Staying back drills

#1

I purchased the Tuff Cuff program recently for my son. My son turned 16 in August. He is a 6’2” right handed pitcher and has a “live” arm. When he pitches, he has a tendency to let the upper part of his body and his head drift forward somewhat rather than “staying back.” His fastball currently tops out at 88mph and he has been told that if he can manage to master “staying back” as part of his pitching mechanics he should be able to add more velocity to his pitches along with making them more effective. Do you have any drills or have some ideas that he could incorporate into his routine, practice, etc. that would enable him to master this. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your help.

P.S. Love the program!

#2

Tom,

The best bet would be for you to post video of your son on this website. “Staying back” is a very vague and general pitching term thrown out there by pitching coaches.

#3

One of the biggest things is simply training the first movement forward to be with your front hip. If there was a brick wall 6 inches in front of a pitcher’s body when he got to the apex of his knee lift position, the first thing to hit the wall should be the front hip. Get that movement down, and the “staying back” issue generally takes care of itself.

#4

And that’s the “Hershiser” drill, which focuses on getting the hips fully involved, and this is part of it. 8)