Speed loss: are you fighting gravity when you pitch?

Do you feel like you’re not getting the right amount of speed for the effort you’re putting into each pitch, and/or do you tend to miss high a lot? I’ve seen a number of new students lately, and noticed that most who are struggling with these issues have something in common: they release against gravity.

First, a mini physics lesson

Don’t get scared; this is information you already know, even if you don’t usually think about it.

Things being pulled by gravity (i.e., falling) accelerate (get faster) over time.

Things that are being forced against gravity decelerate (slow down) over time.

Here’s an example: throw a ball straight up in the air as high as you can, and think about exactly what happens to that ball. There’s a burst of speed at the beginning as you throw it up, but the ball gradually slows down, stops for the tiniest moment when it reaches its highest point, and then gradually gets faster and faster as it falls down to the ground.

How is gravity involved in a windmill pitch?

Ideally, your K position should be the tallest point of your pitch. Then, you should kind of fall into the release, letting gravity help your body become naturally faster as it relaxes. Think of your arm circle like a big loop in a roller coaster: you want to peak at the top, and then pick up speed on the way down and let some natural momentum take you to the end.

Let’s look at Monica Abbott:

Notice how the top of her head gets all the way to that blue line in K position, but then she falls below it as she lands, and stays below it through the release of the ball.

Also notice how she doesn’t fall DRAMATICALLY below it. Although there is a height peak, she’s pretty level the whole time, and especially level from landing through release.

Where does this go wrong?

To simplify, Abbott’s motion goes UP, then down and straight through.

If you’re throwing high/losing speed despite tremendous effort, you might be going UP, down, UP.

There are two factors here, and you could be experiencing one or both:

• DRIVE THROUGH: You want to come pretty straight into your front leg (if you’re practicing), or along that path and then smoothly into fielding position if you’re in a game. If you find yourself losing balance at the end because you’re up on your tiptoes, you are forcing your whole body AGAINST gravity as you are releasing the ball. As we discussed earlier, forcing yourself against gravity will slow you down. You want to be speeding up as you release the ball, not slowing down. You may also have this problem if you land too low, in a lunge position, or with your drive leg semi-collapsed. If you land lower than what’s natural, you MUST get significantly taller as you drive through. Again, fighting gravity.
• ARM WHIP: You want to whip as loosely but as fast as you can down the back of the arm circle and let momentum carry your arm to the end of the throw zone (for a fastball). You will fight gravity at release if you force your arm through the throw zone and on past it. Most of the time, pitchers who do this struggle with the arm whip in general and tend to keep their arms too stiff.

How to check

If you’re not working with a pitching coach, the best way to self-check this is with an app like Coach’s Eye that allows you to draw markings on a video you take with your phone or tablet. Draw a line like in the animation above, right at the top of your head in the peak of your K position. Abbott’s video is a little angled, but perfectly to the side is the best angle for this. Then:

• Make sure you don’t come back up to that line as the ball is leaving your hand. Stop the video at release; you may naturally come back to that line as you move into a normal standing position after your follow through, and that’s ok.
• Make sure you don’t go TOO far below that line when your landing foot touches down.
• Check to make sure the line of the ball leaving your hand is about mid-thigh, like in Abbott’s delivery above.