Staying smooth

General Pitching Topics
#1

I think over time this is one of the things that really is hard for me to do. To stay smooth and not tighten up or anything like that just let the body drift and flow hard to the plate. Sometime the thing that makes me off balance is that I don’t stay smooth and I lean back/ point the hip to much.

I have now found a way to fix that I’m starting to learn a little bit better that when I stay smooth It gets ride of the balance problems that still come back sometimes. Even though my mechanics are 3000X’s better and more effiecent then before.

#2

can you talk a little more about what you mean by lean back/point the hip too much being a problem. i’m not clear what you are talking about.

#3

You need to stop worrying about your mechanics so much and just throw. Mechanics are for practice. I realize with your previous injury, you might be very worried about how you throw, but if you can’t because of this mental block, then it doesn’t matter.

I wouldn’t worry about it too much at this point.

I realize you really care about baseball and pitching but you need to chill.

I know…

#4

That injury was like 2 seasons ago LoL I’ve been healthy pretty much for a full year. Now It’s not that I’m worring about the mechanics I was just bringing up a point of mine it’s hard to stay smooth.

dusty delso when I Lift my Leg I stick out my hip a good amount and sometimes I lean back a little to much it’s not that bad but it happens once and a while idk really how to fix it really Sometimes just staying smooth helps.

#5

[quote=“RIstar”]That injury was like 2 seasons ago LoL I’ve been healthy pretty much for a full year. Now It’s not that I’m worring about the mechanics I was just bringing up a point of mine it’s hard to stay smooth.

dusty delso when I Lift my Leg I stick out my hip a good amount and sometimes I lean back a little to much it’s not that bad but it happens once and a while idk really how to fix it really Sometimes just staying smooth helps.[/quote]

I don’t really get what you’re trying to say.

#6

Basically he just wants to talk about himself and make everyone read about him…

At least that’s my opinion

#7

are you kidding me I have a problem with balance and was getting some advice. Wow back off me I was looking for some advice and sharing some knowledge on my problem. Lighten up people I’m not starting with you so you need to stop starting with me.

#8

Care to better describe what you’re having a problem with then?

I think I know what you’re talking bout but I could be wrong since there’s not too much to go by.

#9

Take some video of this ‘problem’ because I don’t understand what you are trying to say.

#10

I agree video would be better if you can’t describe it adequately through a post.

#11

Ok when I step back and then come forward to lift my leg I start to lift my foot while leading with my hip then I reach peak leg lift and I’m all ready moving a little out. Then I stride out and throw.

My Problem is with at peak leg leg lift when I lift my lg and point out the hip I loose balance once and awhile…

DO you get it now?

#12

you mean you fall left or right?

#13

Work on your balance then… that sounds like you’re having trouble balancing on one leg from time to time which happens to most people.

#14

sounds like your having a problem with your pivot or post foot. when you rock back and turn your pivot or back foot, sandy koufax advocates wedging the ball of your foot against the rubber so you are pushing with the ball of the foot, not the side of your foot. hook the cleat under the ball of your foot in the front edge of the rubber. the sole of your post foot will be at about a 45’ angle against the rubber. most guys place the sole of their foot flat in front of the rubber and press or push against the rubber with the side of their post foot. if you were pushing a 50 lb rock with your foot, you wouldn’t push it with the side of your foot, you would push with the ball of your foot. you get a better mechanical advantage lining the bones of the ankle up with the bones of the shin. this tranfers the force directly into the hips which is what you want to do.

when koufax worked with hershiser, he had him take the ball of his post foot cleat out of his shoe to get the feel of where the weight should go in the foot. it took hershiser about 6 weeks to learn this. it’s all in the sandy koufax: lefty’s legacy book. koufax felt this was the most important thing a pitcher needed to get right.

after you get the feel for your post foot, make sure you aren’t arching your back and leaning toward 1st base with your upper body . you can check this by opening a door 1/2 way and going through your wind up with your post foot directly infrom of the door. when you get your stride leg kee to the top of your pump, what many call balance point, your foot hips and eyes should all be lines up with the edge of the door when it is in front of you toward the plate.

now, the first move from this position toward the plate (and there are different beliefs here) is to get the hips as far in front of the back foot and shoulders as possible while maintaining balance. you post foot, hips and shoulders will form a < if you are right handed. the bottom of the < represents your foot, the middle represents your hips, and the top represents your shoulders. this puts you in a very powerful position with good mechanical leverage in the big muscles of your body.

try this if it makes sense, get the book, it talks about it in detail. i think a video clip would be very helpful. if this helps you we can continue.

#15

RIstar,

Think about why you would be leaning back. You’re doing it because you’re trying to stay balanced. The problem is you’re trying to stay balanced over a point that is too far back. Maybe you are trying to “stay back” though I think you know better. You need to trust yourself when you get yourself moving forward. Sticking the hip out is good. But don’t hold everything else back. Everything else should get going too. You need to balance over a point that is moving toward the target.

If you’ll open your mind to a drill, I would suggest the NPA’s Hershiser Drill. Stand with glove side shoulder facing a chain link fence or padded wall. Pivot foot should be two of your feet away from the fence. Cross your stride foot over in front of your pivot foot. Bend the knees slightly if necessary to get the stride foot to rest flat on the ground. Now, simply lift your knee and push your hip sideways into the fence. Keep head and shoulders slightly behind the front hip but don’t lean back too much. Trust the fence to catch you. Do this a bunch of times until you get comfortable. Then try starting the hip sooner and sooner compared to your knee lift. Eventually you should be able to get to where you start your hip toward the fence when the stride foot lifts off the ground.

#16

Roger I think I know what it is. I’m getting out to far and when I do that I start to loose my balance and lean back to re gain balance. So I try to cut down the amount I move out and start the hip out about half way. I deff know the feeling of moving the hip out I do it similer to mariano Rivera and how he does it. My focus is now on trying to keep the hip moving out and leg lift timing in sync so that I can stay more balanced over my stride.

Now with the Hershiser Drill you cross your leg over the other I made a drill that works for me lol.

1st you stand about 6-12 inches away from a wall or fence.
2nd you stand in stretch so that your front hip faces the wall so if you stride sideway’s you would hit it sideway’s
3rd Lift leg and while doing that point the hip out and hit the wall.
4th lower leg and you are done repeat.

IDk if this is a drill all ready or not but it helped me with the balance part and sync of leg and hip movement out.