Basic Mechanics

Basic Mechanics:

Before we begin training we need to outline the basic mechanics necessary to deliver a pitch with the most power and spin possible while remaining safe and injury free. In the last few years there has been an increase in shoulder injury and back injury due to incorrect mechanics and inefficient kinesthetic activation. As a coach it breaks my heart to hear that athletes are trained to force their bodies into unnatural positions in order to mirror what their coaches are telling them. Every athlete is different. Has different strengths and weaknesses. Has a different body type. Has a different proportion of upper to lower body strength. And while all pitchers should work to be at optimum fitness in a ll of their muscle groups, forcing a young pitcher into specific mechanics that don’t necessarily work for their body type or strengths simply in order to look like the best pitchers in world doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense to me.  I think the goal should be to work with a pitcher’s strengths in mobility, after extensive mobility assessment, and body type in order to achieve the greatest possible outcome. There are fundamentals to how a pitcher delivers a pitch, no doubt, but each pitcher needs to work these foundational mechanics into their game in their own way. I think as you read on you’ll see what I mean.

The Power Line:

The power line is perhaps the most important thing to remember as a pitcher. No matter what drill you are completing the power line will come into play and should not be ignores. The power line is an imaginary line that runs through the pitcher’s dominant foot, ball hand side, straight through the middle of home plate, or the ‘red zone’. The weight transfer and load, the pre-motion, arm circle, forward move, stride, plant, follow through, and hip explosion should all be aligned on the power line. A pitcher’s stride foot should always be at a 45 degree angle to the power line when they plant to protect the knee from hyperextension and allow the hips to finish through the pitch.

Posture:

The posture of the body is extremely important when delivering a pitch. Elite pitchers pitch with their whole bodies not just their arm. Proper posture and delivery will allow the pitcher to reach their full potential in velocity(speed), command(spin), and control(location). The body posture initially set within the motion should be relatively the same for every pitcher. It should consist of a straight and relaxed posture with the shoulders and back. The legs and arms should also be relaxed and slightly bent. The pitcher’s head should be aligned directly over her feet and belly button eliminating the possibility of being thrown off balance. This posture should remain steady throughout the pitching motion. In order to create power we need strong front-side resistance. To have strong front-side resistance we need to stay stacked throughout the motion. If a pitcher leans too far forward or too far backward their balance will be thrown off causing the arm and body to go beyond optimum position. Respectively, this will most likely result in an early or late release or a finish/delivery that is off balance an inconsistent.

Stance:

As a general rule when preparing to throw a pitch a pitcher should stand with their feet shoulder width apart for stability. A stance that is too narrow tends to throw the motion off balance and the pitcher will find themselves over compensating to stay standing instead of putting all of their weight behind the pitch. When pitching from the mound both feet NO LONGER need to be in contact with the pitching rubber at the start of the motion. The dominant foot, ball hand side, should be slightly in front of the mound with the ball of the foot butted up against the front edge of the rubber. This allows for maximum drive and helps to keep the forward move balanced and true. There should be a slight bend in the knees to release any tension in the legs. Arms and shoulders should be facing the catcher. Posture should be tall, loose, and fully supported by the core.

Pre-Motion:

There are many different ways that a pitcher can gather themselves before delivering a pitch. Various styles have developed depending on body type and what feels the comfortable. However, there are specifics that should remain constant throughout any pitcher’s motion. A pitcher’s pre-motion should be smooth and relaxed allowing their body and mind to release any built up tension. There should be nothing in the pre-motion that counters the build-up of forward movement and momentum toward the catcher. A motion with quick jerky movements or a large range of movement eliminates the amount of power a pitcher can build throughout the motion because it forces the body to overcompensate in order to stay balanced. A pitcher should be able to repeat their motion even when they are tired, so it must be comfortable and it must be efficient.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Each individual has a different type of body, different mobility and different athletic strengths. Therefore the aim is not to create ‘cookie cutter’ pitchers but to align each individual pitcher with consistent mechanics that exemplify proper techniques used in softball today. Some pitchers will change up their pre-motion in very specific ways to help them focus on mechanical adjustments that they struggle with. This can be helpful and will be discussed as needed throughout the workbook.

