This article originally appeared in Skills & Drills Newsletter, August 1996.

Pitching Practice

By Gil Arzola, Head Coach, South Central H.S., Valparaiso, Indiana

As anyone can tell you, pitchers are made in the off-season. As we approach the season, we try not to make any great changes in our pitcher's style. Because pitching is a skill, any new pitches or changes would require hours of repetition which we don't have time for and which could disrupt the habits -- good or bad -- that the pitcher has developed already. So while we may see things that could be corrected or would like our pitchers to learn another pitch, the result might be that she gets worse at everything else.

Remember that the first thing that happens whenever you correct anything is that the pitcher begins to "think" about it. She has to, because it is not a habit that she has practiced. And anytime you have to "think" in athletics you tend to do worse. All of us can think of a player that returns to her bad habits when in a pressure situation. And that is simply because she hasn't practiced the new good habits long enough to erase the bad ones.

We do, however, try to give our pitchers workouts just before and during the season that will encompass as many parts of good pitching as possible and that will, eventually, begin to teach them good habits.

First we explain to our pitchers in the simplest terms that what we want is to have no weaknesses. That is what every athlete wants to be able to succeed regardless of the competition. And that as a pitcher, in order to accomplish that, we need to have workouts that include: control, speed, and ball movement. A pitcher has to be adept at all three to be the best. Also included in the workout should be some sort of simulation since it doesn't do any good to have these strengths if you don't know when and where to use them.

Below are some of the drills we use. We try to do something from each group every practice and mix it up to avoid boredom.

Control Drills:

Target Pitching - Using the L-Countdowns: We draw a target in the shape of an L or a U on the wall and number low inside, low outside, high inside, and high outside pitches, one through four. The pitcher tries to hit each area in sequence a pre-determined number of times. She must hit one before preceding to two and so on.

High/Low, In/Out: Again using a target, one high inside, one low outside, one low inside, one high outside equals one set. Do at least five sets. Two Strike Pitching: Using a target and pitching to the pitcher's strike zone, pretend the count is 3-2 and you must hit on the L every time for a strike. Strike out 10 batters in a row.

Batter Simulation: Using a catcher who acts as an umpire, you must pitch three complete innings. Visualize the batter and do not allow the pitcher to become predictable. Change of location and speed is important as well as using movement pitches. Use these guidelines: 1. Try to get up in the count. 2. Don't be predictable.

Movement Drills:

Spin Work From A Throwing Position: We work on movement from a throwing position or with the stride already taken. This helps to isolate the arm and wrist. During these drills, regardless of the pitch we are trying to learn, we want the spin to be correct and do not expect movement right away. As long as the spin is right, eventually the ball will move.

We use a pendulum motion and work on all of our movement pitches throwing each at least 15 times for correct spin. After we've done that, we begin from a normal starting position and throw groups of each pitch 15 times. We throw in groups: rise, drop, fastball, change, ect., not, for example, 15 drops in a row so that we can "feel" the difference and learn to mix it up when we pitch.

Movement Drills - Visualization: Using a catcher, we try to get the pitcher to see the path of her pitch in her mind before throwing. For a dropball the catcher holds her glove low and face up, for a rise she holds the glove face down and high. We remind the pitcher that regardless of movement, the ball has to move out of the batter's zone. It should never end up there.

Speed Drills:

Wall Throws: Throw against a wall close up as hard as you can from a normal starting position. Throw as many pitches as you can in one minute, catching and then throwing immediately. Throw easy for two minutes to recover, then throw again hard for one minute. This drill also helps to aid in fielding balls hit right back to the pitcher.

Speed Circles: From a throwing position the pitcher makes three revolutions, releasing the ball on the third. The focus is increasing arm speed. Remind the pitcher not to tense up, stay relaxed. Do five times hard, five times easy to recover, then five times hard again.

Step Throwing: Begin with the throwing side foot back, take a step, and then throw hard. The focus here is to develop an aggressive step. Do 10 times, five times easy, then 10 times again.

After every workout throw overhand easy to recover and then stretch. We use these drills to try to keep our pitchers ready during the season. Again, we try to do at least one from each group every practice. To be a successful pitcher requires a lot of practice and repetition so don't forget to mix things up to keep your workouts interesting.