My Mechanics

No my times are not unlimitted they have to put the work in if they want to improve. I give them a paper of a pro pitcher who has great mechanics so they can see that too. As for you're question, I don't know how you couldn't be in the balance position that has never been a problem.

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So for example say a kid is not leading with the hip. I would then show the kid what it looks like to correctly lead with the hip.

How do you show this in a way he understands it, and will know later when he has reverted back to the old way? Will he know what has happened and how to correct it? There is much more to it than showing it to him. If showing it was the way to do this, every MLB pitcher would beseeling tapes of their motion ...slowed down from every angle...see...this is how you do it.

There is a good drill for this....you lie a 2x4 on the ground...have the student setup in the stretch position and go thru his delivery with his lead foot closed until he is just about to touch down....this allows for the hip to "lead".
This can be done with out a ball on flat surface or with a ball and the outline of the 2x4 traced in the dirt on the mound. (the drill, taken in steps right up to GAME SPEED)

Many do not see the true cause this problem. It it is often not the hip, but the lead leg & foot opening up too early.

If your method relies on you being the only one who can see and diagnose the problem, your students will have a lot of problems come game day. We all know athletes in any sport have to put in quality practice time when their instructors are not present. You have to provide some way for him to understand what the faults are, and how to correct them on his own.
You stated "Then he would do tons of repetitons till he gets it."....your willing to spend hour after hour after hour with each student until he "gets it" ? How much are you charging per hour ? What happens to the next scheduled student if the first does not "get it"?

You only "get it" after hours of repetiton then having confidence to perform it correctly in a real game.

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As for you're question, I don't know how you couldn't be in the balance position that has never been a problem.

TY, all I needed to know. You can not possibly be teaching from the beginning.

I have never seen a kid who is just starting to learn pitching that gets to balance correctly.

It is one of the first things most pitching instructors ask a student to do. Even advanced ones. About a year and a half ago, John Tudor
was asked to come by and look at a young minor league pitcher who was working out at the same facilty that my son was at. This pitcher was a lefty as is my son, so we were standing on the side taking this all in. Balance was a key part of the discussion. Mr Tudor watch him throw some pitches, then asked him to hold balance for for a one count then throw for 5 straight pitches. Then resume his delivery.
It was interesting to watch this exchange between profession pitchers. And some thing we all take for granted like balance was a big part of it.

Young pitchers have a problem with getting there and need to understand and feel that position. All you have to do is ask them to go from the stretch to balance and hold it. They wont be able to because they are not balanced. If you can not get balanced first, anything else is a waste of time.

NHFundamentalsDad, you're making this harder then it really is. My take on drills again for you is after identifying the specific fault, I have my pitchers pitch from the mound, and we focus on that specific item only (such as not opening up early, etc). We continue to work on this specific item until the pitcher fixes the problem, and re-trains his body to do this automatically. This takes a bit of time, but I have seen very good results. That is how I do it, the only drill I might do with young pitchers is pitching backwards.

Busta,


LOL...to each his own then....

I could not recommend your approach though, but good luck to you

Whatever works for someone I guess. But if my approach wasn't working I would fine something that would work but that's not the case. Good Luck with you're drills.

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Many do not see the true cause this problem.

Biggest problem I see from most inexperienced instructors is this approach. Another peeve of mine is telling a player, you are doing this and need to do that. They teach that way and never explain why. many times they are addressing the symptom, not the cause.

I edited my post to reflect my point. Wasn't really talking about the techniques so much as the teaching style.

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Many do not see the true cause this problem. It it is often not the hip, but the lead leg & foot opening up too early.

Wow you guys don't even know what I'm talking about. I was referring to after the pitcher comes down from his balance you need to lead with your hip instead of the front shoulder. Duh the cause of the hip opening too early is the foot turning too early indicating early hip rotation.

Boy, while I was outside all day working with pitchers you guys sure did some work here.

Though this issue took place several posts ago, I find that the many variations of the towel drill are fabulous in teaching pitchers; there are several benefits to working on the towel drill.

Bustamove,what do you do to drive the hips towards the plate first? How do you do it?

Bighit, As the leg is coming down from the balance you lead with the hip (look at ML pitchers they all do it) instead of the front shoulder. That will allow your head to be in proper position at landing.

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Bighit, As the leg is coming down from the balance you lead with the hip (look at ML pitchers they all do it) instead of the front shoulder. That will allow your head to be in proper position at landing.

But, how do you teach it? What do you tell the player? How do you get them to do it? I don't think you can teach it?

It is just me, or many here. But I certainly can tell when I'm reading someones post who gets all their info from the internet or a set of video tapes. I believe we should just let them spout off so we can go on helping those that ask.
Hoovedawg, the towel drill can be used to help you check if you're releasing the ball directly toward the plate. The towel should also snap as the snapping action will give your fastball more backspin. I have seen young pitchers release the ball with a locked wrist.
We used the towel for all players and it really helped Of'ers with the problem of tailing.

