This
information is for the female softball pitcher who has been pitching
competitively for several years... you have at least
a 53mph to 60mph pitching speed, have good control, and have
two or more pitches in addition to your fastball. These
recommendations and hints are from Colorado Softball Pitching
Instructor GERALD WARNER and are based on questions and E-mails
received from visitors to this website.
Topics are updated
regularly, so re-visit this website
often.
CURRENT TOPICS
FOR ADVANCED PITCHERS
OUTDATED PITCHING RULES NEED TO BE CHANGED - An
opinion The
image and reputation of softball, not just in the U.S. but around
the world, has been tarnished by the dramatic increase in the
number of illegal pitch calls recently, for the most part caused by
the "leaping" violation...not keeping the rear foot in contact with
the ground until the forward / stride foot lands. In many
cases, the calls were confusing to the pitcher, her coach, and in
the case of televised games, even the
announcers... (click here for full article)
Three
Essentials for Fast Pitches There are three primary phases of the pitching sequence
that contribute to the speed and control of the pitch. These
are the common elements of virtually every high-velocity
pitcher. Many sequence
photos in this article were selected at random from an analysis of
pitchers... (click here for full
article)
Make Your Movement Pitches Break
Better Many of the questions we receive from visitors
to this website are from pitchers who are trying to improve the
effectiveness of their breaking pitches…drop balls, rise balls,
curves, and screw balls.
Below is a recent e-mail we received from a high school
pitcher, and our response... (click here for full
article)
The Return of the Faster, MUCH Faster
Fastball An
increasing number of 16, 17, and 18-year old college hopefuls are
finding that college coaches do NOT feel that they are ready to
pitch at the college level. An ideal pitching
candidate for most NCAA Division I and Division II colleges and
universities needs to have... (click here for full article)
Rise Ball Secrets Just because a pitcher releases the ball
low and throws it high on the batter doesn't mean it is a rise
ball. A rise ball does just as the name implies…it actually
RISES. It takes SPEED and
SPIN to make a ball rise.
Many pitchers
who think they have a good rise ball are either: (1) dipping
down and throwing a high fast ball, (2) throwing with a
correct rise ball release, but without good speed, or (3) have been
taught the grip and release for a rise ball and think that’s all it
takes...
(click here for full
article)
Does a Rise Ball REALLY
Rise? There has long been differing opinions between fastpitch
softball players vs. die-hard students of physics and aerodynamics
as to whether a properly thrown rise ball can overcome the
gravitational force trying to pull it toward the ground, enough to
really RISE... (click here for
full article)
Avoid Pitching Injuries - The Top-10 List of
What NOT to Do Softball pitchers…even those with years of
experience…often develop (or were even taught) incorrect
pitching mechanics. Some can become successful. However, the majority don’t
reach their maximum potential, and a large percentage end up with
short-term, or even career-ending, pitching injuries. If you are
doing any of these 10 things, find a way to stop it... (click here for full article)
Want
More Speed? "Finish" the Pitch" A
leaping-style pitcher must have a strong, fast push-off from
the pitching rubber in order to drive her stride leg out fast and
far. Then the
power, speed, and landing of the stride determines how effectively
the pitcher can push back against her stride leg to give her
the resistance for a hard final arm “whip” to throw the ball with
maximum speed... (click here for full article)
Increase the Speed of Your
Fastball We feel that this list is the best compilation of
recommendations and potential practices for a pitcher who wants to
increase the speed of her fastball. Here are the drills,
refinements, and modifications that we encourage a pitcher to use to
increase her pitching speed...
(click here for full
article)
What Pitch to Throw...And
When The selection of the pitch and the intended
placement should be based on the situation and what you would like
to have as the outcome.
