Ah, crow hopping. This topic has been causing frustration and controversy among windmill pitchers, softball coaches, parents, and probably umpires for years. MANY pitchers—even many elite pitchers, some of whom you may have seen on television—do it, yet it’s illegal according to the rules of fastpitch softball. Over the next two posts, I’m going to talk a bit about what crow hopping is, what causes it, and how to fix it.
Read MoreI’ve heard a number of parents who are trying to teach their kids windmill pitching ask when is the appropriate age for a kid to learn movement pitches. Similarly, parents of my own students have often asked me when we will move on to something new, and the students are likewise eager to tackle this challenge. Since Coach Phil’s last two videos (which can be viewed here and here) gave an overview of how to utilize the throw zone during movement pitches, I thought today would be a good time to introduce this topic.
Read MoreForearm fire is the terminology that we at Fastpitch Power use to describe the proper release of the ball in windmill pitching. Some of you may have heard part of it referred to as “internal rotation,” describing the positioning and movement of the pitching arm, elbow, and wrist as they travel down the back side of the arm circle and move through the throw zone. It’s a natural and powerful movement, and we believe it is critical to pitching with maximum velocity and command while minimizing the chance of injury. Because forearm fire utilizes the arm’s natural articulation together with gravity, many pitchers just do it without thinking about it. For those who don’t, it can be frustrating to learn. Today’s video provides a breakdown, and an explanation of its advantages over upward elbow snap, sometimes referred to as “hello elbow.”
Read MoreToday we have another wonderful guest post from former East Coast #1 NCAA pitching recruit Jill Schonberg. Jill is going to share some important wisdom from her years of being a high level pitcher and give you some tips for how to pitch in high pressure situations. Enjoy!
Read MoreA little while ago I received an email from a Fastpitch Power reader asking for specific windmill pitching drills to address the issues of turning the load foot and dragging it during the drive-through. The reader was right; though we’ve discussed these issues at length, we’ve been a little light on info regarding how to fix them. I see more pitchers every day having problems dragging their feet, and since it’s so prevalent, I want to share my response with all of you.
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Today we are very fortunate to have the first of several guest posts from someone with a tremendous amount of firsthand experience in windmill pitching and the game of softball in general. Jillian Schonberg went to Villanova University as the number one NCAA east coast pitching recruit in 2007, and now she’s a physical therapy graduate student at Harcum College. You’ll hear us talk a lot at Fastpitch Power about how we don’t like to teach “tricks,” but rather we insist on proper, healthy mechanics and hard work, even if it takes longer to get where you want to be. Nonetheless, there IS one thing you can have that can make just about any pitcher noticeably better without changing anything else: a fabulous catcher. A good catcher is invaluable to a pitcher, and a good pitcher-catcher relationship is integral to the success of a team. Jillian is going to share her wisdom on the subject.
Read MoreAcceleration in the windmill pitching motion is critical to the success of the pitch. It’s logical: if you’re not accelerating your arm at delivery, you will not release the ball with maximum speed. Despite this, so many pitchers get into the habit of slowing down or even stopping their hands at the delivery of the pitch, resulting in compromised velocity and accuracy.
Read MoreI try, as often as possible, to attend softball tournaments where our students are performing in game situations. In doing so, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend, prevalent at the NCAA level, that is now filtering down to younger and younger pitchers: The reluctance to throw fastballs. No doubt learning to throw movement and off-speed pitches is a critical component of any pitcher’s development. But let’s take a closer look at what I believe is a serious case of “throwing the baby out with the bath water.”
Read MoreOver the past few weeks I’ve begun participating in discussions on the message board DiscussFastpitch.com, which is a general gathering place for players, parents, coaches, and enthusiasts of fastpitch softball. One of the topics that came up recently was the difference in a specific young pitcher’s performance in games and team practices versus lessons with her pitching coach. In the latter, she had been quite good, while in the former situations she had been struggling, with a noticeable change in her mechanics. This is something that affects a huge number of pitchers, so I thought it was important to write about it. Nerves can certainly affect a pitcher’s performance, and different people have nervous reactions to a wide variety of different stimuli. But sometimes a pitcher might not even feel any anxiety or sense of pressure whatsoever, and yet she still sees changes in her performance when a batter steps into the box. Today I’d like to share some suggestions for how to deal with this situation.
Read MoreThe drive-through is an extremely important component of windmill pitching mechanics. It’s one of your biggest sources of power as a pitcher, and it can also be your biggest reason for losing power if you’re not doing it optimally. Throughout our years of teaching and watching softball tournaments of all levels in person and on television, we’ve seen a lot of leg work that, well, needs work. There really is one way to optimize your drive-through and get the most out of your legs when you pitch for maximum power and injury prevention. In this video, I’ll demonstrate those mechanics.
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