Within kinesiology there is a domain of research and education called motor learning. Motor learning examines the learning strategies used by the mind and body to learn new movements and improve on efficiency of already learned movements. There is a wide array topics researched in motor learning. For any coach looking to improve their style, I would highly recommend looking further into motor learning. One of my favorite resources is a textbook titled, Motor Control and Learning: A Behavioral Emphasis by Richard A Schmidt and Timothy D. Lee.
One specific aspect of motor learning that I find myself focusing on a lot is the idea of internal vs. external focus and feedback. Research shows improved outcomes with external vs. internal especially for higher level athletes. To the dismay of my professors, I will not dive into the actual research and outcomes but will focus more on the overall concepts.
First, we must define internal and external focus and feedback when it comes to motor learning. Internal refers to those coaching cues given for specific aspects that are...you guessed it...internal. For example, little league coaches constantly tell kids to, "keep your elbow up." An external feedback or focus is one that is outside the participant. The best example here is a barbell while weight lifting. Coaching cues involving actions or corrections to the barbell are external.
The concept is pretty easy to understand but the application is admittedly trickier. For a moment, I want you to think about common coaching cues. How many of them are internal cues? I am very guilty of this. While working with athletes, I often tell someone to do something specific with their body or control a movement a certain way. These aren't necessarily wrong, but understanding the limitations may help to create more creativity.
One theory to the effectiveness of external focus is that the human body naturally organizes itself to a desired outcome. Creating a specific focus in the form of an internal cue limits the body's ability to organize itself for a desired outcome because the body is forced to follow the imposed restrictions created by the cue.
When you are first learning to run or throw, you aren't taught how, you learn how through external feedback. You fall, or miss your target and your body learns from it and adapts. Adding an internal cue changes the metaphorical internal dialoged from "move from this spot to that spot" to "move from this spot by putting your foot here, heel here, toe here, and move with your hips to that spot." That sounds a little robotic and the movements tend to be robotic.
How does this apply to baseball? I believe this is one of the crucial aspects of long toss. Long toss creates an external feedback on every throw. The thrower no longer has to think about arm position and weight transfer, the dialog can change to, "get this ball to my target." Watching the outcome and the flight of the ball gives the brain information to make an adjustment to the throwing motion for more efficiency and better performance. All that the coach, athlete, or clinician has to do is get out of the way and let the brain organize the motion.
The way I look at this is that this is a theory. I try to challenge my coaching cues to have external cues and feedback but understand that this might not always be practical or plausible. The main takeaway here is to consider how you can make a change by using an external cue which forces the body to reorganize into an efficient pattern. Bellow is a nice chart I found through a google search that gives some decent example of external cues.
That's all for now...from the training room
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