Correcting a “Swimming Glove” in Pitchers

Poor glove hand movement is a very common problem among windmill pitchers, especially young ones. It usually takes the form of the glove hand flying way out to the side, or “swimming,” instead of remaining on line with the catcher. Fortunately, it’s also one of the easier problems to address. All you need is a simple drill.

What’s Wrong With Glove Swimming?

We’ve discussed in the past how your glove hand is like the rudder that steers your ship. Throwing your glove hand at your target and keeping it on your power line has a tremendous positive effect on your whole body’s alignment. Conversely, allowing your glove to swim out to the side can really pull your whole body off line. Your glove is attached to your arm, which is attached to your shoulder. Pulling your front shoulder out too soon can ruin your accuracy and rob you of speed. Pulling your shoulder out too much can create unnecessary stress for both shoulders and increase your chance of injury.

Many pitchers can get away with a small amount of off-line glove movement. It only becomes a problem when it affects shoulder and upper body alignment. If you’re not sure whether or not your glove work is a problem, slow motion video can help you figure it out.

What Causes Glove Swimming?

Windmill pitching is an extremely complex skill that relies on tremendous strength in the core and trunk as well as tremendous hip stability. Many young female athletes are not naturally blessed with enough of this type of strength to support an optimal windmill pitching motion. If they don’t supplement their pitching practice with strength training, one of the mechanical quirks that can develop as a result of a weak core is the glove swim. It takes strength to raise and drop the glove without leaving the power line. It also takes strength to deliver the ball with the pitching arm while maintaining good posture and alignment. If the pitcher can’t generate enough speed with the back half of her body (her pitching arm and her drive leg), the front half, including the glove arm, may attempt to pull it along with excessive motion.

How to Correct Glove Swimming

Firstly, remember that a swimming glove hand is a SYMPTOM of a larger problem. Even if the pitcher manages to correct it through practice, there is an underlying weakness that caused it in the first place. If not addressed, it could cause other problems. Explore our site or get with a trainer to find out how you can strengthen your body appropriately.

To eliminate the swimming habit, simply have the pitcher pitch next to a wall, fence, or net.

Here is a video we posted a while ago demonstrating wall drills. For glove work, the pitcher and catcher switch places, so the pitcher’s glove side is against the wall instead of her throwing side. If she does not keep her glove on line with her target, she will hit the wall and get instant feedback.