PITCHING TIPS & DRILLS

 

DRILLS

Pitching Balance Beam Drill
    Forces pitchers to keep their balance throughout their motion

Pitching Cloth Slap Drill
    Develops snap of wrist, delivery of ball out front of body and follow through
Pitching Control Drill
    Develops a pitcher's awareness of the strike zone
Pitching Hand Off Drill
    Gives a pitcher better snap on the ball and reduces side-arming
Pitching Sit and Hit the Bulls Eye Drill
    Requires pitchers to keep their elbow above the shoulder, and a good rotation of the shoulders
Pitching Stepping on the Line Drill
    Keeps the pitcher's hips and shoulders from opening early
Pitching Tarp Drill
    Develops a pitcher's ball control
Pitching The Balance Drill
    Improves pitching control problems through good balance
Pitching The Goalpost Drill
    Teaches pitching with the lower body, and keeping the elbows up
Pitching The Plate Drill
    Gets the young pitcher to deliver more consistently controlled pitches
Pitching The Wall Drill
    Makes sure that the pitcher isn't getting long in the back when pitching
Pitching Weight Back Drill
    Alleviates rushing the lower body and develops a good rhythm and pace

TIPS

  5 STEP PITCHING TIP
Short back one. The most common mistake is stepping to the side and moving out of the tunnel. Make a small baby step straight back.

Step and turn two. The most common mistake here is losing eye contact with the target. Be sure you keep your hands together and high.

High three. There are 2 ways to get here. Pick the leg or swing the leg. Pickers have better control. The higher the leg at three the faster the fastball.

Front four. Leave high three by bending the back knee, so you can drop and drive. Square up everything as the front foot lands. Make a 90 degree angle with the arm to side, at the elbow and keep the wrist straight and loose.

Low five. Finish in a low fielding position to protect yourself and to make your delivery consistent.

 


  EYE CONTACT WHILE PITCHING TIP
To help a young pitcher maintain better eye contact with his catcher, he should not bring his hands and arms up over his head when starting his wind up. This blocks his vision twice and serves no purpose. Have young pitchers bring their hands up to their chest instead. Remember, it doesn't matter how far over his head a pitcher raises his arms up, he still has to bring them down. Don't waste the motion.

 

PIVOT KNEE TIP
Many young pitchers hold their glove at their shoulder during the pitch and do not properly rotate at the shoulders. In order to promote proper rotation of the shoulders, I have my pitchers kneel on their pivot knee (right knee if you are right handed) with left leg extended. Hands are in the gathered position and the ball is thrown at half speed to a catcher. I look for full follow thru with the pitching hand ending up outside the left calf and the left hand rotates to take the glove behind and try to touch the numbers.

 

 

SIX COMPONENTS TIP
In working with young pitchers, make clear that good pitching takes good practice. Pitching skills won't develop by just throwing the ball, but pitchers can learn by throwing at a target, facing a hitter and trying to use a consistent, correct delivery. Break the pitching motion down to six component skills.

GRIPPING THE BALL:
Teach your players that holding the ball in their fingertips - as opposed to jamming it into the hand - will help them get good velocity and wrist snap for control . Have your pitchers vary their grips on the seams to experiment with the fastball and change - ups. For example, gripping the with seams causes the pitch to sink; gripping the ball across the seams makes the pitch appear to rise.

DELIVERY:
As with general throws from the field of play, the overhand delivery is the most effective throwing motion for young pitchers. The overhand technique ensures maximum control and puts less strain on young arms.

WINDUP:
The pitching motion begins with the windup. Keeping the front part of the ball side foot in contact with the plate side of the pitching rubber, the pitcher shifts the weight to the back leg and takes a backward step.

PIVOT:
The pivot is the most essential part of the pitching motion. During the pivot, the pitcher keeps the weight balanced and eyes towards the target . The pitcher pivots on the ball of the front (ball side) foot to turn it parallel to the rubber. At this point, the pitcher shifts the weight forward onto the pivot foot and lifts the opposite leg into the air.

