Myndie Berka's Pitching Workouts

with Myndie Berka,
owner/pitching instructor of BreakThrew Fastpitch

Myndie Berka has trained hundreds of successful pitchers. Her pitchers have:

• earned scholarships at over 60 different colleges and universities
• competed at the Women's College World Series at the NCAA DI, DII, NAIA and JUCO levels
• been named collegiate All-Americans
• been collegiate national strikeout leaders at both the NCAA DI and DII levels

Getting ready for an upcoming season can be an exciting process for all softball players, but even more so for pitchers in particular. Pitchers must ensure that their workouts are tailored to prepare them for the upcoming season. This video from Myndie Berka will show you five workouts that will prepare your pitchers for battle on day one of the season.

Workout No. 1

Late-breaking movement will cause more swings and misses, and this workout will help your pitchers make their pitches dart out of the strike zone right as the batter takes their swing.

You'll see how to help your athletes visualize the strike zone and how they want their pitches to break. This will get them in the right mental state to execute their pitches to perfection. A pitcher who understands how to throw deceptively will frustrate an aggressive, free-swinging offense.

Workout No. 2

The second workout incorporates a little bit of everything: speed and strength development, target pitching, competition, and fielding. You'll see how to help pitchers improve their strength with distance pitching, which will allow them to light up the radar gun.

Reaction time is important for every pitcher since they could release the pitch and have the ball batted right back at them. Prepare your pitcher to knock down and field anything that comes back at them with Coach Berka's reaction drills.

Workout No. 3

Confuse opposing batters by making different pitches look the same. If a pitcher can tunnel pitches, they'll leave batters guessing until it's too late to make an accurate swing. Coach Berka shows exactly how to make batters helpless at the plate. You'll also learn how to add pressure to a workout to challenge your pitcher's mental toughness.

Workout No. 4

Gain insight into how your pitcher thinks in Berka's fourth workout. In the Sets drill, you'll discover how to get a sense of what your pitcher thinks they can do in various situations on the mound. Additionally, discover which pitches your pitchers have confidence in, and how they want to use their pitches to set up batters.

Workout No. 5

Prepare for game day by running through a pregame warm-up exactly like you would use to prepare for an actual game. Berka shows how to get the body and mind warmed up to compete. Once warm, pitchers will throw to simulated batters while a teammate charts. Charting helps pitchers learn pitch sequencing and the importance of getting ahead in the count.

Coach Berka shares five useful workouts, each designed to get a pitcher ready for game day in a different way. This video will show you exactly how to best prepare your athletes during the pre-season.

138 minutes. 2019.

with Myndie Berka,
owner/pitching instructor of BreakThrew Fastpitch

Myndie Berka has trained hundreds of successful pitchers. Her pitchers have:

• earned scholarships at over 60 different colleges and universities
• competed at the Women's College World Series at the NCAA DI, DII, NAIA and JUCO levels
• been named collegiate All-Americans
• been collegiate national strikeout leaders at both the NCAA DI and DII levels

For maximum development, pitchers should have different goals and focuses during the off-season and in-season phases of their training. Most coaching focuses on in-season training, neglecting an important part of a pitcher's development.

In this video, BreakThrew Fastpitch owner and pitching instructor Myndie Berka offers a solution for coaches with five challenging off-season workouts to help improve mechanics and develop the strength and speed to power pitchers through a long season.

Workout No. 1

The first workout from Coach Berka focuses heavily on mechanics. The off-season is the best time to break down a pitcher's mechanics because they don't have to worry about falling back into their bad habits by pitching in a game. You'll see how Berka zeroes in on the snap and spin of the pitch, and how she breaks down the pitching motion to help her athletes spot-check specific aspects of their delivery.

Workout No. 2

Distance pitching, or long toss, is a great way to help pitchers develop their arm strength and that's the focus of Berka's second workout. A pitcher with a stronger arm will throw the ball harder and make it harder for opposing players to make solid contact. Additionally, Coach Berka shows how to incorporate conditioning into your pitching workout to keep your athletes in pristine shape.

Workout No. 3

Pitchers who understand what their bodies are doing in space will be able to feel certain movements and make adjustments on their own. This workout will help your pitchers develop body awareness in addition to a strong core and front side. Coach Berka showcases how to use a bosu ball or similar tools in creative ways to challenge a pitcher's balance and core stability.

Workout No. 4

Berka's fourth workout focuses on harness training to develop strength and quickness. The harness can be used to assist the pitcher in improving speed and agility. Coach Berka also displays how to use the harness to resist the motion, which will increase the pitcher's effort and develop strength.

Workout No. 5

In the final workout, you'll learn how to implement weighted balls, a proven way to increase speed to help your pitcher throw harder. Berka explains how to safely use a heavy ball to develop strength, and a light ball to develop quickness.

This video provides five separate workouts, each with its own focus and objectives. Let Coach Berka show you how get the most out of your pitchers' off-season!

79 minutes. 2019.