John A.

I have been coaching softball for 25 years from the youth levels through the High School Varsity level in Littleton (13 years) and the U14-U23 club levels. I am certified as both an MIAA and NFHS coach. As founder of Littleton youth softball I also developed winter softball pitching clinics and individual private lessons in the summer. In these settings, I coached over 300 girls in the fundamentals and advanced levels of fast pitch softball. Participants in these clinics and private lessons have gone on to become starting high school varsity pitchers in the towns of Tyngsborough, Westford, Groton, Harvard and Littleton. Other girls participating in my winter clinics have pitched at the JV or Varsity level at Acton, Clinton and Ayer. A few of these pitchers have advanced to pitching at the collegiate level at Regis University, Boston University and Clark University.
I specialize in stressing the fundamentals of pitching at the beginning and moderately advanced levels. These development stages are very important as they lay the groundwork for future advancement toward being strong and effective pitchers. I help pitchers develop, fine tune and improve their fast ball as well as the change up, drop, rise ball and others.
Finally, emphasis on a positive environment, building confidence and establishing appropriate and realistic goals based on each pitcher’s ability are important aspects of my coaching approach.
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As 13 year varsity coach my leaderships record is as follows:
• >66% Winning record
• 5 Divisional Championships
• 9 District/State Tournament appearances
o 1 Final 4 Central Mass State Tournament Appearance
o 2 Central Mass District Championships
o 3 Central Mass District Semi-Final appearances
o 3 Central Mass District Quarter-Final appearances

13 years of Outstanding Performer ratings as head coach from several Athletic Directors at Littleton High School
Founder and 12 Years Director of The Littleton Youth Softball program
Head coach of Junior Varsity softball at Littleton High School for 2 years
Head Coach of JV Baseball at Littleton High School for 1 year
Head coach of Littleton Middle School Softball for 1 Year
Non Softball Related Athletic Experience -
Speedskating - Northeast Champion Sr Men B - Lake Placid,
Participant in US Speedskating Nationals Milwaukee WI,
Saratoga Springs Sr Men B Champion
200m Outdoor track Record Saratoga Springs
2 time Berkshire Hills Champion, Sr. Men B
1 time Pittsfield Indoor Champion, Sr. Men B
Ice Hockey - Member Varsity hockey team at Arlington High School - 3 years
Team Member of Eastern States Championship Tournament team
Unsung Hero Award - Gerard Kinery Memorial Award

The first session is solely for the understanding and baselining of the athlete's current ability as a pitcher as well as to come to an understanding of what the athlete would like to achieve. This is accomplished by having the athlete demonstrate everything she knows about pitching to include how she holds the ball, warms up, performs "wrist flicks", throws using the "T" and "L" position, and finally through the full motion. The pitcher will also need to warm up and demonstrate throwing all of her pitches (fast ball, change-up etc).
My observations during all of those phases will include taking physical measurements of her pitching "footprint". In addition, I will ask the parent or person who comes along with the athlete (if they choose) to take video so that we can review what we are observing. The end of the session will include a first look review of the pitcher's current status and discussion of future areas to work on. A plan is then developed for follow-on sessions based on observations, what is collectively agreed on, and her needs for improvements that fits into her goals and aspirations.
For the candidate that has never pitched before, the first lesson will be an introduction of the beginning throwing motion steps that when put together in a sequence, will demonstrate how to throw a softball. The athlete will be shown how to hold the softball, perform "wrist flicks", T's , L's and the final full rotation motion along with the corresponding footwork. Once again, a plan is then developed for follow on sessions based on what has been observed, what is collectively agreed on, and her needs for improvements that fits into the pitchers goals and aspirations.
All follow-on lessons are age and ability appropriate measured with the pitcher performing her warm up on site but prior to the beginning of the formal lesson. Once the lesson begins, we will first review what we did previously and discuss what, if anything the pitcher worked on since the last lesson. Then a typical session will be to work on areas that were identified previously in accordance with the developed plan. A pitcher will throw most of the time during a lesson with some time to stop for discussion as well as rest if needed.
My sessions are very interactive, energetic and fun. It is strongly recommended that a person who can catch for the athlete is present during the lessons as that allows for more direct feedback to the pitcher as well as saves time from collecting thrown balls.