Foot boxes, balance beams and “spinners” aren’t standard-issue softball equipment. But for the LSU softball team, they’re as standard as the bat and glove.
Since coach Beth Torina arrived before the 2012 season, the Tigers have incorporated what they refer to as “toys” into their everyday practices. In fact, a normal practice session for the Tigers might feature more toys than actual softball equipment.
Don’t think the toys are for play, though.
Balance beams predictably enhance balance. Weighted balls increase wrist strength. Foot boxes enforce proper form.
Senior pitcher Rachele Fico and the Tiger pitchers each have their own favorites, but each toy is specifically tailored to promote better form or performance in some aspect of the pitch.
Fico has seen effects of the Tigers’ gadgets first hand. Fico said the transition from former coach Yvette Girouard to Torina was difficult at times because the team had to learn Torina’s new drills.
But now in her second season under Torina, Fico doesn’t pitch without the toys.
“I use a weighted ball, a big ball, a spinner and a foot box,” Fico said. “I use cords on my feet and a balance beam. I love the variety of things and how they can each target a different problem.”
Early in Fico’s career, she was called for many illegal pitches because she was improperly dragging her trail leg during pitches. Two weeks after the Tigers started practice in Torina’s first season, the new coach introduced her to the foot box.
Within a few bullpen sessions using the box, her illegal pitches became a thing of the past, Fico said.
“It makes our lives easier because we don’t have to think about it as hard,” Fico said. “We just develop muscle memory as we’re throwing because the toys make us use the best form and mechanics.”
While using the contraptions, the Tigers’ pitching is not always pretty. In one bullpen session while hurling riseballs off a balance beam, Fico may launch a handful of balls past the backstop and into the parking lot.
But once the pitchers step into the pitching circle on game day, Fico said there’s no danger from flying wild pitches.
The theory? If a pitcher can pitch off a balance beam, she can definitely pitch on solid ground.
Freshman Kellsi Kloss said it’s not just the pitchers who utilize Torina’s wacky ways. Flat gloves, weighted bats and varying styles of softball are common in fielding practice as well.
As she is new to the program, most gadgets Kloss uses in practice are foreign, but for her, Torina’s unusual methods are “a breath of fresh air.”
“She didn’t play too long ago, so she’s very familiar with our style of play,” Kloss said. “I think that’s an advantage for us, that she relates to us very well, and her style of coaching is very modern.”
To anyone unfamiliar to the Torina’s approach, the gadgets and gizmos may seem nonsensical, but as long as the No. 12 Tigers (17-4) continue one of the best starts to a season in their history, it’s doubtful the toys are going anywhere soon.
