Beginning Windmill Pitching
Basic motion, but not advanced pitches
Most instruction is geared towards RH pitchers.
Terms:
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“Flipping” or “backspinning” the ball -- with palm up, causing the ball to underspin back to you, as if motioning someone to “come here”. Push your fingers through the ball. Maximize spinning the orb and minimize simply levitating it and throwing “knuckleballs.” Try to use only your wrist to do this, and not your entire forearm; i.e., do not contract your bicep to pull your forearm up. Only use your wrist to backspin the ball up.
•“On line” or "Powerline" -- using a straight line (imaginary or drawn on the ground for emphasis) place both feet on the line, and at the same 45-deg angle towards your catcher. Head is turned, and eyes are focused up the line towards your catcher.
•“Center-core balance” -- while on-line (with your feet placed at 45-deg angle) slightly turn your right knee in, slightly raise your right heel, and put weight on your right thigh. Stay upright – do not lean over, lean back or lean in. The knee-in will slightly open up your hips and allow your arm to circle freely without hitting your buttock on the downswing. Your center-core is your strong abs, which provides you upright stability when you pitch. For beginners it is often easier to imagine the balance and linear alignment necessary to surf, skateboard or stay on a balance beam, excepting to eliminate an over exaggerated crouch. Remember, in all cases the feet must be 45-deg to the board or the beam.
•“Step and slide” -- the practice of, while on-line, stepping up the line with your left foot and then snapping your right foot into your left foot. If either foot leaves this line, then you are sacrificing all-forward motion with some tangential motion, thus wasting some power. Also know that the pitcher cannot become airborne (both feet off the ground simultaneously). So you need to "toe-drag".
•“Striped ball” and “grip” -- use electrical tape to scribe a stripe around the ball such that you cross all four seams instead of down one of the “saddles” of the cover. Your long finger (typically) or the V between your index and long finger (its personal preference) should align on the stripe. Practice your flips and your release such that the stripe stays vertical and does not waver or rotate. This is an elemental drill all pitchers should do!
Recommended step-procedure to learning to pitch. Can also be used as a warm up sequence:
1.Assume your “power line” with “center-core” stance. Hang your arm down next to your thigh and using only your wrist, warm up at short distances by flipping the ball to your catcher. Gradually increase both distance and arm swing, but always end your pitch with your arm relatively straight down and let the wrist-flip finish delivering the ball. Try to eliminate “curling” your bicep up at finish.
2.Graduate to pointing your glove hand (up the line) at your catcher and starting a complete windmill rotation to deliver the ball. As your speed and distance increase, begin to incorporate the “step and slide” snapping of your feet together.
Ready to pitch
In a game you do not have the privilege of starting your motion “on-line” at 45-deg. You must address the catcher by facing her first.
1.Begin from behind the mound.
2.Keep the ball hand and glove hand separate (this is a rule). Look down. Then step up and place the arch of your right foot on the far right of the mound (i.e., ball of foot on dirt, heel on the rubber), and your left foot (toe) on the back of the left side of the rubber. Now look up.
3.Concurrently bring the ball and glove together, slide your right foot to the middle of the mound, and begin your rocking motion to start to pitch.
4.Turn yourself into your “on-line” alignment and begin your windmill, pushing off the rubber.
5.Stride off the mound (use back-toe drag) and remember to snap your right foot into your left, in alignment to the plate, after delivering the ball.
6.Upon receiving the ball back from the catcher, circle back behind the mound (not over it) and begin the whole process over. Like a basketball player shooting free throws, you want to create the same routine over and over.
Do’s and Don’ts
•Don’t lean back in your “step and slide.” Stay upright.
•Don’t push your butt out for balance. Stay upright.
•Don’t finish with an “arm curl” up to your chest.
• Your "step and slide" goes by many names: step and drag (your toe); step and glide; stride and glide; whatever! Just be sure to practice it as quickly as possible. Try to compress the skill into "stepanddrag" as you shoot out faster and faster, and make that back foot really snap to catch up!