STRIDE:
From the pivot and leg lift, the pitcher must drive the back foot off the rubber and stride toward the plate with the leg kick. The length of the stride depends on the height of the pitcher and what feels most comfortable. Too long a stride makes the ball go high; too short a stride makes the ball go low. Have your pitchers experiment to find what works best .

During the striding motion, the stride or the glove side foot remains closed (the stride foot points towards third base for a right handed pitcher ). The moment before the foot lands, it opens and points towards the plate. When the foot opens, the hips open, which brings the upper body through

The toe and heel of the striding foot should land simultaneously (although the ball of the foot takes most of the shock), lands in the same spot with each pitch and land softly to avoid any jarring in the delivery . The front knee bends so it can absorb the impact of landing with full weight on the front foot. Keeping the knee straight causes undue stress and strain on the front leg.

FOLLOW-THROUGH:
A good follow-through is critical for speed, control, and proper fielding position. As the pitcher releases the ball, the wrist snaps after coming over the top. The arm snaps across the body, and, ideally, the pivot,(ball side) foot swings around to a position that squares the pitcher up to the plate. The pitcher's eyes must be on the target in preparation to field any balls hit back to the mound

Advanced pitchers can be concerned with the location of their pitches (for example, outside corner). Young pitchers should simply focus on getting the ball across the plate, in the strike zone. Here are some key points to emphasize with young pitchers:
Make sure the catcher is in the crouching position, providing a target (mitt) at all times.
Use the legs, not the arm, to shift the weight toward the plate. 
Be relaxed and in control throughout the pitching motion.
Keep your eyes on the target throughout the pitching motion. Don't overthrow.
Follow through and be ready to field at the end of the motion.
Make the first pitch a strike every time to get ahead of the batter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BALANCE BEAM DRILL
Make sure pitchers are wearing turf or tennis shoes rather than spikes. Have them go through wind up, and stretch, while standing on a 4x4 piece of wood. This will force them to keep their balance throughout their motion. Helps with keeping the weight back, and allows the arm to not fall behind the rest of the motion.

 

 

 

 

 

CLOTH SLAP DRILL
This drill is for pitchers to help develop snap of wrist, delivery of ball out front of body, follow through and defensive position once the pitch is delivered.

Cut old bed sheet (or similar material) into pieces 18" by 5". Fold long side a few times until cloth is 1" by 18". Form 2 lines with one line down on one knee, resting "glove side" elbow on other knee and hold arm out (the one resting on knee) parallel to ground (with glove on) no higher than 18" above ground. Players standing hold out throwing hand (palm up) draping folded cloth over middle finger letting hang down evenly on each side of middle finger. Loosely holding cloth in fist, have pitcher go through normal windup with the delivery being slapping partner's glove with cloth. Check for proper motion, balance and defensive position

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONTROL DRILL
Pitchers and catchers stand at regulation distance from each other. The catcher stands behind home plate, and a batter stands in the batter's box. The batter should alternate between a left and right-handed batting stance after every five pitches, but not take any swings. The catcher calls balls and strikes. Have the batter wear a helmet in this practice situation. This game like drill will help your pitchers develop a consistent pitching motion, get a good feel for the strike zone, and get use to pitching with a player in the batter's box.

 

 

 

 

 

HAND OFF DRILL
Have the player stand the normal pitching distance from a catcher, with his non-throwing shoulder to the catcher. A person should stand behind the pitcher so that his shoulder brushes the back of the pitcher's shoulder. The pitcher must kick straight up and stay there for a count of 2 and then he has to reach back while in the middle of his kick, and take a ball out of the hand of the person behind him.

This will keep the pitcher from 'slinging' the ball and hurting his elbow, improves his balance point during his windup, and it keeps his hand on top of the ball during his windup. The drill will give him better snap on the ball and reduce side-arming.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SIT AND HIT THE BULLS EYE DRILL
Two pitchers sit, with legs crossed, about 20-30 feet from each other. The receiver puts his glove in front of his face as the target. The thrower must hit the target without the ball bouncing, and with minimal rocking motion.

