Catch43,
One of the easiest, most effective, and sometimes too obvious stretches uses your actual crouch position to set up the stretch.
If you are doing this at the field, position yourself right in front of one of the upright polls that hold the backstop or dugout fencing up. It works best if you use one that is on the end of a run of fencing.
Position yourself right in front of the poll, with the poll lined up on your middle.
1. Start out in the standing position with your feet set at the width you use for no-man on position.
2. Reach out and lightly grab the poll with both hands as if the poll was a bat.
3. Now begin to lower yourself into your crouch.
4. "Walk" your hands down the poll until you are in your regular "deepest" position.
5. Now your hands should still be on the poll directly in front of you.
6. Your hands should be no more then 10-12 inches away from your chest.
NOW BEGINS THE STRECTHING WORK
7. Pull up on your hands like you're trying to pull the pole out of the ground and at the same time drive your butt "deeper" into your stance.
HERE IS THE KEY POINT TO THIS STRETCH
8. Just pull up hard enough till you fell a slight "pull" in your groin area. That pull is telling you that is as deep as you can go at this time. Hold that spot for a count of 5-4-3-2-1 then use your hands to stand up completely from your croutch. Repeat 4-6 times, each time pull deeper as your muscles loosen.
The "Pull" in your groin area will be in a different spot for different players. Some will actually be the groin muscles, some will be their hip flexors, and some it will be their quads. They key is your are doing a controled stretch in the actual position of the skill. This will help isolate exactly which area is tight and keeping you from getting deeper into ytour croutch.
Do this exercise before every practice and game.
Kid with a 90MPH fastball......Potential
Kid with a 90MPH fastball and a great catcher....Results
