The Pro Pitching Institute

Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Level Hips Promote Good Results

With level hips, your throwing arm and stride work together more efficiently, leading to improved accuracy and a greater consistency in throwing the ball to your target with uncanny regularity.

The Cause:

Uneven hips happen when your front heel is placed more than a baseball width away from your back heel.

Your positioning causes your front leg to naturally swing behind your front hip as you lift it and your position tilts your hips.

The Effect:

You can only throw effectively with level hips.

To achieve the level position needed for an accurate throw, uneven hips force your body to make balance adjustments.

These adjustments disrupt the natural throwing motion, affect accuracy, and hurt consistency.

The Solution:

Placing your front and back heels within a baseball width of each other encourages your front leg to lift directly towards your hip, keeps your hips level, and eliminates the need for balance adjustments.

With level hips, your throwing arm and stride work together more efficiently, leading to improved accuracy and a greater consistency in throwing the ball to your target with uncanny regularity.

In essence, starting with heels close together promotes a natural throwing motion with level hips, resulting in better throws.

Getting Your Lower Body Involved

Your level Hips promote your Throwing Action and give you exceptional command.

The Pro Pitching Institute teaches your Heels to be one baseball width apart and Hips to be level, or your instruction is free … No questions… No hassles… and no hard feelings.

Coach Skip Fast
“Command by Choice, Not by Chance”
Pro Pitching Institute
https://propitchinginginstitute.com
856-524-3248
skip@propitchinginstitute.com
#ElitebyChoice

Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Consistently Hit Your Bullseye

Your front knee staying in front of your front hip allows you to direct your glove work to fire your hips and initiates the power transfer.

Just like a balanced archer consistently hits the target, proper throwing mechanics allow you to deliver the ball with accuracy and control.

Stance & Nocking the Arrow

During your front leg lift, keeping your front knee in front of your front hip is like nocking the arrow onto the bowstring. Your stable stance allows for proper "glove work".

Drawing & Releasing

Your glove work "fires" your lower body, which then drives your throwing arm.

This sequence is similar to drawing the bowstring (using your back muscles) and then releasing it to launch the arrow.

Precise Aim

Like a skilled archer consistently hitting the target, when your front knee finishes ahead of your front hip, your glove work fires your lower body, and drives the ball into the target with "uncanny regularity."

Control & Focus

Your front knee staying in front of your front hip allows you to direct your glove work to fire your hips and initiates the power transfer.

Your entire throwing motion becomes automatic, just like a skilled archer can release the arrow almost instinctively and still hit the target.

Unbalanced & Inefficient

Any variation is like an unbalanced stance in archery. You throw off your aim and makes it difficult to nock the arrow properly.

Get Help

The Pro Pitching Institute uses the same skills to offer a course to allow you to throw with power, accuracy, and deception.

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

Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Your Shoulders Guide Produce Exceptional Location

Maintaining level shoulders allows for a consistent and well-defined path for your throwing hand to follow.

The Role of Level Shoulders

Maintaining level shoulders at the peak of your front leg lift allows your throwing hand to follow the path guided by your glove hand and ensures smoother and more controlled movement of the throwing hand.

When your throwing hand follows a well-defined path due to level shoulders, you gain greater "command" over the throw which translates to better control and placement of the ball.

Impact of Uneven Shoulders

If your shoulders are not level at your front leg lift, your body compensates for the tilt and often manifests as adjustments in your throwing arm.

The adjustments made by your throwing arm to compensate for uneven shoulders disrupt its natural throwing motion and significantly impacts on the consistency and accuracy of your throws.

Benefits of Level Shoulders

Maintaining level shoulders allows for a consistent and well-defined path for your throwing hand to follow which is guided by your glove work and leads to throws that consistently hit your target area with "uncanny regularity."

Overall takeaway

By ensuring your shoulders are level at the peak of your front leg lift, you empower your glove hand to guide your throwing hand, leading to throws that consistently hit your target.

Better Shoulder Work

The Pro Pitching Institute teaches you to begin your motion with your shoulders level … No questions… No hassles… and no hard feelings.

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

Wednesday, May 8, 2024

Narrow Footwork Builds Command

A stable base and efficient power transfer from your lower body to your throwing arm allows you to generate maximum velocity, resulting in a fastball with good zip.

Footwork plays a crucial role in setting the stage for good glove work and exceptional command.

Wide Footwork and Balance Issues

When your foot distance is too wide, most of your weight stays on your back foot. Your throwing arm "pulls" you forward to maintain balance and takes away focus from controlling the throw.

With your arm busy with balance, your glove work becomes reactive rather than proactive, follows the path of your throwing arm, and loses its ability to guide the throw precisely.

