edited by Kenny Wolf

www.kennywolf.com/curtday.htm

Issue #5, July  2005

Good Horseshoe Pitching Habits, A Good Attitude, and How to Get
the Most Enjoyment Out of Your Efforts On the Courts

    I’m as excited about this issue of Flying Horseshoes as any issue I’ve written.  I was in my backyard pitching this past Saturday morning and as relaxed as I’ve ever been.  The past two summers pitching, I’ve put a lot of pressure on myself to improve my game faster than it is going along.  When you look at the league averages, you don’t always see everything that is in the numbers for each pitcher.

    I’m presently pitching around a 29% ringer average and I had a 40% ringer game last Thursday night.  But anyone who drove by the courts the past two summers, late at night, who saw me plugging away, might ask why I’m not doing better than I am at this point in time.  I’ve asked myself that same question and I’m almost ashamed when I pitch on the courts and miss ringer after ringer, when I feel I’ve invested so many hours trying to improve my own game.  There are a few others who feel the same way.  We all know we have to 1) throw an open shoe; 2) throw the shoe far enough; and 3) throw the shoe straight at the stake.  Some of us who have put in literally hours upon hours practicing; find that sometimes we can get into a rhythm and start throwing 10% to 25% or so above our league night averages for a period of time.  One pitcher has pitched 55% to 60% out here at the courts by himself for 100 shoes, only to be a little frustrated when he can’t do it on the courts with other pitchers.

    Earlier this summer, I hit my record ringers in a row at 8, while missing the 9th shoe and putting the 10th one on; by myself in my own backyard (and of course with no witnesses).  My two goals this year at the beginning of the season was to first, see as many pitchers as possible pitching in league play and enjoying it.  My second goal is to see our club get four or five pitchers who can consistently hit 50% or better ringers whenever they pitch.

    To my own partner Sam Payne, our president, I want to encourage him to become one of the 50% or better pitchers.  Don’t worry when you are off on a league night and possibly cause us to lose some games.  That is secondary in my thinking.  I just want to see you get very relaxed as you are able to do when pitching alone or when we are practicing together and achieve everything of which you are capable.

    In my backyard Saturday, I thought of some things that will help every pitcher to get the most from his efforts.  One thing is to quit thinking about getting ringers.  You heard me right, but I’ll repeat it:  “Quit thinking about getting ringers.”  Start thinking about throwing a pretty open shoe that will land in the pit.  Second, start thinking about how to throw the shoe far enough, but not too far to be around the stake.  Third, think about what it is going to take for you in your swing and your step to throw the shoe directly at the stake.  If all three of these elements are executed correctly for each individual pitcher, the ringers will come without even thinking about them.  Let the ringers take care of themselves!

    Another thing that occurred to me is that I don’t have a very good memory anymore.  I don’t think I ever did.  But when you throw a good shoe at the stake, remember exactly how it felt when you just swung it, stepped forward and how it felt and looked when it left your hand.  If you remain focused, you will easily be able to throw your second shoe the same way, and get the same results.  It is best to wait for a pitcher to finish throwing both shoes before complementing him on his throw(s), so he can stay focused.

    The way to carry this “memory thing” through your whole game and actually all your games is to always be thinking of the position of your shoe in your hand during your whole delivery.  All of us who have pitched a little have developed the ability to call a good percent of our ringers as soon as the shoe has left our hand.  We are even able to do that when a shoe leaves our partner’s hand or one of our opponent’s hands.  The key to good horseshoe pitching is to feel the good thrown shoe BEFORE it leaves your hand or better yet, while you are standing there addressing the stake.

    Equally important is not to complain when a shoe does not go on, but rather, think what you did wrong on that shoe and make the correction the next time you throw one down.  If the pitcher is thinking of the position of the shoe at all times during his delivery, then he probably knows where he went wrong after seeing the results of the last shoe thrown.  So conversely, when you throw a shoe that is missing one of the 3 elements of ringers (open shoe, far enough and at the stake), take a few extra seconds on the next shoe to correct the elements that went wrong on the last shoe.

    Where does attitude come into play in horseshoe pitching?  I can relate to this question, because in the last two summers, I’ve struggled with attitude.  Regardless of what I was doing with my ringer percentage and my average scores each game, I felt I was not learning anything with all the hours I had put into practicing, by myself and with others.  I was almost ashamed to hit two or three ringers in a row, knowing I could not keep doing it, because I figured others were thinking to themselves that it looked so easy, why can’t he do that more often.  I’ve seen this with others I’ve watched and thought the same thought.
Frank Adams keeps emphasizing to everyone he talks to that if you just throw the shoe far enough and get close to the stake, you score a point.  With 30 shoes, if say 25 of them are within 6 inches, then a pitcher will have a 25 point game average, with no ringers necessary to maintain that average.  Last year I was pitching about 7 ringers a game (23.3%) and had about a 31 point average.  That was because many of my shoes that missed, bounced or rolled out of the pit, or simply passed on by.  Trying to score on every shoe is a great goal and Frank is correct in emphasizing this as a goal.

