Perfecting Your Drive Through Mechanics
I’m going to continue answering reader questions this week, and it just so happens that this one is a nice continuation from my post last week about strengthening your body to support the leg drive phase of the windmill pitch. How do you work on transitioning from a good push off the pitching rubber to a good drive-through in your pitching practice?
We’ve addressed this issue before, but the articles have a been a bit scattered so I’ve compiled them for convenience and included some updated information. If you did not address the strength issues highlighted in my last post from a young age, chances are you may have developed some bad drive-through habits that need to be corrected. While performing the strengthening exercises is absolutely necessary to overcoming those habits, they may very well not fix the problem entirely. If the poor mechanics have been going on long enough to become engrained in your muscle memory, you will also have to address them in your pitching practice.
Basic Drive Through Mechanics
Here is a video explaining the basic drive-through mechanics:
Most Common Drive Through Problems
The two issues that afflict the drive-through most frequently are illegal hopping, where the drag foot breaks contact with the ground and replants (usually called crow hopping), and anchor dragging, where the whole side of the foot drags on the ground, causing a lot of stress and slowing the whole body down.
Even though these two issues seem like fundamental opposites, they are caused by exactly the same weaknesses. Therefore, even though the posts highlighted below may mention one or the other, you can all benefit from the information no matter which problem you may have.
VIDEO: Are you dragging instead of driving through?
ARTICLE: Pitching Drills for a Smoother Drive Through
ARTICLE: Top Causes of Illegal Hopping
ARTICLE: Drills to Eliminate Illegal Hopping – Drill 1 in this article is the most effective solution for both hopping and anchor dragging. It progresses into Drill 2. There is an animated example included.
Remember, doing these drills alone will likely not fix the problem. It may help somewhat, but you absolutely need to address the weaknesses mentioned in my last article to get the most out of your leg drive.