Ball Grip:

When a pitcher holds the ball the hands and arms should be relaxed. Mentally, they should be focusing on the fingertips, the placement of the fingers on the ball, and how the seams feel under the fingers. Each different grip depending on what pitch is being thrown, in combination with wrist snap, is designed to spin the ball a certain way through the air. As the seams hit, or ‘cut’ the air, the friction between the seams on the ball and air cause the ball to ‘bend’ or move depending on the grip and spin rate of the type of pitch being thrown. Physically a pitcher should be holding the ball loosely with a relaxed strength. Holding the ball too tightly, with too much surface area of the hand on the ball or a death grip, will cause the pitcher to release the ball inconsistently. This results in command and control issues. The ball will have less spin and be harder to place than if the pitcher starts the pitch with a more relaxed grip.

For a 4-seam fastball, which is what we will be using throughout this workbook for our fastball, the ball should be gripped along the “C” of the seams, just like you would write the letter “C”. Some find it helpful to envision the seams like the letter “U”. In this case the ‘U’ curve would be positioned toward the thumb with the open part of the “U” toward the pinky. There should be air space between each of the pitcher's fingers and air space between the palm of the pitcher’s hand and the ball. The pinky should remain loose and has little to do with the grip here. Tucking the pinky on a 4 seam fast ball tends to tighten the wrist and grip and the ball will likely come out of the hand slower with less spin.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is an area where we need to note some differences for different pitchers. Some pitchers have larger hands some have smaller hands. Some are more developed in their grip strength and some are weaker. Making adjustments to the grip, as there are many different ways that a curve ball or a drop ball can be thrown correctly, can help the pitcher feel more in control of the pitch and build the confidence necessary to throw that specific pitch as a part of the arsenal of game-ready pitches in their tool box. Forcing someone to hold the ball a certain way or forcing someone into spin mechanics that don’t feel natural can result in injury and inconsistency in the pitch. The pitcher needs to be able to replicate the snap and finish on a very consistent basis in order to be effective.

Arm Circle:

The goal of the arm circle is to be as quick and efficient as possible in combination with a quick and powerful body using correct timing and rhythm through the finish of the pitch. The arm should act as a pendulum that meets with the resistance and force of the lower body to create the correct kinesthetic sequence and timing. It is the resistance created by the lower half of the body and the position of the arm and hip at the finish that creates the whip required for maximum velocity and spin. The arm circle should remain inside the frame of the body from side to side and on the power line as it travels on its vertical axis. A good rule of thumb is to keep the ball aligned with the dominant side shoulder and over the toes as it travels around the circle. There are three checkpoints to keep in mind for the arm circle. The first checkpoint is as the arm swings down toward the dominant hip on the weight shift back(this is true even if you keep the hands together on the back swing); the second checkpoint is as the arm travels up by the ear as the arm circle begins, the third is as the arm travels through by the hip as the wrist snaps to release. 

Remember: loose is fast, tight is slow.

Release:

A pitcher’s release is very important in creating the maximum amount of spin, movement, and speed. There are a few different ways that coaches approach this part of the motion and many discrepancies have become contentious issues between coaches and players. There are two main ways that coaches teach the finish. One set of mechanics is called “Internal Rotation” and the other has been colloquially coined by the followers of internal rotation as “hello elbow”. Followers of each way of coaching are adamant that their way of doing things is the best and only way and if you don’t do it that way or teach it that way you completely discredit yourself as a coach. In general any extreme is likely going to cause problems.

