Quiz the Coach - I Need Help With My Pitching!

So ya dig sports but need some help with your game? Don't understand some of the rules of football, basketball or hockey? Got a gripe about P.E. class, skateboarders, cheerleading, coaches, or anything? Why not Quiz the Coach?

Hey Coach,
I am an excellent fastpitch player but my one weakness is accuracy of throwing. I want to make it on my school's varsity team but throwing really counts. I was wondering what I can do to help my accuracy.
fastpitch4life

Hey fastpitch4life,
If you can't throw strikes in fastpitch or softball, you're going to have a long afternoon on the mound. One thing I try to do when I'm pitching is to imagine that the center of the catcher's glove is the head of my younger sister or my most-hated high school teacher (Miss Christopherson, my math teacher, who had the worst breath and even nastier body odour).

That visual technique may not work for you, so here's a couple of other pitching drills to help you with your ailing accuracy and arm strength.

Long Toss Drill
Throw 10 balls towards the catcher from 20 feet away, concentrating on making an accurate pitch over the middle of the plate each time. Move back ten feet at a time until you are eventually throwing from the pitcher's mound (60 feet away). Once you get to the pitcher's mound, throw 20-40 hard pitches. Combining the shorter and longer distances should help you with both your accuracy and arm strength.

Wall Drill - Stand about ten feet away from a wall in your stride position (front foot towards the wall at 45 degrees, back foot at 45 degree angle as well). Throw your windmill pitch against the wall and the ball should bounce back to you, if you've throw it accurately. See how many pitches you can throw in 30 seconds, with the ball coming back to you. Every time you do the drill, see if you can get more to come back to you than the time before.

Do you need tips or advice on sports, fitness or health? Send it to the Kidzworld Coach. Keep in mind peeps, the Kidzworld Coach isn't a doctor or a professional athlete or anything like that. He's just a dude who digs sports, plays 'em and knows a lot about 'em. You should always talk to your 'rents, a doctor or your school gym teacher before starting a new sport or a new exercise.

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