Alignment And Balance

The pitchers alignment and balance plays a big role in developing a pitcher. The big thing that the coach wants to look is how the pitcher looks after she has released the ball. Does her momentum bring her directly toward the target under control or does she fall of to one side or the other? Falling off to one side or the other is a symptom of something that needs to be corrected. Here are some things to watch for.

1. Is she standing tall with good posture throughout the pitch? Bending at the waist throws the circle out of alignment and the pitcher off balance. To deliver a consistent pitch, she must consistently have good posture.

2. Does she drag her pitching foot to the heel of her throwing foot or does it drift to a spot 2 feet behind her as is she were bowling? To deliver a consistent pitch, she must consistently have the correct toe drag.

3. Is the revolution of her arm always in a vertical plane with the power line? To deliver a consistent pitch, the circle formed has to consistently stay in line with the target.

4. Is she stepping to the power position with her toes on the power line and her hips and shoulders also lining up with the toes on that line? To deliver a consistent pitch, the pitcher has to consistently hit the power line with her toes, hips and shoulders.

Did you see a pattern in those tips? If your pitcher wants to deliver a consistent quality pitch, they must consistently do every element of the delivery with quality. One of my coach mentors told me “Practice makes …………………………………permanent. If you want to be perfect, then you have to practice perfect”. To put it in my own clumsy words, “If you don’t do it right in practice, you won’t do it right in a game.” It’s all in the details.

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