Narrow Footwork and Glove Control

By narrowing your foot distance, you establish a proper center of balance right in front of your back foot. You create a stable base freeing your throwing arm to focus on generating power and delivering the ball accurately.

Now, your active glove work can take charge. The glove initiates the throwing motion, guides your throwing arm along a predetermined path, and leads to a more controlled and precise throw.

Benefits of Proper Footwork

A stable base and efficient power transfer from your lower body to your throwing arm allows you to generate maximum velocity, resulting in a fastball with a good zip.

When your mechanics are sound and your glove work guides the throw precisely, the grip you use on the ball becomes the primary factor dictating its movement (curveball, slider, etc.).

Better Balance

The Pro Pitching Institute teaches you to begin your motion with your Feet close together, or your instruction is free … No questions… No hassles… and no hard feelings.

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

Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Good Foot Positions and Glove Hand Movements

Your Glove Hand action shifts your Lower Body energy through your core into your throwing arm, you land your stride, and you deliver the ball to your target.

Don’t Do This

When your Foot Positioning is off, your Body moves out of balance, your Glove Work is reactionary, and your command suffers.

Your Foot Position

Your motion depends on your Foot Positioning.

The correct Foot Positioning promotes great Glove Work and exceptional command.

With your Heels in line with your target and one baseball width apart keep your motion in balance, your good Front and Back Heels promote your Glove Hands and give you good posture.

Your Glove Work

Your Glove Hands maintain your balance, and your balance produces your location.

Your Glove Hand moves out and in from your body and, most importantly, your Glove Work causes your Lower Body to open and land your stride.

Your Throwing Action

Your Glove Hand action shifts your Lower Body energy through your core into your throwing arm, you land your stride, and you deliver the ball to your target.

Your Lower Body drives your Throwing Action, and your Throwing Action takes the ball directly to your target.

Need Your Foot Positioning?

If you want your Body to be in balance and drive your pitch, the Pro Pitching Institute can do this for you.

The Pro Pitching Institute teaches you to manage your Lower Body … No questions… No hassles… and no hard feelings.

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

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

A Rubber Band and Pitching

Visualize "winding up" your lower body during the leg lift and then releasing that energy through your hips and core as you throw.

Rubber Bands

The concept of using your lower body to generate power in your throw is similar to the rubber band and propeller in the toy airplane.

Just like the rubber band stores potential energy that's released to spin the propeller, your legs, and core can be "wound up" during the pitching motion to create potential energy through hip rotation and core engagement.

In Pitching

The energy release is a smooth transfer of power that travels from the legs through the core and into the throwing arm.

Your hips forcefully rotate creating a significant amount of torque before your upper body starts its movement.

The torque generated by your hips travels up through your core and into your throwing arm and contributes to producing velocity and accuracy of your throw.

The Rubber Band Analogy

The rubber band analogy highlights the importance of using your lower body to generate power in your throw.

While the analogy simplifies the mechanics, the concept of storing and transferring energy is relevant.

Working Your Motion

Visualize "winding up" your lower body during the leg lift and then releasing that energy through your hips and core as you throw.

Practice drills that emphasize leg drive, core rotation, and a smooth transfer of power from your lower body to your upper body.

The Pro Pitching Institute teaches you to manage your Lower Body … No questions… No hassles… and no hard feelings.

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

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Your Shoulders and Hips Produce Torque and Location

In a good pitching motion, your weight is centered just in front of your back foot making a sequential transfer of energy:

Bad Mechanics

When the weight is over your back leg, the hips and shoulders move together. Your hips and shoulder move as a rigid connection.

Standing on one leg, isolating hip movement, and throwing the ball don’t translate directly to your pitching motion. During the throwing motion, the weight transfer from the back leg to the front leg allows for a powerful rotation with one foot planted.

Good Mechanics

In a good pitching motion, your weight is centered just in front of your back foot making a sequential transfer of energy:

Your legs and core initiate the movement of creating power, then your hips rotate to transfer the power upwards, and, finally, the arm whips through to release the ball with “uncanny” accuracy.

During the leg swing and weight transfer, torque is generated. The back leg pushes off the ground, transfers power to the front leg, and allows for a powerful hip rotation before the upper body starts its movement.

Proper lower body mechanics are crucial, and pitching involves a complex interplay of all body parts.

Coaching

Understanding the connection between hips and shoulders is helpful for pitching mechanics.

Finding a coach who emphasizes proper weight transfer, lower body engagement, and a smooth, coordinated throwing motion is your goal.

Want Your Lower Body to Fire?

The Pro Pitching Institute teaches you to manage your Lower Body … No questions… No hassles… and no hard feelings.

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