Bighit,I tell the player if he is not leading with the hip his head will be out in front of the line between his nose and bellybutton and that will cost him power. My pitchers are not blind so they can see me when I show them what happens and they see a major league player doing it because I give them that too.

If you show me and I still can't quite get it, how would you approach teaching me? Would you just tell me to get it? Would you teach me how to make that move happen physically? How would you do that? Telling someone that theey are doing it wrong and need to do it this way, then showing a ML'er doing it is useless if the player is struggling to get it. At that point you have to start teaching the movement. Wouldn't you agree? How would you teach me? What movements make the hip lead?

Busta I know you believe the trash you spew here and I couldn't careless if it weren't for the fact that you are teaching it to very young pitchers.
You are obviously in an aerea were they don't haVE ACCESS TO QUALITY COACHING. Your idea of success with your pitchers means what exactly ?

BobbleheadDoll, I don't know why you would call my stuff trash. Just because you don't agree with me doesn't give you the right to call it "trash". My successful pitcher would have great mechanics which will allow him to throw the ball with maximum velocity and pinpoint control. Also being able to hit the outside corner 8-10 times (that being the highest level)and also inside corner in on the hands. Also have a great knowledge of what his pitching strategy is going to be which I will go over with. And finally having mental toughness on the mound.

Sounds perfect-- Too much ego and no substance.

You are dreaming in techno color.

What kind of an adult would advocate doing exactly the opposite to almost 100% of pro advicw ?
How old are the children you say you have been coaching for a couple of months ?
Where did you get your training ? Are you a volunteer with good intentions but no knowlege of what you are teaching ?
You have not said anything in your posts that indicates you have even a rudimentary grasp of pitching.
If you want to coach learn about what you are teaching before you instruct young kids.
Everyone on this site learned what they know from experiences. I would check your sources if you think you know anything about pitching.

Bustamove, you don't have an answer. I.E. you don't know the answer. We do!

Wow I'm done answering any questions about my coaching. I know how to coach pitchers and I trust my knowledge in pitching. You guys don't know the answers nobody knows, even I don't know everything. Everybody can learn more and that is why I came to this site. But some of the info was not good advice. Like I've said before you guys are just mad I know more but won't admit it. You're guys ego is huge and you act like you own the site.

Bobblehead, Why always trust what the pros do? Do you think pitching has improved in the last 20 years? No it hasn't and that's why I am against some of the things you guys are advicating. You sound like somebody who listens to a past coach and think you know it all just cause you listened to a former pro coach. Hate to break it too you but even pro coaches aren't that good anymore.

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Wow I'm done answering any questions about my coaching. I know how to coach pitchers and I trust my knowledge in pitching. You guys don't know the answers nobody knows, even I don't know everything. Everybody can learn more and that is why I came to this site. But some of the info was not good advice. Like I've said before you guys are just mad I know more but won't admit it. You're guys ego is huge and you act like you own the site.

I agree, u don't know the answer. If you want to know it, ask. Or are you too proud? LOL Bustedmove, you want to say you know more, but will not answer questions? That really adds to your cred!

From the balance position, a pitcher must keep his chin, chest, and belt buckle over the balls of his post foot. Then he places weight on the inside of his post leg, while remaining with most of his weight on the ball of his foot to maintain balance. This allows him to to start his momentum towards the plate while driving his hip forcefully forward and maintaining his balance without his head going forward. We call it teaching.

What do you do with a talented athlete mwho doesn't understand what you teach? Call him untalented? My son would have learned nothing under you.

Bighit, You're one of the biggest jerks I've ever had to deal with in my life. I CLEARLY said I trust my pitching knowledge and know the answers. You don't so you try to come up with a backup which was horrible. LOL you missed the bighit with you're pitching knowledge.

You're questions were not even worth answering that why I didn't answer them. With an athlete if he doesn't get it I keep working with them it's called PROGRESSION. No way I give up on them but alot of them get it right away because I clearly tell them what is wrong and they identify what they are doing wrong and then work on fixing it.

I agree that you need to be balanced at the start but you also need good momentum so you get enough energy to the plate. Once you get to the balanced position it's go right from there. You focuse on leading with the hip to a side lung with the foot closed as long as possible. But you do that explosively.

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Bighit, You're one of the biggest jerks I've ever had to deal with in my life. I CLEARLY said I trust my pitching knowledge and know the answers. You don't so you try to come up with a backup which was horrible. LOL you missed the bighit with you're pitching knowledge.

Thanks for admitting that you know after I told you. This jerk will answer questions. You won't because you don't know until you are told. lol

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You're questions were not even worth answering that why I didn't answer them. With an athlete if he doesn't get it I keep working with them it's called PROGRESSION. No way I give up on them but alot of them get it right away because I clearly tell them what is wrong and they identify what they are doing wrong and then work on fixing it.

Then why didn't you give me the progression? Because you don't have a plan. You are doing this, now do that. That is not teaching it is showing. Amazing after i explained it to you that now you have some answers that still don't teach, just show. You are the worrst kind of instructor. Tell and show, no teach.