Here’s the deal… The goal of the snap is to create the most whip and spin possible through the finish by transferring power up from the ground, through the legs and core, into the shoulders and out through the wrist snap. The strongest motion in the human body is in fact internal rotation but maybe not the way we think and certainly not the way some coaches are teaching internal rotation to their pitchers. A pitcher should not force themselves into any position that tightens muscles to the point of injury or causes them to loose their posture throughout the motion. If the legs, core and shoulders are doing as long as the pitcher is activating their latissimus dorsi muscles, leading with a slightly bent elbow to the finish, the arm will be able to snap powerfully by the hip upon release.

As a general rule for a fast ball with 4-seam rotation(this is the grip mentioned earlier) a pitcher should transfer all the energy up from the ground, through the legs and core and into the shoulders and arm to release the ball at the back hip with the arm aligned along the power line. The finish should be long and loose with a relaxed wrist and arm. Relaxed doesn’t mean slow. In this case if the pitcher is correctly using the kinetic sequence the power transferred into the arm will be released more readily the more fluid the motion is.

The hand should be behind the ball and with the palm slightly turned out toward the power line so the ball breaks the plane of the hip first. The pinky should lead through the wrist snap and the ball should spin off of the fingertips in a strong topspin rotation with the fingers curling tightly into the palm. The wrist should be at full flexion on the snap to insure full range of motion and optimal spin and velocity. The follow through should be loose and natural allowing the arm to move through the finish with the wrist at full flexion toward the catcher as her fingertips curl in to meet the palm of the hand as the arm is raised toward the catcher. A pitcher should not force themselves to finish with a. Backhand finish or a forehand finish. Instead they should let their arm come through naturally and keep their momentum moving forward. The magic happens at the back hip. This is where all the spin and velocity are transferred to the ball. The finish should simply be natural and loose in order to decelerate safety and avoid injury.

Hip and Leg Drive:

All of a pitcher’s power and strength come from the translation of power through the hips, legs, and core into the arm. The have talked about the correct kinesthetic sequence already but it bears repeating as it is the most important part of generating power thorough the motion.

In general the muscle groups in a pitcher’s lower body should be the driving force for the motion. Getting into “power position” with the drive leg(ball-side) foot is incredibly important to create maximum power. A pitcher’s drive leg should be placed with the ball of the foot on the front lip of the pitching rubber for maximum grip and drive off the mound. At the start of the motion almost all the weight should be balanced on the drive leg and be transferred to the glove side in the load phase of the motion.

As the pitcher rocks back into the load position the weight on drive leg side hip and knee should be transferred backwards in order to create a power forward move. The forward move is when the pitcher begins the explosion forward using both feet to drive themselves toward the catcher with as much explosive energy as possible. Throughout this phase the drive side hip and knee should hinge in order to get into hyper-arch position. Hyper arch position is when the drive leg knee comes forward through the push to align itself with the drive side toe, much like a sprinter start coming out of a block. This allows the glutes to fire and as one of the larger connective muscles in the body between the legs and core, is an essential piece in transferring power from the ground up.

As the pitcher pushes off of the mound they need to get through their forward move with the shoulders and hips still facing forward. Pre-mature opening of the hips causes a lot of balance issues and can cause a severe swing of the back up and drag foot off the power line to the glove-hand side.  The pitcher should focus on driving out and attacking the catcher’s glove facing forward. Only when they are at full extension toward the glove should they open their front hip to create the transfer of power to the core. This motion of the front hip may feel a bit like a twisting or corkscrew motion in the front hip socket when completed correctly.  Then the pitcher moves on to the plant, 45 degrees on the power line with the front foot, and heel trigger phase to create a solid ground connection and front side resistance with the stride leg. The ball of the foot should hit the ground first with the heel pressing down firmly directly afterwards to create a solid and stacked front side. Once a solid ground connection has been made with the stride leg the pitcher uses the resistance in the front side of the body to pull the arm down to the finish, fires the lats with the bow leading, and transfers power from the core into the shoulders and out through the arm on the wrist snap.