Softball Pitching Tip - Think of What to Do, Not What You Did

Guest post by Ken Krause, Life in the Fastpitch Lane blog
There is an interesting phenomenon that happens when softball pitchers are practicing their craft. Let’s say they start off fine, hitting their spots and looking very comfortable. Then it happens: a pitch goes up a little high.

No problem, the pitcher figures. I just let go a little late. Then she makes the fatal mistake: I need to let it go a little earlier.

It seems like a good idea, and the right thing to do. After all, if you went high because you let go of the last pitch too late, it makes sense that you need to let go of it earlier. Yet that way of thinking is probably going to wind up causing the next pitch to be in the dirt. Because while the core idea is correct, the solution is far too imprecise to work.

Here’s a way to visualize it. Think of a line that is four inches long. The right time to let go of the ball is at 2.5 inches from the left side. When the pitcher throws high, she releases the ball at 3 inches from the left side. If she tells herself to release earlier, she may release it at 2.5 inches. But she may also release it at 2 inches, or 1.75 inches, or 1 inch, etc.

All of those points are earlier than 3 inches, but none of them will result in the proper result. Instead, the ball is likely to come in low, or even roll its way to the plate.

Rather than thinking about earlier or later, more right or left, or anything else vague like that, what she should be thinking is exactly what she needs to do. In the real world of pitching, if she’s going high, rather than thinking earlier or later she should be thinking about releasing the ball as it passes her back leg. That is an exact spot, and one that doesn’t move.

No matter what techniques or mechanics are used for a particular pitch, each pitcher is taught a specific way of throwing it. If she has a problem, those specific techniques or mechanics are what she should return to in order to correct it. Avoid the vagaries; instead, be precise. It’s one of the keys to success.