•Don’t “skip” up the line; rather, be sure to slide your back foot into your front foot. If you become a successful pitcher, your parents won’t mind buying new cleats as often when you keep wearing out the toe! Of course there are products like Tuff Toe to reinforce your shoe.
•Do remember to use the “four seam” grip for normal delivery. The reason is that that is the one and only rotation (assuming only natural backspin) that will cut through the air in uniform fashion; that is, the seams will rotate in an evenly spaced sequence. Aligning the ball down the “saddle” of the cover will cause the ball to fight the air (slow) as it rotates non-uniformly down the saddle and across only two seams, which are non-uniformly spaced at that circumference.
•Always practice the flip! Be it at home, in the den with a nerf ball, snapping the ball into your glove, or standing and flipping it up and down. This is one of the single most important concepts and one you can practice in a variety of ways on your own.
Practice Drills and Tips
• Tip: think "cross the creek" -- if you were to jump across a small, 3'-wide creek, you could "long jump" or you could take a really big step. The latter is similar to the step and drag: i.e., you would lean into a really big step to the other bank and then quickly bring your back foot across too. The only real difference is that with the softball stride, you would get your back foot wet as you dragged it across!
• Tip: okay, don't like the creek concept? How about the "bowling" concept? - A bowler takes a long stride with his lead leg, then drags his back foot up and under him for balance. One, or both, of these visuals could be used to describe a young pitcher what is expected of her.
• "Basic warm-up practice" -- stay in your powerline / core-centered stance and throw windmill pitchers to your catcher, who is either standing or crouching. At this point, do not "step and drag your toe" but rather just hold the stance and practice delivering the ball in a balanced manner. Your feet should not move.
•“Three-windmill” practice – in your on-line alignment, swing once, twice, and then deliver the ball on the third windmill. This drill helps keep you in balance, and keeps the windmill motion in one vertical plane. This drill can be done either static (standing) or dynamic (stepping and gliding).
•“Slide and glide” – in your socks on a waxed wooden floor, or on the infield, practice sliding left and then reset back to the right (speed skater style). This drill enforces the step-and-slide motion. Of course, emphasis should be on the front movement more-so than the reset. Practice slapping your trailing foot into your lead foot.
•“Face-down flips” -- face down on the floor, propped up on your elbows, right palm up. Hold your right forearm down and using only your wrist, practice your ball flips and backspinning. Do this while watching TV to pass the time.
•“Pitch on the bench” – practice pitching from atop the linear length of the bench. This drill will enforce balance and the linear motion of the step-and-slide.
•“One-knee flips” – Left knee down, right knee up, and staying upright. Snap your “windmill” down such that you flip the ball under your raised leg and into your glove. This drill, if done correctly, will enforce stopping the downward motion (that’s the purpose of the upraised leg) and using the wrist only to impart the ball into your glove. Really snap it!
•“Long-toss pitching” – start at a distance greater than your league's pitching distance and practice your “on-line and center core” underhand windmills, gradually increasing to where you are challenged, but still capable of delivering the ball without bouncing it to your catcher. Really good pitchers can literally pitch from second base or even "up the line" from the outfield. This drill will increase confidence in the motion and will make pitching from 40’ or 46' seem like a handoff!
•“Step and glide ‘fives” –Practice your power line step and slides in long linear sets of five across the infield. In a strange way, it will have an “inchworm” look, as you step, then slide to catch up, then step again, across the infield, or up the first base line. Stay in your center-core, strong abs, and upright position.
•“Walk into the pitch” – an age-old pre-game warm up, this drill requires you to start a few feet behind the rubber and then take a walking start into your pitch routine. This drill helps to reinforce forward movement, a long stride, and linear movement. Of course this is not legal on the mound, as one should start (most rules require) with two feet touching the rubber.
•“Pitching discs” – are available online or at many sport stores. These are 1” rubber or plastic “doughnuts with no holes” that appear to be cut from the middle circumference of a ball, but they are of similar weight to a full ball. In the same concept that a striped ball will give feedback when thrown, so to will the disc spin in a vertical, backspun rotation when thrown correctly. Strictly for throwing practice, not meant to be hit.
