substantiate this claim.

After doing some research,  I can tell you that there is no doubt enough studies to show that proper strength training using functional exercises definitely helps increase arm strength and throwing velocity.

To learn more about what is functional training -  the  type of strength training that most elite strength coaches use today with their athletes - click on the link to read a great article about it that I wrote a few  years ago.

If you want to increase your throwing velocity, you should definitely integrate strength training into your training regimen and make sure that you use functional exercises to get the best results.

Some references:

Wooden MJ, Greenfield B, Johanson M, Litzelman L, Mundrane M, Donatelli RA. Effects of strength training on throwing velocity and shoulder muscle performance in teenage baseball players. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 1992;15(5):223-8.