RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
Allison Benning from Lake Elmo, Minnesota, is one of our outstanding student-athlete bloggers who regularly contribute as part of our Inside Pitch series.
Allison, who signed with the University of Oregon in November, is a tall and dominating pitcher who was ranked as a Top 15 overall selection in the 2021 Extra Elite 100 and was one of four in the Top 30 for the Ducks.
She also was named as the 2020 Minnesota Gatorade Softball Player of the Year and made the Extra Inning Softball 2020 All-Summer Team.
We’ve known about Allison’s on-field talents for a while now and did a recruiting spotlight on her titled: Oregon-Bound Pitcher Allison Benning is “Looking for Redemption” last December.
A talented writer as well as standout softball player, the Midwest senior plans on majoring in Journalism at Oregon.
Be sure to check out her previous Inside Pitch articles including Softball in the Midwest is On the Rise! and Allison Benning Recaps This Weekend’s Bolts 5-Star Showcase.
Today, Allison shares insights on several ways she became a Pac-12-bound pitcher!
A power arm from the Midwest leads off our ‘21 signing class 💪.@allisonbenning_ joins the flock as the No. 1️⃣3️⃣ recruit nationally and the Minnesota Gatorade Player of the Year. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/RqcMb6yfgp
— Oregon Softball (@OregonSB) November 11, 2020
*****
Anyone who knows anything about softball knows that pitching is the most difficult position to master. It takes a certain skill and a lot of mental strength in order to be a good pitcher.
I’ve compiled a list of tips and tricks that I’ve learned that will help you become a better pitcher:
#1: Emphasize working out your lower body
Obviously working out is important for any athlete, but this is especially true for pitchers. Pitchers need strength in different places than position players. Since most power comes from your legs and hips when pitching, the most time in the weight room should be dedicated to strengthening your lower body.
Exercises like deadlifts and squats are very good for this. Doing exercises that work on explosion and hip drive are also very important, like hip thrusts, broad jumps, and box jumps; pretty much anything with jumping will help you out with this.
Doing this will help you increase power and speed. Now, when I say this, I’m not saying you should cut arms entirely out of the picture. You do need arm strength to be a good pitcher, but legs are vastly more important for pitching.
#2: Cardio, cardio, cardio
Just like weightlifting, cardio training is vital in order to improve. When you get to the seventh inning and are barely breaking a sweat, you can thank all of the conditioning work you did.
Sprints and Tabata workouts are very good for this since it is very similar to a pitch, as you are using a short burst of energy. Long distance training is also helpful to improve your endurance.
You can also do things like circuit training to improve your wind. My advice is to do this after you have done your weight training so that most of your energy is spent lifting; this way you can improve your wind more effectively because you are already tired.
#3: Strengthen your mental game
The mental aspect of the game is even more important than physical. It’s critical as a pitcher that you are mentally tough and are able to push through adversity. In fact, I would argue it may be the most vital piece to the puzzle.
It’s also critical that you are a leader. Pitchers are automatically in a leadership position, as your performance affects the entire team.
There are many books on how to improve your mental toughness and how to improve your leadership out there that have great insight! I would recommend Mind Gym, The Team Captain’s Leadership Manual and The Champion’s Mind.
#4: Keep your arm healthy
You can’t pitch with an injured arm, so it’s paramount to make sure your arm stays healthy . What has worked great for me is to put a very thin covering, like a dish towel, over my shoulder and put the ice pack directly on it so it’s very cold yet doesn’t burn my skin.
Also, frequency is the key, not duration. I never ice for more than 15 minutes. It’s a lot more effective to ice a couple of times for 15 minutes than it is to ice for 40 minutes straight.
It’s also important to take long breaks once in a while to avoid overuse injuries. I take a long shutdown for about 6-8 weeks, and also have a short one for 2-3 weeks every year. This has helped me avoid arm injuries throughout my entire career.
*** Scroll down for more insights from Allison!