My 14 year old took three months off of pitching and decided she wanted to start again this past jan, the problem being she has suddenly started to lean most of the time, i cannot find any info on how to stop it, all her instructor does is says "dont lean" I have no idea what to do she is getting very frustrated and im concerned she will just give up pitching all togeather, any help would be appreciated.
How stop a pitcher from leaning
- Thread starter vbryant
- Start date
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The drill I like is Carolina Walk Through. Basically, the pitcher takes a couple of steps, throws the ball, and then doesn't let her push off foot (her right foot for a right handed pitcher) come down until after the catcher returns the ball.
In this video, first, turn down the volume. It is not applicable to working on correcting a forward lean.
The teacher (the man) is doing a Carolina walk through. Notice his right foot never touches down until after the catcher catches the the ball. In order to do that, the pitcher has to have superb balance and body control. (The girl is doing a regular walk through.) You start with the pitcher throwing slowly, and then gradually get the pitcher to increase her speed.
Another drill is the "stand on one leg and throw" drill. The pitcher gets open, stands on her push off foot (her right foot for a rightie), lifts her landing foot (her left foot for a rightie) and then does a complete arm circle and throws the ball, never letting her left foot touch until the catcher returns the ball.
The only way for a pitcher to do these drills is if she stays balanced and doesn't lean forward.
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In this video, first, turn down the volume. It is not applicable to working on correcting a forward lean.
The teacher (the man) is doing a Carolina walk through. Notice his right foot never touches down until after the catcher catches the the ball. In order to do that, the pitcher has to have superb balance and body control. (The girl is doing a regular walk through.) You start with the pitcher throwing slowly, and then gradually get the pitcher to increase her speed.
Another drill is the "stand on one leg and throw" drill. The pitcher gets open, stands on her push off foot (her right foot for a rightie), lifts her landing foot (her left foot for a rightie) and then does a complete arm circle and throws the ball, never letting her left foot touch until the catcher returns the ball.
The only way for a pitcher to do these drills is if she stays balanced and doesn't lean forward.
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Last edited:
- Dec 30, 2009
- 49
- 0
Almost everything I see pertaining to encouraging a pitcher to stay tall and not bend over as she delivers the ball seems to be treating the symptom rather than the cause. The main cause of bending forward as the ball is being delivered stems from the natural desire to push/force the pitching hand forward to create power; so until a pitcher is taught to whip the ball, she cannot comfortably stay back and get tall. Most every major mechanical challenge or flaw comes from the preoccupation of forcing the pitching hand forward ( including often a conscious effort to snap the wrist ) as the ball is being released, such as: stepping left of the power line ( Rt. handed pitcher ), throwing the glove arm way off to the left and/or bending it, bending forward at the waist, not able to brush the hip consistently, not able to stick their landing with balance, head not stable, often a locked-out arm, limited consistency, power & ball movement.
Vbryant, I also have noticed leaning to be a big problem. I posted a couple of exercises on you tube, try them out and see if they help. Good luck http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvPdTFqOgj0
- Jul 14, 2008
- 1,796
- 63
Pure and simple your head position controls posture. You can push back with your legs all you want, but if your head gets forward over your chest you're doomed........
Just tell your kid to keep her head behind her chest and watch how upright and behind the pitch she'll stay........
Not to say push back are necessarilly bad for the right reason.......But they address the lower body.......And believe me, it isn't the lower body that's doin the leanin........
Of course this is assuming you mean leaning forward......And not sideways like this kid:
The pitch on the left is a curve and on the right drop curve........
Just tell your kid to keep her head behind her chest and watch how upright and behind the pitch she'll stay........
Not to say push back are necessarilly bad for the right reason.......But they address the lower body.......And believe me, it isn't the lower body that's doin the leanin........
Of course this is assuming you mean leaning forward......And not sideways like this kid:
The pitch on the left is a curve and on the right drop curve........
- Feb 24, 2010
- 154
- 0
I agree. DD started the lean when TB coach told her "to pitch strikes, only strikes, no balls". And she knew she was pushing but for some reason could not stop the bad form. PC always tells her to focus on mechanics and arm speed/whip - strikes will come from good mechanics.
There are many ways to help stop the lean - hold the pony tail, do walk throughs (most effective with DD), etc. Try them all and find out what works for her.
I find the primary reason for a pitcher to bend forward at the release point is to throw strikes. They are aiming the ball. I refer to this as the "bowling delivery". It frequently is implicitly forced on the pitcher by the team coach (usually at younger levels) who preaches the omnipresent "just throw strikes".
jim
jim
