Reader question: is my practice paying off?

HI! Carly,
I’m 16 , I practice daily!

I know I drag my back leg so much probably about 5 ft. but I can’t get it up, when I do it pulls something in my back. I think I am leaning back also trying and push the ball through the last 12 inches.. I am concerned all this practice and time spent with my dad practicing is not paying off and I will never get recruited.

I bet this sounds familiar to a lot of people! No matter how much you practice, you just can’t seem to break that one bad habit. Luckily, there’s a solution.

When is practice BAD for me?

Everyone knows that in order to get good at something, you have to practice a lot. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. You also have to practice CORRECTLY. If you’re repeating the wrong thing over and over again, that practice will actually HURT you, because it will ingrain the bad habit in your muscle memory and make it harder to break.

How to practice correctly

If you can’t seem to break a habit, you need to take a step back. For example, if T can’t pitch without anchor-dragging her foot, she needs to find a drill where she CAN drag just the tip of her toe properly. If it’s your last warm-up drill before full pitching, great. If you have to go all the way back to step 1, I know that’s frustrating, but it’s what you have to do.

Once you’ve discovered the place where you can drag correctly, follow the steps here. This is a strict guideline. It doesn’t mean warm up like this and then go right to pitching… it means do not pitch with incorrect mechanics. If you can’t fix the problem at full distance, it means you’re not ready to throw full distance yet.

If you’re not sure what drill would be good to go back to, try the drills in this video. If you can do it correctly with stride and drive, you’re closer than you think. If you have to go all the way back to forearm fire with drive through, that’s FINE.

It may be very frustrating to go that far backward, and it may take a long time and a lot of practice to break the habit, but it will be worth it. Think of it this way: if you step back to fix the problem, it will be tedious and frustrating, but you WILL improve if you really commit yourself to the process. If you keep practicing the way you currently do, you’ll still be frustrated because of the bad habit, plus you may NEVER break it.

Additionally, if your habit is putting strain on your body, as T mentioned with her back (and yes, that’s a very common side effect of anchor drag), it is CRITICAL that you address the problem, even if kind of lose a year while you’re figuring it out. If you can take the time out NOW to make sure you’re not on the bench with an injury when you’re a senior or entering college, it’s ALWAYS worth it!