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I agree that you need to be balanced at the start but you also need good momentum so you get enough energy to the plate. Once you get to the balanced position it's go right from there. You focuse on leading with the hip to a side lung with the foot closed as long as possible. But you do that explosively.

If you read the post you would realize that the explosive action comes from the weight on the inside of the post leg to start the momentum. I kept asking you how to start the motion. you did not have an answer and after I gave it to you, you did not understand it. The reason you call me a jerk is because I bust ole bustamove every time. You say you know it all, you know rhetoric, not teaching. You do more harm than good. You are too proud to learn. Basically you know it all, you just don't know it well. If I were as ignorant as you, I would call me a jerk also just to cover my ignorance.

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Thanks for admitting that you know after I told you. This jerk will answer questions. You won't because you don't know until you are told. lol

I don't know what you're talking about. You never told me anything. Again as I said before I didn't answer the questions because they weren't worth answering.

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Then why didn't you give me the progression? Because you don't have a plan. You are doing this, now do that. That is not teaching it is showing. Amazing after i explained it to you that now you have some answers that still don't teach, just show. You are the worrst kind of instructor. Tell and show, no teach.

Isn't telling and showing teaching? If it isn't then what is teaching?

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If you read the post you would realize that the explosive action comes from the weight on the inside of the post leg to start the momentum. I kept asking you how to start the motion. you did not have an answer and after I gave it to you, you did not understand it. The reason you call me a jerk is because I bust ole bustamove every time. You say you know it all, you know rhetoric, not teaching. You do more harm than good. You are too proud to learn. Basically you know it all, you just don't know it well. If I were as ignorant as you, I would call me a jerk also just to cover my ignorance.

Weight on the inside of the post leg? What is that? How do you start the motion? Again you're questions are stupid, you start the motion by piviting to the left or right. No I called you a jerk because you tell me I have no pitching knowledge which isn't true. It's kind of hard to teach on a message board which is used for telling.

Bustamove,

I have a simple pitching question for you.

What do you teach your pitchers in the following situation:

Your team is on defense.

Situation: 1st and 2nd and zero outs....1 run game, your winning (Bunt situation).

What do you make sure your pitchers know before they throw a pitch when you have the wheel (bunt def.) on.

There are four VERY simple things they must know. What are they?

Please let Bustamove answer.

Thank You.

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Isn't telling and showing teaching? If it isn't then what is teaching?

Teaching is explaining. You don't know how.
Lots of guys can see what they don't like and say do this. Few can actually teach. This includes you.

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Weight on the inside of the post leg? What is that? How do you start the motion? Again you're questions are stupid, you start the motion by piviting to the left or right. No I called you a jerk because you tell me I have no pitching knowledge which isn't true. It's kind of hard to teach on a message board which is used for telling.

I will type slowly. To start the f o r w a r d m o t i o n, you have to drive the weight on the inside of the post leg towards the plate, while keeping the weight on the ball of the foot and keeping the balance over the ball of the foot with the chin chest and belly over the ball of the foot. That starts the motion towards the plate. You then lead with the hip until you rotate into foot plant. I wish you could make a point without calling me a jerk. It really costs you cred. It is clear that you have no clue, and now everyone can read it.

Low, that is not my area of expertise that would be the coach who runs bunt coverages.

I want my son to be coached by a guy who answers nothing and defers to the bunt coverge coach.

Bighit, again you are incorrect. What gets the back leg to the front leg is the back hip. It is not the inside of the post leg. Again I could care less what people think of me on here and I know my cred is zero, don't care because I know I'm never going to get any.

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Originally posted by Bustamove:
Low, that is not my area of expertise that would be the coach who runs bunt coverages.

Busta,

Wrong. Your job as a pitcher is to get outs. And the question I ask is only to find out your general knowledge of baseball/pitching. You better know what to tell/teach your pitchers in the above situation. Your non-answer speaks volumes....Thank you.

Yeah to get outs but not to know what coverages to be in. Low, that is head coach. My guess would be to cover the third base line and to back up 1st base.

And one need not be an "expert" in bunt coverages....common sense is required.

Do you know what a wheel is? If the answer is yes, then think about it a little, the answers will come to you.....remember I am talking about things that the pitcher HAS to know BEFORE he throws a pitch in the above situtaion.....

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Again I could care less what people think of me on here and I know my cred is zero, don't care because I know I'm never going to get any.

Don't deserve any. lol Wrong and no clue.

No I have never heard of "the wheel". I also have never seen a pitcing coach teach what bunt coverage the infield should be in.

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No I have never heard of "the wheel". I also have never seen a pitcing coach teach what bunt coverage the infield should be in.

Don't know what the wheel is? Humpin a doorknob!

Bighit, my answer is not wrong. It is right on, the back hip is what gets the pitcher off the back leg not the "inside posting leg" haha that is clueless.

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Originally posted by Bustamove:
No I have never heard of "the wheel". I also have never seen a pitcing coach teach what bunt coverage the infield should be in.

Kinda says it all.......I never said the pithing coach decides what bunt coverage to run.....show me where I said that.....