Pitchers are alone on the mound. They may have their teammates cheering behind them, but batter after batter, inning after inning, they control every pitch. The speed, the type of pitch and location is their choice. Their physical and mental preparation, combined with their love of the game are a vital part of the process.
A support team of family, coaches, teammates and friends are vital at each level and plays an extremely important role in their development, as a player, a team member and an individual. When a pitcher's well-being is the top priority, that support, especially parental support, is a cornerstone of their development.
WE WORK WITH PLAYERS AND PARENTS
Parents play an important role in an athlete's development through different levels of competitive play. We provide information that you as a parent, will find useful in your daily support of your athlete. Whether it is information on mental and emotional management, physical conditioning, mechanical efficiency, or nutrition and diet, we are committed to informing parents, so that they can be an effective support channel for athletes.
SUPPORTIVE AND INFORMED PARENTS MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE
The purpose of the NPA Velocity Program is simple - to help generate stronger, healthier arms in order to aid individuals in realizing their true potential. Making “how” the program works to increase velocities even simpler - when an athlete's body and arm becomes stronger and healthier, naturally, he or she has the ability to throw the ball harder, morte easily and with greater accuracy.
Dedicated to helping individuals realize their true potential, the NPA Velocity Program offers innovative, comprehensive and specialized training techniques to help strengthen the shoulder. This Program provides the ultimate foundation for the future success of the shoulders and elbows of our young athletes.
Every Program is personally adapted and tailored to each player's individual needs according to their specific age, stature, schedule, abilities and deficiencies. The Program is science-based and designed to be executed as efficiently as possible, both functionally and mechanically. A "Health First to Improve Performance" mentality is our ultimate goal.
HELICOPTERS, LAWNMOVERS AND SCOUTING DIRECTORS
Baseball is a very difficult sport and for those who accept the challenge there will be many obstacles to overcome. One of those obstacles should not be a parent. Every parent wants to do as much as possible to help their children but sometimes they do not understand that selecting a player for a college roster includes interaction with a player's family. Feel free to read the article below:
USA TODAY High School Sports Recruiting Tips.
As we mentioned in last Monday’s Recruiting Tip, college coaches are paying attention to and evaluating the parents of every recruit they are truly interested in. Plain and simple, they want to avoid certain types of parents, if possible. For that reason, here are my top three types of parents that college coaches might turn away from.
Helicopter Parents
Helicopter Parents are overprotective parents who take an excessive interest in the life of their child or children. They are called Helicopter Parents because they hover over their kids like a TV news helicopter over a car wreck. All parents have been Helicopter Parents at one time or another, but the problematic Helicopter Parent is easy to spot and they can actually have a negative impact on an athlete’s chance for a scholarship.
Most Helicopter Parents try to influence the recruiting process for their athlete. They might talk to college coaches at inappropriate times, or they try to “manage” their athlete’s recruiting experience. This behavior interferes with the ability of college coaches to get to know their recruits. There is a fine line between being a supportive role model and trying to run your athlete’s recruiting journey. Parents need to find that line and try not to cross it.
Lawnmower Parents
A Lawnmower Parent is a parent who clears all obstacles from their child’s path, so that they never have to deal with any problems by themselves. Lawnmower Parents don’t hover, but instead they clear a path for their child and preempt any possible problems in their child’s way.
Lawnmower Parents tend to complain about the coach, the players and the officials. They act as if coaches, players and officials are just obstacles that need to be cleared out of the way so their athlete can easily obtain greatness.
If a college coach determines that an athlete’s parents are truly “Lawnmower Parents” they may steer away from that recruit. There is no scientific study on children of lawnmower parents that I am aware of, but I would assume those kids don’t deal with adversity very well and aren’t the most coachable athletes on the planet. Neither of these two attributes are a positive in a college coach’s eyes.
Scouting Director Parents
There are very few parents who can really be objective with respect to their own children; however, there are quite a few parents who believe they can. Scouting Director Parents truly believe that their opinion about their athlete’s abilities is 100% accurate with no bias. I have yet to meet a completely objective parent when it comes to their own offspring. I’m certainly not objective about my kids and (I think) that’s okay.
Parents need to be their athlete’s No. 1 fan! The trick is to realize that you aren’t objective and find someone who will be. Without an objective evaluation of your student-athlete, your expectations from college coaches is going to be distorted and perhaps disappointing. Consider this; almost every parent a college coach talks with has an unrealistic opinion about their athlete. It might be refreshing if you were one of the few who didn’t.
Here’s the deal
Parents definitely need to be involved in their athlete’s recruiting journey, but primarily to support, listen and provide advice. If you think you might be a Helicopter Parent, a Lawnmower Parent or a Scouting Director Parent then you probably are. That’s not the end of the world, but you might want to keep that in mind as your athlete interacts with college coaches.
IN THE NEXT SECTION YOU CAN LEARN HOW WE CAN HELP YOU ACCELERATE THE PROCESS.
