Foot Positioning and the Kinetic Chain

Foot positioning is a critical part of the kinetic chain for a consistent and accurate throw.

Improper Timing

Starting with your front foot too far forward disrupts the throwing rhythm and, to compensate, you use an exaggerated stride to shift your weight forward, which makes it challenging to locate the pitch.

Better Direction

A balanced stance, with your front foot even with your back foot, allows for an even weight distribution at the start of the throw, leading to better control over the ball's direction.

The Glove Hand Connection

When your front foot is balanced, your glove hand staying back creates tension, builds up potential energy, and allows for a smooth transfer of energy from the lower body through the core and into the throwing arm, resulting in a more controlled and accurate throw.

Proprioception

A balanced stance allows for smooth weight transfer and proper timing with the glove hand, which is a key part of the pitcher's feel for the motion and a direct result of proprioception, the body's ability to sense its position and movement.

Pitch Smart

Consistent mechanics, facilitated by proper front foot positioning, lead to throws that consistently hit your target.

We're so confident in our instructions that, if we can't help you get the ball to your target, via live or zoom instruction, your instruction is FREE, no questions asked.

Coach Skip Fast
Pro Pitching Institute
https://propitchinginginstitute.com
856-524-3248
#ElitebyChoice

Copyright © 2025, Pro Pitching Institute.

Kinetic Chain and Proper Back Knee Positioning

The sequence of body segments and joints that work together to generate and transfer force signifies the importance of the kinetic chain.

Improper Back Knee Position Disrupts the Kinetic Chain

When your back knee is ahead of or directly over your back foot, your body tilts.

To regain balance, you change your head position as you lift your front leg, which disrupts the coordination between your upper and lower body.

You lose control of your glove work and lower body movement, and your lower body cannot contribute efficiently to the throw.

Proper Back Knee Position Optimizes the Kinetic Chain

With your back knee positioned slightly to the side of your back foot, at second base, your weight distribution remains centered, your body stays balanced, and you prevent tilting.

Your glove hand transfers energy from your lower body through your core and into your throwing arm.

This allows your lower body to pull your throwing arm into the throwing motion effectively, facilitates a proper back knee position, and leads to more accurate throws.

Pitch Smart

Consistent mechanics, facilitated by proper back knee positioning, lead to throws that consistently hit your target.

We're so confident in our instructions that, if we can't help you get the ball to your target, via live or zoom instruction, your instruction is FREE, no questions asked.

Coach Skip Fast
Pro Pitching Institute
“Unleashing Lower Body Power Through Proprioception”
https://propitchinginginstitute.com
856-524-3248
skip@propitchinginstitute.com
#ElitebyChoice

Copyright © 2025, Pro Pitching Institute.

Unleashing Your Pitching Power: The Kinetic Chain

 

Optimal Lower Body Loading

Positioning the "back knee behind your back foot" during the bent-knee stance creates a powerful coil, storing elastic potential energy, which is the very first and most potent link in the kinetic chain.

Efficient Linear Momentum Generation

The subsequent "leg movement" (the drive off the loaded back leg) efficiently translates this stored energy into linear momentum, propelling the body powerfully towards the target.

Hip-Driven Rotation

The front foot's positioning facilitates powerful and sequential hip rotation, ensures the larger, slower segments initiate the rotational transfer of energy.

Glove Arm as an Accelerator

The lower body movement prompts your glove arm to initiate the throwing action, creating a counter-rotation that rapidly accelerates the torso and efficiently transfers energy to the throwing arm.

Synergistic Energy Transfer

Linear momentum from the stride, rotational energy from the hips and core, all combine to maximize the energy transferred to the throwing arm, creating a powerful "whip."

Pitch Smart

The highly efficient and synchronized energy transfer achieved by this footwork, forces are consistently channeled directly towards the target and predictability leads to "uncanny regularity" in ball location.

We're so confident in our instructions that, if we can't help you get the ball to your target, via live or zoom instruction, your instruction is FREE, no questions asked.

Coach Skip Fast
Pro Pitching Institute
“Unleashing Lower Body Power Through Proprioception”
https://propitchinginginstitute.com
856-524-3248
skip@propitchinginstitute.com
#ElitebyChoice

Copyright © 2025, Pro Pitching Institute.

Your Glove Hand: The Proprioceptive Key to Pitching Accuracy

The critical role of proper glove hand movement in achieving accurate throws is linked directly to proprioception.

Awareness and Control

Your glove hand is constantly receiving information from the muscles, tendons, and joints of your glove arm allowing for precise position, movement, and the tension without your mind having to look for it.

Guiding Mechanism

Your brain uses the proprioceptive input from the glove arm to make fine-tuned adjustments, ensuring it moves in a coordinated way to lead the throwing arm.

Without this proprioceptive awareness, the glove hand's movement would be erratic and ineffective as a guide.

Feeling the Connection

Good pitchers feel the connection between their glove hand and throwing hand and this feel is proprioceptive; it's the internal sense of how the two arms are working together in sync.

Pitch Smart

Proper glove hand movement is not just an aesthetic part of pitching; it relies heavily on proprioception.

Your glove arm acts as an initiator of the throwing sequence, a guide for the throwing arm, and a mechanism for transferring and directing energy generated by the lower body and core towards the target.

We're so confident in our instructions that, if we can't help you get the ball to your target via live or zoom instruction, your instruction is FREE, no questions asked.

Coach Skip Fast
Pro Pitching Institute
“Unleashing Lower Body Power Through Proprioception”
https://propitchinginginstitute.com
856-524-3248
skip@propitchinginstitute.com
#ElitebyChoice

Copyright © 2025, Pro Pitching Institute.