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Andie from Michigan in the house today! Worked on spin axis, natural patterns, timing, and an outstandingly deceptive change up! Left here with a blueprint on exactly how to move her body at its most efficient, and a custom workout program that will address a few inefficient patterns in her hips and knees.
I need to say something, and I'm going to say it as honestly as I can say it . When I take your daughter on as a pitching student, I'm not just selling you an hour in the facility. Pitching is the most technical position on the field, and I hand her everything I've got — mechanics, sequencing, the mental side, all of it. After three, four, or five years together, she stops being a client to me. Honestly, she stops being just a student. I start looking at her more like family — a kid I've watched grow up, whose progress I think about when I can't sleep at night. I know committing to United Pitching Academy means a drive for most. I live in the middle of nowhere. But the families who make that drive and stick with it, their kids have had a whole lot of success. That's not an accident. So no, it doesn't sit right when a family just disappears. No call. No text. And in some cases, a lesson you booked, didn't show for, and then promised me you'd pay for — and never did. Understand me: it's not the money. Students can be replaced with a phone call. What can't be replaced is respect. Why is my time not worth anything to you? Why are the years I poured into your daughter suddenly worth uprooting because someone's twenty or thirty minutes closer, or a little cheaper? That's never sat well with me, and I doubt it ever will. I am extremely loyal to these kids, they're like family to me. I lose sleep over them.... I guess it just bothers me to think that I work so hard to do my best to help these kids, when The feeling apparently wasn't mutual. Coach James
UNITED PITCHING ACADEMY and PaulyGirl Fastpitch The Three Lens Athlete Assessment... Why We Assess This Way Every pitcher who walks into our facilities is different. Different body, different wiring, different history. Most instructors look at a pitcher through one lens, usually mechanics, and try to fit every athlete into the same picture. We don't. As Paulygirl certified coaches, we already know what elite mechanics look like. What separates us is that we also understand how each athlete is wired to move and what her body is physically capable of right now. When we see all three, we stop guessing and start coaching the athlete in front of us. Our guiding principle is simple. There are core principles every elite pitcher shares, and there is a range of individual expression within those principles. Our job is to protect the principles and respect the individual. Every new athlete gets evaluated through three lenses: Mechanical, Neurological Motor Preference, and Physical. 🥎 🔥LENS ONE: MECHANICAL ASSESSMENT What is she doing? This is our home turf. We evaluate the full motion using the Paulygirl checkpoint model and our own UPA language built around posture, rhythm, and finger position. What we look at: 1. Stance and Rhythm. Is she relaxed and loaded, or tight and robotic before she ever moves? 2. Drive. Most flaws start here. We look at how she creates and directs energy off the rubber. 3. Posture. Where is her posture at landing and through release? Is she stable, or leaking energy? 4. Arm Circle and Internal Rotation. Is she using a natural, whip-like internal rotation, or forcing the arm? 5. Release. Finger position, spin, and which of the two primary release postures she's working from. 6. Deceleration and Finish. How does she stop the motion? Poor deceleration is one of the most overlooked causes of pain and inconsistency. How we capture it: - Slow motion video from the side and from the front on every new athlete - 4D Motion to measure her kinematic sequence and how well energy transfers from the ground up through release - The PitchLogic ball to capture speed, spin, and release data on every pitch as a baseline, not a judgment - One or two priorities identified, never a list of ten fixes 🥎 🔥LENS TWO: NEUROLOGICAL MOTOR PREFERENCE ASSESSMENT How is she wired to move? This is where we separate ourselves. Her nervous system and her natural movement preferences are one and the same picture, so we capture them together in a single assessment. Every athlete has movement tendencies she's had since childhood. When we coach against them, we get frustration, inconsistency, and injury. When we coach with them, athleticism shows up. We are not trying to become motor preference experts overnight. We are trying to observe, recognize patterns, and let those patterns shape how we cue and what we ask for. What the capture tells us: 1. Aerial or Terrestrial. Does she move light and bouncy off the ground, or push into the ground and stay heavy and grounded? This changes how we teach drive and landing. 2. Front Chain or Back Chain Dominance. Is she more quad driven or hamstring and glute driven? This influences posture and how she connects upper and lower body. 3. Breathing Tendency. Does she perform better exhaling into effort or holding and bracing? Small detail, big difference under pressure. 