365 Days to Batter Baseball - Fun and Effective Pitching Drill

Thursday Throwing Tips Providing Incentive to Change is Key to Improvement

Finding a fun and effective pitching drill, as this one, helps pitchers have success and to be willing to change their pitching mechanics. The first key is that willingness to change.

Often, baseball players change habits, only if they want to change them. Not wanting to change is often an issue with baseball players of all levels, especially when they are having some success with the way they are doing it. Players need an incentive to want to change. An effective way to facilitate this change is by having a contest, as usually kids love to compete and the incentive to win facilitates change.

Fun and effective pitching drill

Coach lines up all pitchers in a line one behind the other, after they have loosened up their arms. The first pitcher throws a pitch, after which the coach gives it a rating from one to ten, based on the pitches accuracy and the pitcher's mechanics. The coach quickly explains why the rating was what it was. For example, a pitch right down the middle, with good accuracy, may be only a seven, because the player's mechanics were sub-par, and the coach explains how the player can improve those the next time.

Another example where a player gets a seven involves the opposite scenario, as the pitchers mechanics were sound but the pitch was wild. Once again, the coach quickly explains that as he tosses the ball back and prepares for the next pitch from the following player in line.

Players add their points after each pitch. Of course, the winner is the player with the highest total after a designated number of rounds. In this way, players have incentive to change their mechanics to what the coach suggests to get higher point totals, and the possibility to win the pitching contest.

The good news is that the pitchers, who make the positive changes to better throwing mechanics with this effective pitching drill, see better results and willingly try to incorporate those changes permanently.