March 14, 2018 at 4:17 p.m.
Taking a lead
Hodag pitchers and catchers take advantage of early practice
Taking a lead
This year, that philosophy has trickled down to the high school level and Rhinelander is one of a host of schools across the state taking advantage.
A good portion of the team are in the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium this week for voluntary pitcher instruction. It's part of a one-year experiment by the WIAA in hopes of getting pitchers an extra head start before the season actually begins.
"Teams have to develop arms and there has to be a way of doing that," Hodag coach Joe Waksmonski said, adding that pitch count regulations implemented by the WIAA prior to last season have forced teams to put a greater emphasis on pitching depth. "The way the WIAA was doing that just did not allow us to develop players. I'm a proponent of having pitchers come in earlier than this. It's a one-year implementation plan where they see how it's going to work out and I think it's not only going to be beneficial to pitchers but the game in general."
The official first day of spring baseball practice across the state is next Monday but, this year, the WIAA has allotted teams five days in the week leading up to the first practice to focus on pitching instruction. With that comes several caveats. First, the workouts must be voluntary and are limited to two-hour sessions per day per individual. Practice exercises and drills can only consist of activities specifically related to pitching instruction - so work on fielding, batting and other situational plays is strictly prohibited.
Waksmonski said that's actually a benefit for his pitching staff, because this week will allow it to get specialized instruction it would not get during the course of a normal baseball practice.
"A lot of our guys, they're pitching, they've got to work on hitting, they've got to work on their defensive position - a lot of those guys play more than one defensive position," he said. "There's really not a lot of time once the full squad gets going to have individual instruction like we've been able to have today and throughout the rest of the week."
"It's nice getting in a week early, just for our pitchers, for their arms so they're not dead midway through the season," added senior Brad Comer, who enters the season as one of Rhinelander's top pitching prospects. "Our catchers, their legs get a little stronger."
Waksmonski said, in addition to throwing off a mound, the team is working on specific exercises focusing on pitchers' shoulders and elbows.
"A lot of times over the last couple of years we've gotten away from that and, before you know, it's halfway through the year and you realize you have to talk about that. It's really nice to get that stuff out of the way right now," he said.
A good number of new and returning pitchers are taking to the mound this week. Command was an issue, as to be expected, on the first day as pitchers got back into the swing of things.
"I was a little rusty, but it's day one and you get better each day," Comer said.
The team will officially begin practice this coming Monday and has a scrimmage scheduled - weather permitting - at Marathon March 24. The Hodags open the season with a non-conference game at Wittenberg-Birnamwood April 3.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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