Pre-Game Rituals

Pre-game Rituals

This is always a funny topic to ask athletes. Some are quite eccentric while others are simple and not as noticeable. My pre-game rituals were odd, I will admit and I’m sure you’ll get in a light chuckle. I’d love to hear what you’re pre-game rituals & what makes you unique as an athlete.

Here are mine:

1. I would have to shave down like a swimmer the night before, why? The only logical reason was I always secretly wanted to be a swimmer and maybe subconsciously thought my arm would glide through the air quicker. #michaelphelpsmindset
2. I had to eat the same food before every game which was a turkey sandwich & a cookie (or a carmello candy bar when my parents would show up to the game, holla!)
3. I would get a 5 min arm massage from my trainer and talk to her aka crack lots of jokes… Trainers are almost as beneficial as therapists. We were lucky because we had great ones!
4. I would do some deep breathing exercises then jog for 10 mins (this started in pro ball)
5. I HAD to have the ball in the wrapper because I would open it and put the plastic in my back right pocket. During college it was Kristen Miller's job to take the wrapper. 100% weird.

Being a lefty automatically makes me the unique one on the team, and I would say I definitely lived up to it. Many calling me "wild thing" and possessed many characteristics to Charlie Sheen's character Rick Vaughn from "Major League."

So what are your pre-game rituals and what makes you stand out?

Don't be like Barbie... BREATHE!

As corny as this sounds think about how many athletes you see holding their breathe or grunting as they pitch or hitting a ball. Most of us aren’t taught to properly breathe. It took me half my career to be told my Sophomore year at ASU that I didn’t breathe properly. First I laughed, then realized Karl Keuhl was serious, and he was right. It took me 2 full days of practice to learn how to breathe, because I had to find my timing with the pitches because everything was out of whack. Needless to say I got pretty frustrated in those practices, however it made the difference of me going the distance rather than being gassed in the 4th inning. 

How to Breathe:

1. Standing: Take your hands and place them on your diaphragm, then take 3 deep breathes in & 6 breathes out. This can be useful in high pressure situations in games and in the dug-out in-between innings. Also, a great tool for life situations.
2. Pitching: Think of a weightlifter, they breathe in on the way down during a squat and out during the push. Same thing for pitching, you breathe in before and release on the decent. The breath should be drawn out till the ball pops into the mitt (example: I typically would breathe before I pitch (also while I talked to myself), again on the mound, and then released the valve sounding like a leaky tire.)
3. Hitting: During the exertion of hitting the pitch, also before stepping into the box.
4. Fielding: Breathe in as you field and out when you throw

Why should we breathe so much?

1. It helps to release oxygen into our blood stream which then helps us to relax & clears our mind
2. It elongates our muscles so we get more extension and power behind our movements
3. It makes the difference of feeling tired, to instead having more energy for longer periods

If you can remember to take long drawn out breaths and get over sounding “silly” you will see the difference too. Not to mention when you breathe loud enough, it sounds like the ball is spinning at 100 MPH, so it’s deceiving to the batter as well as the crowd. Take the time for the little things and you will gain more in the long term. KEEP CALM AND BREATHE ON!

It's All About that Base!

It’s All About that Base!

Now we all know at some time or another we are going to get the yips, so lets talk about that base. Throwing is a detailed process, and in baseball commonly referred to as a chain sequence. Without one link of the chain you are without the complete product. This takes a lot of time and should be practiced every day, even if all you have is a net. I have watched too many practices where coaches buzz through the throwing portion, which is a great travesty to these kids. Pitchers especially should work on pitching and throwing to bases, since the mechanics of throwing overhand differs drastically to throwing under hand. Practice pitch-outs as well, you can never be too prepared.

Here are images of the sequence: 

To get stronger at throwing you must strengthen the smaller muscle groups that surround the larger one. This workout will be posted later in my “Throwing Program”, I highly recommend you use bands & the total control ball, especially for catchers & outfielders. Ask Jackie Vasquez about the 2009 World Series, when she gunned someone out at the plate! We all thought the throwing program was lame, and did nothing, however the strength we saw in overall throwing mechanics made all the difference. So it’s all about that base ladies!

To Ice or Not to Ice?

There has been much debate about icing after competition. My feelings are you can’t go wrong with icing, and this is coming from someone who would rather get in a fight with a polar bear. I have a few suggestions why you should and how to make it easy, also included are articles that play devils advocate about icing. Why not? I love a debate.

Even if icing is merely mental, I generally saw the benefits after a long brutal weekend against our nemesis U of A. Especially during our epic sweep during 2008, where Taryn Mowatt and I went pitch for pitch for 10 innings. The end score 9-8, if there was a theme song it would have been Outkast’s “Bombs over Baghdad, because it got cray cray. For instance, after that game I iced, and the next day my arm didn’t feel tight or sore. Before the next game, which was Wednesday our trainer massaged my arm for about 5 mins to get it loose. You can do this yourself in the shower, as Coach Lee would tell us (SLOHS Softball) “milk your arm.” Still to this day telling H.S girls to “milk your arm” brings a smile to my face, because it’s just hilarious, you know we were all super immature about it too. What this does is it helps to push the lactic acid around so the blood flows and breaks up stiffness.

So here are some tips:

1. Ice once you’ve cooled down about 15 mins after competition
2. Ice no more than 15-20 mins
3. Massage your arm during a hot shower
4. Drink your recovery formula & lots of WATER

Now to play devil’s advocate, I read in a Yahoo article about icing one’s arm after competition, and they had valuable information that I suggest you read as well. During exercise you make micro tears in the muscle that cause inflammation, in which they state, “Inflammation is part of the natural healing process and a normal function of our immune system. We can't repair our muscles and tissues without it…Swelling isn't the problem. The problem is lingering waste products as a result of injury. These waste products need to be washed away by driving fluid into the area and flushing waste away using the lymphatic system, a part of the circulatory system that sucks up waste and debris for removal…. Icing literally freezes the lymphatic system in its tracks, preventing it from kick-starting the healing process” (http://sports.yahoo.com/news/pitchers-ice-throwing-prevent-shoulder-173013495.html). They suggest light activity/exercises, proper nutrition, and sleep. If you’re not willing to ice, check out my article on warming down because that too can act as a good way of slowly letting your body cool off with a foster’s freeze touch.

What ever your athlete chooses to do, you won’t be harmed either way- unless you’re trying for hypothermia- in that case behave. Good luck and remember drink lots of water, eat well, and get your 8 hours! 

What to buy: 

(*Note this is a leak free, waste free way to ice your arm, I learned this trick in Japan!)

1. Ice Bags- 3 Pack (buy 2): https://www.amazon.com/Ohuhu-Hot-Cold-Ice-Pack/dp/B01AADOZCU/ref=sr_1_4_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1491489561&sr=8-4&keywords=ice+bags
2. Ace Bandages (buy 3) https://www.amazon.com/ACE-Elastic-Bandage-Closure-Inches/dp/B005YU8TEA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491489435&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=ace+bandage&psc=1