Stride Length/Height

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

Mar 9, 2015
321
18
Any advantages to shortening the stride length and/or having the stride foot lower to the ground? What's the optimal set up?
 
Aug 29, 2011
2,581
83
NorCal
I would think you would want to take the biggest most explosive stride you can while still maintaining proper mechanics, balance, and front-side resistance.
 

JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
Every pitcher is different, but the closer the pitcher is to the batter when she release the ball the less time a batter has to react.
 
Nov 29, 2009
2,975
83
Any advantages to shortening the stride length and/or having the stride foot lower to the ground? What's the optimal set up?

Every pitcher's optimum stride length and height is different. It takes time for the girls to figure it out. I have them work on getting out, not up. They should be able to drive and stride out further than their height. I've seen some girls who look like the jumping hurdles when the come off the rubber. It looked painful when they landed.

ETA: One of the analogies I use with pitchers is ask them how a rabbit runs. The rabbit does not come up high on their strides when they are running at full speed. They come up slightly and greatest part of their effort is dedicated to propelling themselves forward covering as much ground as they can. I essence the old adage. The shortest distance between two points.
 
Last edited:
Mar 24, 2014
450
18
I see pitchers taking strides where the front foot seems too high and looks like they are losing that drive towards the catcher by going more up. Maybe having a relatively lower front foot will help correct that issue.
 
May 18, 2009
1,314
38
A few years ago we played a team and their pitcher was striding out of the circle. This was in 10U. I’m sure that pitcher is somewhere in Cali carving up 14-16U PGF teams!
 

osagedr

Canadian Fastpitch Dad
Oct 20, 2016
280
28
Whatever the stride length is that is most effective for an individual pitcher. If you are going so high that you crash down and bleed energy out of the front side, that's too high. If you stride so far that you are out of balance and your arm can't catch up, that's too far.

DD has a huge stride; almost too big.
 
Aug 23, 2016
359
43
I see pitchers taking strides where the front foot seems too high and looks like they are losing that drive towards the catcher by going more up. Maybe having a relatively lower front foot will help correct that issue.

As DD's PC puts it, "Stride out not up." She's been working on drive lately.

But it's not her front foot that makes her go up, it's the back leg.
 

Latest posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,468
Members
21,443
Latest member
sstop28
Top