However, there are some recommendations based on the
conventional wisdom of experienced pitchers and coaches…what
usually works in typical circumstances... (click here for full article)
How to Correct LOW (and INSIDE)
Pitches We receive many questions regarding control of pitches…and
the most frequent is correcting the problem of consistently throwing
low, or low and inside. It’s a problem that is pretty typical for
younger girls...and sometimes even those who are more
experienced. When a pitcher throws pitches inside to a same-side
batter, it is likely one or more of the
problems... (click here for full
article)
How to
Correct HIGH Pitches As we mentioned elsewhere on this website, we get many
questions regarding control of pitches. And many involve a pitcher
who has a problem releasing the ball late…which causes the
pitch to go high. Like throwing too many low
and inside pitches, throwing high is a pretty common
problem for younger girls...and sometimes even those who with
considerable pitching experience. Finding the cause, and then
correcting it, is the key... (click here for full article)
How to Create a Striped
Ball A striped softball is an
excellent tool to assist a pitcher with making certain that she
has (a) the correct rotation and (b) the maximum spin speed on
her breaking pitches. If you are highly intelligent,
have very good athleticism, and are skilled in freehand art, then
you too can create a striped softball. Otherwise, you can get
a 12-year old to do it for you. Seriously though, this is one of
the best tools for a pitcher who is constantly trying to improve her
drop, curve, screw, and rise balls. (click here for full article)
Throwing the Screw Ball - the
"Intimidator" The screw
ball hooks in the opposite direction of a pitcher’s curve ball,
which means for a right handed pitcher, it curves to the right
(obviously, for a lefty a screw curves to the left).
Typically, the screw is thrown to a same-sided batter
up and on the inside corner… (click here for full
article)
Every Pitch...Even a Fastball...Has an
Arc FAST BALL - Even
though a 60 mph fastball seems like it is coming in on a
pretty level line, it goes up...then down...as much as 8 inches in
the time that it takes to get from the pitcher's hand to the plate.
RISE BALL - A rise, even thrown at 60 mph has to has enough
spin to overcome an 8-inch gravity-induced arc...JUST TO LEVEL
OUT! The release and speed of the spin has to be
even better to make it hop over the bat. CHANGE-UP - We have seen a majority of pitchers
throwing their change-up too fast, because they (or their
coach) wanted the ball to come in on a level line.
Obviously, we do NOT advocate a huge arc on a change-up
(that's what slow-pitch softball pitching is all
about)... (click here for full article)
The Drop
Ball - Part II - The "Snapover" Drop The
"snapover" (sometimes called the "rollover" or
"over-the-top") drop is usually reserved for those pitchers
who have physically developed sufficiently so that their wrist
movement can accomplish the rapid snap "over the top" of the ball at
the precise instant it is being released. Therefore, as a
general rule, for younger pitchers (pre-teenagers), we teach the "peel" method of
throwing a drop ball. For those whose coordination and
athleticism warrant it, we move to the rollover
release... (click here for full
article)
Throw
Faster by Using a Good "Body Lean" At the start of the pitching sequence when throwing a
fastball, a typical "leap-and-drag" pitcher starts a transfer of her
weight from her rear leg to her front "push-off" leg to give a
strong push against the pitching rubber with her pitching-side
foot. Although often not emphasized by pitching coaches,
this is the start of a series of events…all of which happen in less
than half-of-a-second…that determine the ultimate speed and
placement of the pitch... (click
here for full article)
An Indoor Drill to Increase Your Pitching
Speed We
have found that the most beneficial speed-increasing drill for
softball pitchers is one that can be done at home…and it is a simple
one to set up. It
involves hanging a remnant piece of carpeting (or an old rug, or even a heavy tarp)
from a joist in the ceiling of a
basement... (click
here for full
article)
Size, Arm Length, and Pitching
Speed When it comes to
pitching speed, tall softball pitchers with good physical
coordination can have an advantage over height-impaired pitchers
with shorter arms. That doesn’t mean that shorter pitchers should
feel inferior to their loftier counterparts. Quite the contrary. Arm speed (and consequently ball
speed) at the release point is what... (click here for
full article)
Recent E-mailed Questions and
Recommendations Each week we receive
e-mails and telephone calls from visitors to this
website. We would appreciate hearing from you, too, on any
question or recommendation relating to girls fastpitch softball
pitching. Click here for Recently-received Questions and
Recommendations...and our
replies.
Other relevant articles on
this website
How to Correct Low
Pitches
How to Correct
High Pitches
A Potentially Dangerous Pitch Release...the
"Over-the-Top" Drop/Fastball
Toe Drag...How to Correct the Leaping
Problem
The Best Pitch Location - Low or
High?
Recommended Products for
Pitchers
The Best
Change-Up
Drop Ball I - The "Peel"
Method
"Stepping Style" vs. "Leap-and-Drag" Pitching - Which
is Best for You?
Why You
MUST Develop a Deceptive
Change-Up
The Rules About Crow-Hopping
and "Leaping"
Know What REALLY
Constitutes an Earned Run
The Power Line and How
It Makes You a Better
Pitcher
If you have questions or
need more information E-mail us, or call Pitching Instructor Gerald Warner in
Colorado at (720) 200-4575
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