In this episode of Patrick Jones Baseball, host Patrick Jones interviews Chris Fetter, Associate Head Coach and Pitching Coach at the University of Michigan. Chris Fetter talks about making his transition from playing baseball to coaching baseball, his work with the Los Angeles Dodgers and now at the University of Michigan, implementing mental practices, utilizing data, and how he approaches strengthening his pitcher’s abilities.

Episode Highlights:

• Chris Fetter talks about his background in baseball. 
• What was it like being the pitching coordinator for the Los Angeles Dodgers and what did he learn?  
• Did he learn a lot of Spanish?   
• Did he rover among the affiliates while he was with the Dodgers? 
• What did he apply in Michigan that he learned from the Dodgers?   
• Are there any common data trait differences for pitchers in the bullpen versus the game?  
• Chris Fetter talks about strengthening the mental game and long tosses. 
• Does he recommend different pitches for his players?    
• What is his take on flat groundwork, pitching, and barefoot training? 
• What things does he incorporate in the fall to help players develop? 
• What is his approach to helping players with game planning?  
• What is he looking for when he is recruiting players? 
• Get players to think like they are in a real game during practice.

3 Key Points:

1. Remember that the bullpen is a much more controlled setting than actual games.
2. Chris Fetter introduces his players to the meditation techniques of Alan Jaeger.
3. Make your players into athletes by getting them acclimated to what their body is doing in spontaneous situations on the field.

Tweetable Quotes:

• “Working with college-aged kids, getting to work with them not only on the field but in their personalities and growing into men, it is a great honor.” – Chris Fetter  
• “You're made to go out and try things, sometimes everything is not going to work. I think that is where you learn a lot. It is not just understanding what the technology tells you. But, it is going out there and experimenting too with it.” – Chris Fetter
• “We are going to be one of the first college teams to have marker-less motion capture on our field, not only on our field but in our hitting and pitching facilities. That will be a neat little tool that will help us get some of that biomechanical data.” – Chris Fetter

Resources Mentioned:

• Chris Fetter Social Media: Linkedin Twitter
• Mental Practices by Alan Jaeger: jaegersports.com/mental-practice-plans

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