It’s a frigid Winter morning and I will be meeting with my first pitching coach with my dad. Excitement and anxiousness are present within my mixed emotions during the 25 minute car ride to the facility. When my dad and I arrive at the location we are greeted inside by a tall and smiley man. He introduces himself as Johnny Arnold and that he’s  excited to work with me. 

Johnny Arnold, my pitching coach, has worked with me since I was in fifth grade. Johnny stands at about 6 foot 4 and in his forties. He used to play college baseball and basketball. I spent about five years working with him and plan to work with him again next year. If any problems on the mound are present, whether it be in practice or in games, the first person I go to for advice has always been Coach Arnold.

When I first met him I thought that he was going to be very strict, however, this was not the case. After just one minute of being around him I could tell he was as funny and energetic as a monkey, very passionate about the sport, and experienced. In the five years of working with him, he has never shown frustration if I did something incorrect, but instead says, “That was good, but let's make it even better.” After saying this, he instructed me to do the drill again and again while making slight adjustments until we got it perfect. He only got serious in the practices for these types of instances, which shows how he believed that quality was better than quantity in terms of repetitions for each drill. 

Because Coach Arnold coaches pitchers as a side job to his job in sales, he uses his dad’s belt shop as his facility. When you first walk in you will see a bunch of forklifts and machinery within the facility, but in the middle of the chaos lies a pitcher's mound, a target to throw at, and a large net to keep everything within the pitching area enclosed. He only coaches during the Winter because his job at sales doesn’t require as much service. Once in a while he will bring his 10 year old son over to the facility early in the mornings so he can work with him as well. 

Johnny has been the best coach for me. Even outside of the sport he has a great personality and gives good advice whenever I need it. Even after five years of working with him I still learn something new because of him. To me Johnny has the qualities of a good coach.