Softball Pitching Drills - How to Improve Your Accuracy

Speed is the most talked about in the  pitching circles. But we need not to  forget that you need to throw strikes (or something that looks like a strike to fool the batter) to get outs and  be successful.

Do you or your pitcher sometimes struggle to put the ball where you want it?

If so, I got two great accuracy drills for you.
 
Hit the Box. This drill is a great way to improve accuracy and ball control for pitchers. Throw uphill or a slight incline, this forces players to keep the ball down. Use a computer paper box that holds 8.5 X 11 in paper (although, any small box will work as a target). Place it on a small stool or short chair about 12 to 14 inches off the ground. Have the pitcher at the regulation distance or just slightly more and throw the ball and try to hit the box consistently. The box provides a visual "strike zone" to aim at and since this box is both narrower and smaller than the normal players’ strike zone. In addition the player can move to the right or the left a step and simulate pitching from the sides of the rubber. Have the player see if she can "strike out the batter" by hitting the box 3 out of 6 times (a full count and a 3rd strike). Any contact with the box is a strike.

Ten-Strike Game. Working on pitching accuracy can sometimes be boring, so why no turn it into a game? This game can be played with two or more pitchers and a catcher. The object of the game is to throw ten strikes. The first pitcher throws as many balls as it takes to throw ten called strikes. The next pitcher tries to beat that number by throwing fewer pitches to get to ten strikes. The catcher is the judge. A more advanced game is to count only pitches where the catcher does not have to move her glove to catch the ball. If she moves her glove, it does not count.
 

If you like drills, I've got 150 different softball pitching drills in one of my ebooks. Just click on the link to check it out.

Train hard. Play hard.

Marc

"Your Softball Peak Performance Coach"