Coach Johnson Interview with Todd Stanford

This just in...sports reporter for The Daily Item, Todd Stanford, spoke with Coach Jerry Johnson for an interview in regards to the New Triple Pitch Video. The article will be debuting in the April 17, 2007 edition of Todd Stanford's high school softball column on www.dailyitem.com.

Todd Standford's high school softball column - April 17, 2007

The Daily Item Article

sports reporter, Todd Stanford

You can hear the joy in Jerry Johnson's voice when he talks about a protege using his triple pitch in NAIA games.

If Johnson has his druthers, it won't be much longer until you see players in the NCAA Division I and even international play using the triple pitch.

Johnson, a former assistant coach at Mountain State University (W.Va.), developed a new softball pitch early last year. He calls it the triple pitch because it's a combination of a changeup, drop and curve. It has an 11-to-5 o'clock spin going to the catcher, which Johnson compares to Randy Johnson's "slurve" pitch.

"The speed is somewhere between a fastball and a changeup, and it's got a very slight curve with a very slight drop at the end," Johnson says. "It's an offspeed finesse pitch."

Johnson was coaching at Mountain State, an NAIA school, when he developed the pitch.

"I wanted to do something that was different and I just didn't want to make another DVD of a drop ball or a curveball, or a riseball," he says. "I just experimented with releases and grips. I did this for about four or five months, just pitching into the backstop. One evening I noticed it had a little bit of a different spin."

Johnson really knew he had something last May when he traveled to Memphis to show his invention to pitching guru Ernie Parker. Parker saw two examples of the triple pitch before turning to Johnson and saying, "That's a good pitch."

"I was really excited about it because I've been around softball for a long time," Johnson says, "and I've never seen anything like this."

Johnson, who lives in Beckley, W.Va., left Mountain State and now works as a private pitching coach. He showed the pitch to Georgia Tech's Whitney Humphreys during the holiday break, but he isn't sure if she's used it in competition yet. Mountain State's Natalie Hanson has used it with some success.

In hopes of taking the game global, Johnson also sent a copy of his DVD to pitcher Tanya Harding of the Australian national team.

"(Parker) told me, 'Something like this may take time (to become big),'"Š" Johnson says. ""Š'It may take three or four years, and then boom, boom, boom.'"Š"

Johnson sells his DVD on his Web site, jerryfastpitch.com — where you can see a free clip of the triple pitch. It's also available at softball.com, softballvideos.com, and softballjunk.com, among others.

Not surprisingly, Johnson has taken some flak for his invention.

"Some people have said, 'You're just throwing a curve-drop,'"Š" he says. "Well, I can throw you a curve-drop that just falls off the table. It's not a curve-drop."

Considering that the triple pitch combines the elements of three pitches, and that it has a four-seam grip and a two-seam grip, and two different release points, the question is, is it too complicated for high school players? Johnson scoffs at the notion.

"I've got 10-year-olds who can pitch it," he says. "It's just like any other pitch: It takes practice. You have to get your mechanics down. You have to work on your muscle memory. If you can pitch a drop ball and a curveball, you shouldn't have any trouble at all."