Track Quickly, Not Early
You must be in a tracked sideways K position to deliver the ball, but WHEN you get into that position is extremely important. More in the video!
You must be in a tracked sideways K position to deliver the ball, but WHEN you get into that position is extremely important. More in the video!
Does this mean your hands should always stay in front/middle during premotion/load rather than going to the right side?
Great question,John. In theory, bringing one’s hands to the side during the load/pre-motion phase is not a problem so long as the shoulders and hips remain square to the target until the reach/track phase. In developing pitchers and even in more advanced pitchers, however, the movement of the hands to the side often creates the tendency to track early, as I discuss in the post, resulting in a shortened or distorted circle and a sub-optimal position of the pitching hand upon landing of the stride foot. So what may work theoretically may not translate well during practical application. Some athletes may be very adept at moving from a somewhat tracked position back to a square position during the pre-motion, which is almost a necessity if you are to complete the front side of the arm circle and maintain good timing. For those athletes I say; if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But generally speaking, the simpler the movements, the more consistent the execution will be.
Please let me know what you are experiencing in this regard and I will try to answer your questions as best I can.
As the pitcher drives off mound does that mean the glove arm and ball arm shouldn’t come above their chin as they are gliding so they don’t track to early and get good distance off the mound, and right before their stide foot hits they then continue the ball arm around the hoola hoop and track quickly ?
Difficult question to answer without a visual, but I’ll give it a shot. The drive leg, stride leg, glove hand and pitching hand work together as a unit when driving off the rubber. As the drive foot pushes back on the rubber, it initiates the stride and glide action we talked about in the post. At the same time, both hands reach for the target basically covering the target as they travel together up the front side of the circle. The pitching hand will move in a continuous, accelerating circle while the glove hand will stop, still covering the target, no higher than shoulder height(except for a rise ball). Ideally, the track takes place, quickly, at the point at which both hands reach shoulder height, just before they separate. This glove hand position is critical in maintaining a balanced, vertically stacked, and tracked position which will enable the athlete to establish the “Power K” posture and throw zone necessary for consistent speed and command. The glide is essentially the initial phase of a complete and dynamic drive through. It isn’t really a separate thing. We just isolate it for instructional purposes so the student can become aware of that portion of the whole. You are correct that the track should take place quickly upon both hands reaching the chin/shoulder level. This will create a balanced posture where shoulders, hips and knees are parallel the the ground enabling the athlete to glide significantly forward prior to the track and completion of the drive through. The closer that pitcher is to the hitter when delivering the ball, the tougher she’ll be. Sorry for the long answer. I hope it answered all your concerns. Thanks for the comment.
My daughter who is a 13 year old pitcher is working on pushing harder off the plate, is she suppose to track immediately off the mound or is she suppose to track when her drag foot has finished dragging forward?
Hi Rudy – first off, it is great that your daughter is working on a more aggressive drive off the rubber. That is essential for the development of maximum power. The timing of the track should not require attention to the forward glide of the drive foot that results from ground force reaction. Rather, the track should occur around the time that both the glove and pitching hand, working together, reach the level of the team name on the front of her jersey. Up until that point, her shoulders and hips, ideally, should have remained square to the catcher. When both hands reach the letters, the track takes place quickly allowing for continuous acceleration of the pitching hand without movement off the power line/throw zone. I will try to provide a post on this subject in the near future as it will be much easier to understand visually. In the meantime, I hope that this has been helpful. Stay tuned.