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Pitching Mechanics - for later ...
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Weight shift and a
backwards step on the windup. |
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Weight shift on to the
pivot foot and opposite leg lifted into the air.
Proper leg stride action
to develop momentum. |
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Lead foot lands flat on
the mound, pointing directly at the plate, allowing the
body to open up properly. |
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As your arm comes
forward, the upper arm is approximately level with the
ground. |
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Snap your wrist to
release the ball, and continue controlled forward
motion.
Complete the
follow-through to end up in the ready position to field
a batted ball. |
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As your lead foot hits
the ground, continue to project your body-weight forward
while pivoting your hips and shoulders to squarely face
the plate.
At the same time, whip your throwing arm through to your
opposite knee, leading with the elbow. |
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The ready position. Feet
nearly in line, weight on the balls of your feet, knees
flexed, bent at your waist, head up, eyes fixed on the
action. |
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Although pitching is the cornerstone of the game of baseball,
we don't teach it to children under eight. It is a special
variant of the throwing skill, but the body stresses involved
are not appropriate for young arms, and we discourage anyone
from teaching TeeBall-age player to pitch.
High-level baseball players can hurl a baseball at speeds of
160 Km/h from a standing start:- compare this to an
international-standard cricket player who can only dream of
achieving such a delivery speed, even with a run-up of 30 metres
or more.
At Hills, we start players pitching when they're 10 or 11,
and restrict them to throwing only a fastball or a change-up
until they turn 14. Even then, we restrict the number of pitches
they can throw each game in the interests of injury protection.
The emphasis is always on safety. Our kids have their whole
lives to decide whether they want to chase a US professional
contract: whether they want to play the game at a local elite
level: whether they just want to play social baseball: or
whether they want to move on to another sport.
Our job is to prepare them for whatever they want to do, and
to make sure that injuries sustained before puberty are not a
factor in the decision..
| Teaching basic skills
is one of the goals of our TeeBall programme. |
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skills, because they involve fundamental body mechanics, can be taken to
any sport your child chooses later on.
TeeBall has long been
regarded as one of the best way to gain these skills at an early age. In
fact, back when baseball was a winter sport in Australia, many of our
Sheffield Shield and Test cricketers played it to hone their skills and
develop new techniques during the off-season.
All Hills clubs have at
least one accredited club official who oversees training of
parent-coaches, and who will assist in training schedules, lesson plans,
and general guidance. This accreditation involves sports science and
world's best practice in injury risk management, as well as knowledge of
the game itself.
Together with clinics
run by Hills itself for both players and coaches, your child is in good
hands. |
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