Timing & Take Off
Pre Pitch Rules 1
Pre-Pitch Rules:
Pitchers must take their sign from the mound, and not before stepping on the mound.
The pitcher must assume the pitching position with the ball in either hand with the hands separated. Stepping on the pitching plate with your hands together is a violation. While legally on the pitching plate putting your hands together and then separating them without without the simultaneous delivery of the pitch is a violation. When you separate your hands at any time it must be simulations with starting the pitch or it is a violation. After separating your hands and starting your motion it is a violation if you make a second touch, and separation, as part of your delivery.
The pivot foot must remain in contact with the pitching plate to begin the pitch. Breaking contact with the pitching plate, if not simultaneous with the delivery, constitutes a step and is a violation.
Pitchers must have their feet set before starting their wind-up. You may set your stride leg as far back behind you as you like, but you may not step backwards or move the stride leg in any way that is not a step forward while beginning the pitch.
Pre Pitch Rules 2
Pre-Pitch Rules:
Pitchers must take their sign from the mound, and not before stepping on the mound.
The pitcher must assume the pitching position with the ball in either hand with the hands separated. Stepping on the pitching plate with your hands together is a violation. While legally on the pitching plate putting your hands together and then separating them without without the simultaneous delivery of the pitch is a violation. When you separate your hands at any time it must be simulations with starting the pitch or it is a violation. After separating your hands and starting your motion it is a violation if you make a second touch, and separation, as part of your delivery.
The pivot foot must remain in contact with the pitching plate to begin the pitch. Breaking contact with the pitching plate, if not simultaneous with the delivery, constitutes a step and is a violation.
Pitchers must have their feet set before starting their wind-up. You may set your stride leg as far back behind you as you like, but you may not step backwards or move the stride leg in any way that is not a step forward while beginning the pitch.
Setting Up on the Mound
Ideal foot spacing is about one shoe space front to back. You want your feet spaced in a way that allows you to jump off the mound. If the stride leg is too far back, it slows down our ability to launch because it takes so long to move the stride leg out in front. Up Leg pitchers do better with their feet closer (Front to back), and down leg pitchers can get away with having feet a little farther apart (front to back). Experiment with your foot spacing and see what feels most comfortable for you.
Both heels should be in line with the head, with one or both feet pointed toes outward either before we start our wind up or as we start our wind-up. (See curtsy foot placement explanation in ‘Warm Up Drills’ or in ‘Body Orientation’).
Two Main Checkpoints
The two main check points we look for in our pitch are:
Getting onto the balance point or getting into a running position at the back of our backswing or load.
Separation, where the body is stretched out from ball hand to landing foot. This shows that our body is balanced and counter rotating. We need the ball arm to go all the way back which will put the stride leg all the way forward.
Experiment with Take Off
Take Off 1: Start with all weight back - standing over back leg (stride leg)
Take Off 2: Starting a little more squatted on the balls of the feet.
Take Off 3: Rocking back take off.
Types of Take Offs
It is incredibly important to experiment with your back swing and find what works best for you. We see many types of take offs and back swings among elite pitchers, but after the take off all elite pitchers hit the same points as far as timing and rotations.
Find Your Perfect Back Swing
Types of Back Swings:
No back swing: Drop/push arms down in front of you as legs start to jump forward.
Side Tuck: Drive throwing elbow back while hips and knees drop down (this very much looks like a running take off).
Circular Side Tuck: A more fluid and loopy movement with the elbow tucking back.
Two Arm back-swing: (keep in mind, both arms won’t be able to swing back the same amount. Usually the ball arm swings back more and the glove arm bends a bit).
One Arm Back Swing: Ball arm swings back while the glove goes across to the opposite hip or knee.
Both Elbows Swing back: Both elbows drive backwards at the same time on either side of the body.
BELOW ARE VIDEOS EXPLAINING ALL OF THE ABOVE BACK SWINGS - TRY ALL AND SEE WHAT YOU LIKE BEST.
No Back Swing
Elbow Tuck
Elbow Tuck 2
Both Elbows Back Swing
Rock Back Two Arm Back Swing
Glove Elbow Back Throwing Arm Back
Glove Down Back Swing
Hitting Your Hip Issues 1
Pitchers should not experience forearm contact on their hip when they pitch. There is such a thing as “brush contact”, where the upper arm (bicep/tricep) will roll around the rib cage on release. This is perfectly healthy, common, and does not hurt or cause injury.
Reasons a pitcher will hit their hip with their forearm:
Take off timing is off - as previously explained, the arm should not go forward out in front of the body in our take off until the drag leg hip gets in front of the drag leg knee (same thing we see when someone is running). Simply put, the arms are going too soon. We want the hips to rotate first and pull the arms, not reach or lift the arms.
Having “Reach/Pull” mechanics - Reaching the glove side of the body out in front and then pulling our ball and drag side through, crashing into our front side. Instead, we need to have a rotational movement forward.
Reaching forward with the legs, which can cause the drag leg to get stuck behind the body and not come through all the way. When this happens, the drag leg can get in the way of the arm on release, causing unwanted hitting on the hip.