A Closer Look at Forearm Fire

By Phil | June 22, 2012 |

Forearm 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.”

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Where have all the fastballs gone?

By Phil | May 25, 2012

I 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.”

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Is Your Pre-motion Hurting Your Pitch? Part 3

By Carly | May 7, 2012 |

We’re continuing our series on the pre-motion portion of the windmill pitch and the most common pre-motion issues that end up affecting the pitch negatively. Today’s topic might be a bit controversial: it’s the backswing. I’ll be honest; if it were up to us, we’d eliminate windmill pitchers’ backswings altogether. We believe they do more harm than good, and we’ll explain why in this post. That said, if you must have a backswing to pitch comfortably, you should definitely be aware of the problems that certain backswings can cause and how to keep them under control.

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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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Think Before You Mimic: What You See on TV Might Not Be So Great

By Carly | April 9, 2012 |

I’m a big baseball fan, and I’m always excited when the beginning of the baseball season comes after a long winter. What REALLY makes it feel like spring to me, however, is the start of the softball season! I love seeing NCAA softball games on ESPN, and a few have started popping up this past week. While the games are fun to watch, and you can certainly learn a lot from studying great college softball players, I’m going to issue a warning for you today: be careful what you mimic.

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