(no subject)
Went to Regent's Park yesterday evening to help with some pitching training.
Ben, who used to play for us till he left for a higher-division side, had offered to give Julian some coaching on developing different pitches to vary his options in games, both to give the batters a hard time and to have different options if his standard pitch wasn't working so well. They needed someone to be a batter, so I was invited to come and be batting stooge. It was interesting stuff even as a non-pitcher, seeing how different grips and positioning on the pitching plate caused different results. Julian picked up the key elements of the different pitches (curves, backspin, etc) pretty quickly and with some practice he'll have some useful new weapons in his pitching armoury. I had fun simulating an entire batting line-up (all suspiciously identical). As leadoff, I was looking for a walk or a clean hit, then I was a weak batter only looking for a walk, then I took the part of the clean-up hitter looking to smack the ball a long way etc. I switch-hit sometimes, too, at Ben's suggestion, so Julian could see the difference in pitching the various deliveries to a left-handed batter. We had the park to ourselves, pretty much, which was cool, with a whole field to practice in without worrying about hitting passersby or footballers. I noticed just how far the ball travels from even a moderate hit, if those pesky fielders aren't there to get in the way and spoil it.
Afterwards, we had a beer in the Volunteer, then I went to Burn Soo Bright. They played some great stuff. The theme was names, and I'd missed Message to you, Rudy (probably the only ska they've ever played) and Janie Jones. But I did get to hear Sheena is a punk rocker, and had a request played - Victoria, by the Kinks.
Ben, who used to play for us till he left for a higher-division side, had offered to give Julian some coaching on developing different pitches to vary his options in games, both to give the batters a hard time and to have different options if his standard pitch wasn't working so well. They needed someone to be a batter, so I was invited to come and be batting stooge. It was interesting stuff even as a non-pitcher, seeing how different grips and positioning on the pitching plate caused different results. Julian picked up the key elements of the different pitches (curves, backspin, etc) pretty quickly and with some practice he'll have some useful new weapons in his pitching armoury. I had fun simulating an entire batting line-up (all suspiciously identical). As leadoff, I was looking for a walk or a clean hit, then I was a weak batter only looking for a walk, then I took the part of the clean-up hitter looking to smack the ball a long way etc. I switch-hit sometimes, too, at Ben's suggestion, so Julian could see the difference in pitching the various deliveries to a left-handed batter. We had the park to ourselves, pretty much, which was cool, with a whole field to practice in without worrying about hitting passersby or footballers. I noticed just how far the ball travels from even a moderate hit, if those pesky fielders aren't there to get in the way and spoil it.
Afterwards, we had a beer in the Volunteer, then I went to Burn Soo Bright. They played some great stuff. The theme was names, and I'd missed Message to you, Rudy (probably the only ska they've ever played) and Janie Jones. But I did get to hear Sheena is a punk rocker, and had a request played - Victoria, by the Kinks.