    Learning to throw an open shoe is another element the casual pitcher can work on.  When I say casual pitcher, I am referring to the club pitcher who enjoys pitching on club night, but otherwise “has a life” and doesn’t want to invest as much time into practice as some of us do.  In a way, can you blame them; they look at some of the better pitchers and question why they aren’t better than what they are considering how much time they spend on the courts!

    It has been said by others, but it is worth saying again here.  “When you go out to pitch, you are really pitching against yourself.”  You are pitching to reach your own average or improve your average, if that is your goal.  We are all on the courts to enjoy pitching, whatever our ringer percentages or average scores.  If we don’t enjoy it, or have the time in our busy schedules for it, then it doesn’t matter how good we get when we are out there.

    On June 18th, this year, at the Curt Day Horseshoe Courts, we are holding the Curt Day Memorial Indiana sanctioned tournament.  Last week, I had the pleasure of scoring 100 shoes thrown for an individual who is joining the Indiana Horseshoe Pitching Association after laying off the game for a number of years.  One of Curt Day’s sons, Paul Day from Brownsburg, Indiana, was in Frankfort and asked that I score 100 shoes pitched for him so he could join the Association and pitch in the Curt Day Memorial.

    For those of you who don’t know, Paul Day was once one of the top pitchers in the world, pitching in many games over 80% with his father’s beautiful “reverse 3/4” turn (the same pitch used by 10 times and present World Champion Alan Francis of Defiance, Ohio).  I watched Paul, who had only been out practicing two or three times recently, throw 57 ringers out of 100 shoes.  He had a group of shoes where he pitched in the mid-60% range and a group of shoes where he pitched in the 70’s.  I sat quietly and watched him nail 10 ringers in a row and that is very inspiring to me.  I still think of Paul as a native Frankforter, even though he presently lives in my oldest son’s home town of Brownsburg.  I would like nothing more than to see Paul, who has nothing to prove in the game, pick up where he left off as one of the top pitchers in Indiana and the World.
I encourage anyone who has not seen Curt Day pitch or who would like to see this turn thrown by another who has such an understanding of it to attend the Curt Day Memorial tournament on Saturday, June 18 and watch Paul Day pitch.

    In effect, this is my second goal for our own horseshoe club.  To see half a dozen pitchers, and more later, achieve what we are each capable of if we invest the time, effort and attitude in the game to achieve excellence.

    My first advice for all is to Relax and don’t worry what others think.  If they think you should be throwing better when they’ve seen you throw a few good pitches in a row, then take that as a compliment.  Most horseshoe pitchers just want to see the game played at its best, whether the shoes are going on for ringers or getting close to the stake for points for them; or someone else beside them on the courts.

    Another good practice method, which I read about some time back in an old Horseshoe Pitchers Digest is to score your misses with a special notation when recording your own games in practice.  When you miss, don’t just put down a “-” for the miss.  Rather, put down an “L” or “R” if the shoe landed to the left or right of the stake.  Put down an “S” or “H” if the shoe was short or high coming in and put down a “C” to indicate that the missed shoe was closed (not open) when it went by the stake or landed in the pit.  Even record all three elements to be more precise:  “CHR” would mean the missed shoe was closed, high and to the right of the stake.  After the game, look over your scoresheet and your notations will show you what you need to be working on.  If you have a lot of “S’s” then you need to figure out a way to put more strength behind the shoe before releasing it.  A lot of “L’s” or “R’s” may indicate that you need to change your stance a little, or step more to the left or right or aim a little more to the left or right.  A lot of “H’s” may indicate that you are hanging on too long or gripping too tightly.  If you usually have a “C” on your misses, then you may need to change how much your arm turns to get the proper turn on your shoe or wrist action on the flip on your shoe.

    Another thing to remember is “if you start getting tired pitching in practice”, stop pitching and pitch again when you feel refreshed.  You will just begin to pick up bad habits and train your mind and body to accept them.  If you are pitching good in practice, stay with it until you are ready to stop pitching.  Don’t count on picking up the next day where you left off, unless you have the same good habits, good attitude and enjoyment the next day out.  But most importantly, enjoy the game, enjoy the fellowship with others and  RELAX  RELAX  RELAX!!!!!