Introduction
“Everyone knows how to throw”, I am confident that you have heard this expression many times and may in fact be a firm believer. Because of it’s almost universal acceptance very few coaches believe differently and as a result do not spend much time teaching players how to throw more effectively..
For some unknown reason, throwing is thought to be innate and everyone possesses this ability. However, throwing is a learned skill. This becomes obvious when you closely examine how most ballplayers throw. You will see major differences between them. If it was a truly innate skill we would all be able to throw in basically the same way. But because we learn differently (mainly through trial and error) we develop different ways of throwing.
The fact that many people believe that girls cannot throw the same as boys hinders progress in learning how to throw most effectively. I have worked with many girls who throw much better than some of the best boys. The problem lies in the fact that most girls have not been exposed to much throwing in their youth and never have the opportunity to develop (mainly through trial and error) the ability to throw well. But once throwing is understood it becomes relatively easy to teach one how to throw well and to become more successful in their sport. . To be an effective pitcher requires high levels of coordination coupled with ample physical ability. It is not a simple act as it may appear to be when looking at how other players throw. Because of this, pitching usually takes years to master especially in the relation of production of speed and accuracy, without which no one can ever be a successful pitcher.
In Little League play most pitchers are selected because of their ability to control the pitches. Speed is secondary since a player with great speed, but no control can never succeed..
Even though pitching is a highly complex skill most instructional books do not break the skill down into its fine points. In these books some of the movements that should be executed are described but the joint actions, the sequence of actions and the muscles that are involved in executing each movement are rarely given.
For example, it is not uncommon to see the following description: raise the front leg high, extend the arm, step into the pitch, ( take a long stride), rear back with the pitching arm, whip the arm forward, snap the wrist, turn the shoulders, release and follow through. These are general terms that can be interpreted in many different ways. They do not tell you exactly what should be done in each action.
For example, how do you accomplish a high knee? How do you extend the arm? How do you take a long stride? How do you snap the wrist? What are the actions involved? In what sequence do these actions occur? Which muscles are used to execute each of these movements. Should the shoulder turn come before the hip turn or vice versa. Should it occur simultaneously with the stride or after the stride?
These key factors are not brought out mainly because pitching has rarely been broken down into its’ fine points and taught accordingly. In fact, I have never seen a full sequential analysis of all of the joint actions involved in pitching nor have I ever seen the purpose of each of these joint actions explained and the role that each plays in the production of speed and accuracy!
Because of the lack of precise information many opinions have been expressed as to what constitutes effective pitching and how it can be improved. However, by understanding exactly what takes place it is possible to make some relatively simple modifications in throwing technique to make it much more effective.
For example, I have worked with many pitchers, including professional players, on their throwing. Once they learn how to involve the major muscles of the body together with the arm actions they are amazed at how much easier and effective the throw becomes. One pitcher summed it up well in his statement “I can’t believe I’m throwing with less effort, but yet I have greater speed.” Thus it can be with you. It is not hard, it is merely a matter of understanding what is taking place in your pitching and then taking steps to modify the pitching where needed together with improving your physical abilities. As a result you will be able to throw with maximum speed and accuracy.