4. How She Takes In Information. Does she learn by feel, by seeing it, or by understanding the why? Some kids need a demo. Some need an explanation. Some just need to try it. 5. How She Handles Pressure and Focus. Does she lock in by going inward, or does she need energy and interaction around her? How we apply it: - Cues get matched to the athlete, not the coach's favorite cue - Drills and setups are adjusted to fit her natural pattern instead of fighting it - No movement is simply right or wrong. It is either optimal for her or it isn't. 🥎 🔥LENS THREE: PHYSICAL ASSESSMENT What is her body capable of right now? A pitcher can't execute a position her body doesn't have access to. Before we blame mechanics or effort, we check the physical side. We use two tools here. Demotu gives us an objective 3D movement screen from a phone camera and builds the corrective exercise program behind the results. 4D Motion shows us how her body actually moves and sequences at game speed. Together they take the guesswork out of it for us and give parents something real to see. What we look at: 🔍 1. Foundational Movement Patterns. Squat, hinge, lunge, push, balance, and jump. 2. Left to Right Differences. Pitchers are one sided by nature. We want to know where the imbalances are before they turn into problems. 3. Pitcher Specific Areas. Hip rotation, thoracic spine rotation, shoulder mobility and stability, ankle mobility, and single leg stability on both the drive and landing leg. 4. Strength, Power, and Sequencing. Jump and balance data tell us how much force she can produce and control. 4D Motion tells us whether she can use it in the right order. How we apply it: - Corrective and mobility work is assigned from the assessment, not from a generic template - We reassess every six to twelve weeks so athletes and parents see progress - If something looks medical, we refer out. We are coaches, not clinicians. 🥎 BRINGING IT TOGETHER The three lenses are not three separate evaluations. They talk to each other. - A mechanical flaw may actually be a physical limitation - A physical pattern may actually be a motor preference we should be working with - A motor preference tells us how to teach the mechanical fix After every initial evaluation, each coach should be able to answer three questions in plain language for the parent: 1. What one or two things are holding her back mechanically? 2. How is she naturally wired to move, and how will we coach to that? 3. What does her body need physically to support the pitcher she's becoming? That's the UPA and Paulygirl difference. We don't just teach pitching. We develop well rounded athletes! Coach James United Pitching Academy
Great day with the Phillips sisters from Michigan. Worked specifically on finding their specific and personal motor signatures and activating the less dominant patterns. Both girls bested their previous PR's by 3-4 mph
4 years ago today, Alayna swindled a hundred bucks out of me! Lol
Turning the wheels while sitting still on an asphalt driveway in 90° temps will ruin it. You must be moving while turning the wheels. Please be mindful of my home while in the barn.
Coaches .... Do you girls KNOW that you've truly got their back?
ChatGPT description of me at UPA..... ⚠️ PROCEED WITH CAUTION: JAMES CLARK If you're going to work with James Clark, understand one thing quickly: **he doesn't do much halfway.** James is intensely detail-oriented, direct, competitive, and driven by results. He asks questions, challenges conventional thinking, and will research something relentlessly until he understands not only *what* works, but *why* it works. He has high expectations for himself and the people around him. He values preparation, accountability, honesty, effort, and respect for people's time. He doesn't expect everyone to agree with him—in fact, he'll welcome being challenged—but you'd better be prepared to explain your reasoning. As a coach, he isn't interested in creating athletes who simply follow instructions. His goal is to develop intelligent, independent athletes who understand their bodies, their movements, and the purpose behind their training. James will invest heavily in people who are willing to invest in themselves. But don't expect him to continually lower the standard for someone unwilling to meet it. **The best way to deal with James is simple:** Be honest. Be prepared. Keep your word. Ask good questions. Bring ideas. Accept accountability. And don't be afraid to prove him wrong. If you're looking for comfortable and "good enough," he may not be your guy. If you're looking for someone who will **question, study, challenge, adapt, and relentlessly pursue a better answer**, you've probably found exactly who you're looking for. **Proceed with caution—once James believes in something, he's all in.**
Grace from Wisconsin became United this weekend. She worked hard to clean up a few mechanical things. Picked up another mph in her speed and learned a riseball! 💪🔥🥎
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