Struggling with hole in front of rubber

[Ken B]

FFS,
Can you post these to the Model Pitchers thread? They should be requisite material for anyone hoping to excel in pitching.

 

[Ryan2]

You have to put your foot in the hole and pitch from there. Filling it in just won't work. If you have a good push off it does not effect you. If you have a false load or gym step, it is actually a good way to learn to get rid of it. That's what we do in HS (JV), make everything a learning experience.

If her front foot is in the hole and her foot is not touching the rubber is that an illegal pitch or will the ump let it go?

 

[Ryan2]

She is used to the ball of her foot sitting/touching the corner of the rubber. She does not raise and replant her front foot. I guess she just needs more time in the circle to figure it out

 

[starsnuffer]

There's nothing from stopping her from refilling the hold between every pitch.

-W

 

[cdaling]

I pitch men's fastpitch and frequently have trouble with the difference between the trench/hole I use vs the other pitcher. This is always the case and won't go away. Two thoughts though. First - fill it in and stomp it down between every pitch if she needs to. A bit of landscaping is a fact of life and she will need to get used to it. Second - if she fills it in and then it is back again right away, is she twisting her launch foot too much? Maybe she is contributing to digging the hole there more than she knows. Others here could better answer if an ump would be so picky as to call that an illegal pitch but in the ball I play, I've never seen it.