Pitchers pitch. It’s what they do. Some of them pitch until their arms fall off! And that’s the thing – there’s only so many pitches you can throw a day before you’ll wear your arm out. So that’s why one of the best ways to separate yourself from other pitchers is finding ways to improve your game – while resting your arm!
One Knee Drill
The one knee pitching drill is a great way to isolate the upper body movement of the pitch. Learning to really commit to rotating the torso and getting the shoulder down at a young age is a big leg up, and will lead to major differences in their MPH at a later age.
Your pitcher will start down with one knee right behind the other, toe and chin pointing in the same direction, forward, and the ball and glove held up right in the center of the body.
They’ll then separate out into the T position, before bringing their arm up over, launching the ball and finishing with their throwing arm outside their knee, and their head down.
Start off slow, making sure they understand the correct technique.
Now you say that sounds like any other pitching drill! That would wear my arm out with enough reps. And your right. But here’s the adjustment you can add to this or any other pitching drill to preserve your arm!
Towel Drill
The premise is simple, just like before, you get down on one knee, and bring your hands into the center of your body – but instead of a ball in your throwing hand, you’ve got a towel bunched up in your first.
You go through your wind up and throw, just like you were doing the drill with a baseball – just don’t throw the towel, and make sure it isn’t one of your Mom’s good ones!
The greatest part about this trick is that you can apply it to any pitching drill! Whether you’re teaching the changeup or showing them the technique behind the pickoff, simply sub in the towel for the baseball, and you can save your arm while still getting the intended benefits of that drill!