How She Should Feel When Pitching?

When it comes to hitting, good instructors make sure their students know exactly how they should feel during the swing. Yet, in pitching, we find that few pitchers have that awareness. It is hard to build a solid foundation if you don’t have the building blocks.

We always stress that a pitcher should feel four things:
1-Long, loose arm
2-Relaxed shoulders
3-Powerful hips
4-Smooth and balanced through the entire motion
As you evaluate your pitcher, put all of your focus on one single part of the body. Most of us are too involved in watching the result of the pitch, which causes us to miss important keys. Get in a good position to watch the arm all of the way through the circle. If you see any uneven acceleration through the circle, sudden jerky motions, tension, or sudden stops in the elbow, obviously speed and control will be greatly compromised.
Watch the shoulders. If you see tension, lifting, loss of alignment, forceful deceleration, or if it looks like she it tugging painfully with the shoulder at release, something needs adjusted.
Look at the hips. This is the engine that powers everything. Do they look powerful? Do not confuse stiff with powerful. Tension is the enemy. Are the hips powering the pitch or are they pushed back into a neutral position? Very few pitchers are able to achieve dominant hips due to barriers elsewhere in the body.
Finally, is she smooth throughout the motion? If not, tight muscles are likely an issue. Tight muscles are always slow muscles. Efficiency is key and no pitcher can afford to waste motions on actions that do not contribute to the pitch. Every ounce of energy needs to be channeled into the precisely the right place at exactly the right time.
As you watch great hitters, you see the very same characteristics as great pitchers: powerful hips, relaxed upper body, and actions that are smooth and balanced throughout the entire motion. It is not a hitting thing or a pitching thing. It is how the female body works. We know it in hitting, golf, tennis, and throwing overhand. Sometimes we overlook the obvious in pitching. If you, or your instructor, have questions, feel free to contact us.