Is Your Pre-motion Hurting Your Pitch? Part 2

By Carly | April 30, 2012 |

Welcome back to my series on the pre-motion part of the windmill pitch! I’m explaining the most common problematic pre-motion issues I’ve seen among windmill pitchers, and how those issues can set the stage for a sub-optimal pitch before the bulk of the pitching motion has even begun. In my last post, I discussed the load and the problems that can arise if you’re doing a reverse load. In this post, we’ll be talking in depth about a tiny little 3-6 inch movement in your load foot that has the power to destroy one of the most important aspects of the pitch: the drive through. Unfortunately, this is an extremely common problem. Does it affect you?

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Muscles and Exercises You Can’t Pitch Without: Part I

By Joe Bonyai | April 25, 2012 |

THIS IS WHAT YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR! Well, maybe this is just what I’ve been waiting to write. My three upcoming articles will identify how specific muscles and exercises can contribute to optimal pitching technique. For this series, I’m breaking down the windmill delivery into three general phases, for each of which strength training has different benefits: acceleration, transition, and deceleration. The first installment will review the critical mechanics of the acceleration phase.

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Is your Pre-Motion Hurting your Pitch? Part 1

By Carly | April 23, 2012 |

The very first thing you do when you set out to throw a windmill pitch is the pre-motion. Some of you may call it the wind-up, but they’re the same thing. Your pre-motion has a simple and very specific job to do: it must get you relaxed, get you loaded, and get you ready to throw the next pitch as effectively as possible. There are a number of ways in which a poor pre-motion can really diminish the effectiveness of your pitches, and in this series of posts I’m going to show you the most common ones. Unlike some other mechanical issues a windmill pitcher might have, the pre-motion is relatively easy to change with a little concentration, so I really recommend that you follow along and try to adopt these suggestions. We’re going to start with the most important aspect of the pre-motion: the load. I bet you all think you’re loading, but I guarantee some of you are not.

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The Personal Trainer’s Guide to Softball Pitching

By Joe Bonyai | April 18, 2012

If you’re a fitness professional who trains athletes, stop for a second. You don’t need new exercises, equipment, or certifications. What you DO need is to learn how to communicate what you already have to offer on your athletes’ terms . Speak their language. If you train softball pitchers, this post is exactly what you need.

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Beware of Bad Pitching Mechanics in Prominent Places!

By Carly | April 16, 2012 |

This post is somewhat in keeping with my post from last week, which explained how to be smarter about what you take from watching NCAA softball games on TV. The example I’m about to give, however, is much more specific. Actually, it’s been a pet peeve of mine for quite some time, and I’ve been looking forward to writing about it for months. There is an iconic image of a pitcher that many of you may have seen. Many of you may even see it regularly. And frankly… well, it’s awful.

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Strong Words From Bonyai #1

By Joe Bonyai | April 11, 2012

If you don’t want to lift weights, don’t play sports.
Lifting means doing squats, deadlifts, lunges, step ups, push ups, and pull ups.
If you can do more than 10 reps of an exercise you’re not lifting, you’re counting. Add weight. If you can do more than 10 pull ups, I want to see.

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