Improving Pitching Speed

Select a distance from your catcher, according to your age and strength. Stand sideways to your catcher. Stand on one leg, your drive leg. Point your glove towards the target, raise your pitching arm above your head, not locked at the elbow.

Now bend your drive leg at the knee. Start your pitch by raising your stride leg from the hip. Lift up and out.

Don't lean forward. Keep your weight on your drive leg. Land on a flexed leg to you don't jar your hip, back or neck. Use your front or stride leg to stop your momentum forward. This is called resistance. Stay tall, use leverage.

At the same time, drive your hip through your pitch, finishing with the palm of your hand facing you. Use a great wrist snap and get your elbow up quickly into your target. Finish the pitch square to your target for good fielding position.

Key: Don't lose your balance. The first thing that moves is your hip.

The second part of this drill is to do it with a full circle motion. The difference is, start with your hands in front of you and as you start your motion, be sure that your hip and hands go together towards the target. Everything else is the same.

All of my students are now using this and not only have they all increased their speed but their balance has also improved greatly. Speeds have increased from three to eight miles an hour with this drill. You notice a difference within one week, depending, of course, on how hard you work.