Training and Coaching

Training
44 days until Spring Training,I am getting SO excited!!! My training has been going really well, Landon is kicking my butt! For the past three weeks we (shannon and I) have been doing a new workout that he tailored just for us :) It focuses a lot on improving our explosiveness off the mound. It was pretty funny, he actually had us pitching tennis balls in the weight room so he could videotape our pitching motion, analyze it, and then come up with a workout that would fully benefit us as pitchers. Right now we have five different workouts we're doing, one for each day of the week. It's a mixture of lifts, cardio on machines, stairs, sprints, core, and stretching. He has us wear heart rate monitors to track out heart rate during our conditioning workout, and then also when we are pitching. The point is to determine our target heart rate when giving our max effort (ex:pitching or sprinting); like at what rate are we getting fatigued at?, when are we the strongest?, etc. For example, he says that when pitching our heart rate shouldn't go over 170. So when we do stair sprints, we have to adjust our rest period to make sure our heart rate isn't going over 170. We do 5 second sprints with 30-45 seconds rest periods, to simulate pitching (max effort, rest, max effort, rest).
As far as pitching workouts go, I've been throwing to quite a mix of hitters. I'm helping coach a high school team so I throw to them pretty often, but it's usually about 60% effort. You know, can't hurt the kids! Haha. I've also thrown to ISU's team in scrimmage situations as well as just some BP. And then last week I threw to two guys who play on national fastpitch teams (one for US and one for Canada). I try to throw full out at least once a week, and I throw to my HS girls like 4 times a week. I actually find that to be pretty beneficial because it allows me to work on my spin and movement a lot.
Coaching
I am the pitching coach for Normal West's high school softball team and I love it! I've never really wanted to coach but I honestly love it. My two pitchers are Jenn and Erin and they are very talented athletes. So far we've played five games and we're 4-1. It's really cool to see pitching from a different perspective. I made a chart so I can track how my girls are doing throughout the game. I usually focus on whether or not they're getting ahead in the count, number or walks, and what pitches are being hit. I don't call the signals, but I usually talk to the catchers between innings if I notice something. I think I'm gonna come up with a key word system too. You know how coaches say things like "mix it up" for change up? Well mine is going to be better than that. I'm thinking like types of fruit or something. You know, nothing obvious. I'm actually missing a double header tomorrow so that's a bummer :( It's funny cuz when April asked me if I wanted to help, I said yes but I didn't anticipate that I'd get this attached. I miss a lot of practices because of work and I hate it! Our league games don't start until April 12th and then Regionals start the 19th. So I will miss all of our post season. Bummer. BUT, I am VERY excited for spring training! As of now we are planning on being in Philadelphia for a week. We will practice there, do a clinic, and be the guests of honor at a Phillies game! Sounds like SO much fun! :) I'm counting down the days...