Basic Pitching Mechanics You Should Know (Part II)
In Part I of Basic Pitching Mechanics You Should Know, I wrote about balance and posture ensuring that all of your momentum is going toward home plate. I also reviewed how to generate momentum to foot strike pushing off the ball of your pivot foot to start generating appropriate momentum. You cannot push off very effectively on the heel of your pivot foot. If you do, you dont generate enough power and you remain off balance making it difficult to throw strikes and putting undue stress on your throwing arm.
The next step to pitching mechanics is what is called equal and opposite. At least that is what Tom House calls it. He may have even coined the term, who knows. That means that your glove arm is a mirror image of what your throwing arm is doing. For example, if your throwing arm, at foot strike, is at a 90 degree angle, your glove arm will also be at a 90 degree angle. So, whatever your throwing arm is doing your glove arm will mirror that. You see many different styles of how to do this in my pitching mechanics e-book or the Pitching Mechanics DVD.
The problem that many coaches have when they think they are teaching proper pitching mechanics is changing a pitchers natural arm slot or movement. Dont mess with a pitchers arm slot. If they throw three-quarter arm slot, it is how they throw. Leave it alone! Not everyone is genetically capable of throwing over the top at a 90 degree angle. Most pitching coaches, even in the high school levels are still preaching the 90 degree arm slot. It is not necessary for most pitchers. In fact, most pitchers naturally throw at a three-quarter arm slot.
I was at a camp at The National Pitching Association a few years back. A group of pitching coaches and I were discussing this problem with Tom House and Tom said, Are you going to tell Randy Johnson that he is throwing the ball incorrectly because he doesn't throw at a 90 degree arm slot? What is he going to tell you if you did? I thought that was pretty funny, but what he said stayed with us.
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