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A Narrative of Doug's History
Founder, Passion for Pitching
"For me, baseball really began when I was 14 years old. At this time I was an average player for my age but above average for the area where I played. I was on all the summer all star teams and received my fair share of playing time. I always wanted to become a better player but didn’t quite understand how to do this, or who to go to. At that time I couldn’t see that to get better I needed to be playing baseball or practicing baseball in some fashion throughout the entire year. But even more importantly, I needed to have some solid information to assist me in succeeding.
The summer after my Freshman year I went to a baseball camp called the Doyle Baseball School. This camp opened my eyes to how competitive the game of baseball really was. There were kids of all ages and all skill levels, most of who were better and more talented than I was; they hit better, they threw farther and harder, they ran faster, and were much stronger than I was at the time. I knew that there was a lot that I needed to work on.
At the end of the camp I was given a packet that contained information about where I fit, in terms of my ability, on a scale of 1 to 10 in all major categories. I was shocked to learn that I had been rated 4 out of 10 in the category of arm strength. That just didn't make sense to me; I was always the kid with the best arm on the team. The camp suggested that I should incorporate a long toss program into my workouts in order to increase my arm strength, so I did.
Just a short time later, I am in the off-season before my Junior year in high school. I had been working on the long toss program for the past three months. I would go to the field and throw with my Dad every other day. I never missed a session in three months. I would throw as long as I needed and once I got to where I felt I couldn't throw the ball any farther, I would repeat that throw five to ten more times.
When I started the long toss program, I could throw a baseball about 220 feet. When I finished the program, I could throw a ball 330 feet. Today they say that if you can throw a baseball at least 300 feet, that this distance is comparable to a 90 mph fastball on the mound. The problem was I could never line that up on the mound because I didn’t understand the process my body should be taking.
Fast forward to my 2nd year of college. I hadn’t played baseball since high school and thought that I was done with the game. I made a lot of excuses; I blamed my lack of love for the game at the time on a cruel coach. What I did not understand at the time was that nobody could physically, mentally, or emotionally do that to a person. I made the choice to ruin my experience, nobody else.
After realizing this, I decided to get back in the game and immediately started training. I actually was on a vacation at the time with my dad and it just so happened that we both had our gloves with us, so we started throwing. During the next 4-6 years, I would go from school to school, summer league to summer league, Independent League to Independent League and of course pitching coach to pitching coach, just trying to find my niche. Inconsistancies, injuries, and lack of confidence as a pitcher would be my downfall through the years. I fought tooth and nail to hang on, but eventually I could not survive as a pitcher, and knew I needed to move on.
It just so happened that 3 months before my playing days were over, I found the best pitching coach and mentor a person could ever have: Brent Strom. The information that Brent provided me with opened a whole new world; a world of truths and real science, not guesswork and conventional wisdom. A world of solid knowledge and a reason for how and why things really worked on the mound and inside your body. With this information, I knew I had finally found some answers that would continue to bring more and more truth and substance in my pitching.
Shortly after I finished playing baseball, I knew that I wanted to stay involved with the game. There was nothing else that grabbed me like baseball. I couldn’t imagine any other place I would rather work then on a baseball field.
Give or take a few achievements and a few heartbreaks, I bring you now to present day. This narrative is a reflection of my expereinces over the years as I grew with the game of baseball. This narrative explains my journey, and it is the reason that I have chosen to make the game more fun for the athletes who decide to play it. It is my job to seek the best information out there and communicate that to my players. It is my job to be positive and uplifting to the athletes who want to travel this path. It is my job to also be up front and direct with the athletes that I come across.
I love coaching and I love coaching the game of baseball. If getting better is something that you desire in your baseball career, give me a call so that I can assist you in becoming a better player."