This will require the elbow above the shoulder, and a good rotation of the shoulders to just get it there, thus teaching good technique.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

STEPPING ON THE LINE DRILL
I have read with some interest the other coaches' input on pitching. My concern in teaching players to pitch is eliminating elements in their throwing motion which puts unnecessary stress on the elbow or shoulder.

What I emphasize to my pitchers is that the arm should be straight or almost straight when the arm is even with the body. If the elbow is bent then, the player cannot get it fully extended before release. A straight arm provides a longer arc for the ball and will generate more velocity with less effort than a bent elbow. Having players get down on one knee, kneeling with the "push" leg down and the "plant" leg up and in front of them, extend their throwing arm straight out from their body in its natural throwing angle to the body and then have them throw the ball to a partner by taking the ball back about 6 inches and then throwing, I ask them to exaggerate their follow through and finish with their arm down and out side their front knee.

This drill also allows me to work them on their wrist cock and snap at I work a drill to keep the hips and shoulders closed during wind-up. It is called "stepping on the line.", I draw a line perpendicular to the pitching rubber toward home plate from each corner of the rubber and the center of the rubber. The pitcher executes his wind up and throws to home plate, the goal is to step on the line extending out from the pitcher. This keeps the pitchers hips and shoulders from opening early and taking velocity and accuracy from the pitch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

TARP DRILL
Tie a large piece of tarp on a section of the backstop. Place a target on the tarp (outline a strike zone) in paint or tape. Place a home plate in front of the strike zone. From two-thirds or regulation distance, a pitcher throws pitches at the strike zone on the tarp. After throwing 20 balls, they collect the balls and start over. Have the pitchers deliver half of the pitches form the stretch.

As your pitchers' control improves, divide the strike zone into sections and challenge them to deliver their pitches to the different sections. Pitchers can also work on their pick-off moves into the tarp

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE BALANCE DRILL
Can be done either from the windup or the stretch, from the full distance to the plate. The idea is to have the pitcher hit his apex in the leg kick, and then stop and hold his balance for a few seconds (time varies with each different pitch), then finish the delivery. If he loses balance, he does not throw the ball. If he holds his balance well, all his body weight will be able to go towards the plate, and he will also have a smooth delivery as well.

This is a major factor in improving control problems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE GOALPOST DRILL
The pitcher stands in front of the mound, with his feet spread wider than the shoulders, and weight on the back foot. Before he throws, he raises both arms up, looking like a goalpost from the side. As he throws, he pushes off with the back leg.

This teaches pitching with the lower body, and keeping the elbows up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE PLATE DRILL
We have used this very old and simple drill to get the young pitcher to deliver more consistently controlled pitches.

Find the spot that you want to get the pitcher's lead foot in on each throw. Nail a cheap (thin) paper plate to the ground in this spot.

As the pitcher becomes comfortable hitting this target you can make a "box" from very thin strips of wood. "no more than 1 inch deep" Be sure that the box is a little bigger than the pitcher's foot. Use this in the same way as the plate.

 

 

 

 

 

THE WALL DRILL
A good pitching drill that I have our pitchers do is called the wall drill.

We have our kids line up about a foot or so from a wall with their body perpendicular and their throwing arm closest to the wall. We make them deliver the ball to a catcher 40 or so feet away. The intent of the drill is to make sure that the pitcher isn't getting long in the back. If he is, then he will hit the wall with his throwing arm. Some coaches think that the use of this drill makes the kid short arm the ball, but our kids have full extension towards the ground, not straight back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WEIGHT BACK DRILL
To alleviate "rushing the lower body" and develop a good rhythm and pace.

From the wind-up position have the pitcher rock, turn and raise his leg to the balance position. But instead of either stopping or going on to pitch, he now lowers that leg to the ground next to and immediately behind the pivot foot. He should now be standing facing either 3b (rh) or 1b (lh), in good balance before beginning. Now he simply reraises the non-pivot foot and pitches. This simple drill keeps the weight back while in the wind-up. Once the pitcher gets used to it, he can develop a nice natural flow, rock ,turn, raise, drop, raise and pitch. Then alternate the drill every other pitch. Pitchers who are comfortable with it can even do it between innings for a pitch or two just to reinforce their proper piece and keep from rushing.