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My
Pitching is Way Out of Control!
Fall is a great time
of the year to be working on your control, but not
in the way you might think.
Most people have
wound down their baseball playing, but the dedicated
athletes are winding up their training to prepare
for next season.
I recently received a
great question from one of the BioForce Faithful.….
“I’m
just wondering if there are drills that can help
with my control. Sometimes I struggle with
following through with my pitches and I stand
up, instead of my arm coming straight down. I am
6'1 in my senior year throwing about 86-88 but
have little or no control.
THANKS for your help”
~ J. Prescutti
There are certainly
drills a pitcher can do to work on control, but it
starts deeper than that. Let’s take a look at the
principles that affect control.
First is your energy
generation…or momentum. You need to get your body
going to the target early in your delivery. This
momentum helps your body manage the movements of
pitching…your pitching mechanics. Think about riding
a bike. The more momentum, the easier it is to
balance and make turns, etc. You can use the energy
to do something. Much like martial arts. You use
your opponents energy for yourself.
The next thing is
managing your posture. The more posture changes you
have in your delivery, the more challenging it will
be for your to find a consistent release point.
The third thing in
control is to work on your timing mechanism. You
need to be consistent with that. I could spend pages
and pages on timing.
The fourth factor in
control is your glove side. You need to be active
with it and it must stop rotating as your shoulders
square up. You body needs to go towards your glove
side, not pull your glove to your body.
One of the biggest
factors is your level of fitness. If your body can’t
handle the explosiveness, then you will not be able
to manage your body.
That is the first
step. Evaluate your body. Where are the strengths,
where are the weaknesses. And then spend the next
two to three months making them extremely strong.
All the time working on your pitching mechanics.
Need help with evaluating your mechanics? Our
How to Become a More Explosive, Athletic, and
Powerful Pitcher DVD is a great way to learn
more about pitching mechanics, tips on how to gain
velocity, and work on your control.
The drills in this
DVD are a wonderful tool. Use these drills and make
a strike zone on a wall or tarp. Stand about 20 feet
away from the target with the first drill and see
how many times you can hit the strike zone out of
ten throws. Write it down.
Position yourself
about 30 feet away from the same target with drill 2
and do the same. About 45 feet away with drill 3 and
about 60 feet away from the target with drill 4. For
the younger pitchers, I would shorten up drill 3 and
drill 4. Use these numbers as a measuring tool.
Measure every four weeks or so…after you’ve been
working your tail off the weeks in between.
Well, there’s a few
tips for you to help you with your control.
If you need any help
with the conditioning side, check out our other
DVD’s for shoulder strength and our
Pure Power DVD.
Until next time…
Train like a Champion
Today!
P.S. Here’s that link
for the
How to Become a More Explosive, Athletic, and
Powerful Pitcher DVD. Give it a try today!
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