Orion Hunter and Virginia Lady Eagles announce that Mr Tim will be their contracted pitching instructor....fully funded  

Home
Lessons
LOG-ON
How to Sign up
Memberships
Pitch a Fit Staff
Area Teams Notes
Grips
Drill Page
Champions Page
Mr. Tim Articles
Weighted Ball Routine

 STAFF CALENDAR

 

                    
                     
                    
THIS PAGE IS
UNDER RECONSTRUCT...(7/12/08)

Oh! How we wrist snap wrong

We should all train to win and not train to lose.  The very basic pitching drill of fastpitch is the wrist snap drill.  Too many times it is done incorrectly, and in many different variations and techniques.  In Pitch a Fit, we conduct our wrist snap drill as though we are pitching it in a game.  We snap off the back of our leg while in line and the front foot at the correct angle.

 Make sure that the ball in in the power line and not behind the back leg, and by all means....get the glove out of the way.  The catcher should be 10 or so feet away and the the wrist should be the make attention mechanics to concentrate on. The hand should be behind the ball in a balanced grip.

 

Use a good four seam grip and start your snap prior to the release point.  Don't snap it in the middle of your body.  Practice releasing the ball where it will be done in the game...and that is at the back of the leg.  The ball needs to be end over end and with a tight spin.  A stripe ball works great here.  This may seem like a very basic drill, but if done incorrectly, it could cause you problems in the future with your pitch.  Next time you watch your pitcher do this drill, see if she is training to win or training to lose. 

Pitch a Fit FastPitch
CAPAY (K-Pay) Stick

Conquer All Pressure Against Yourself

This old drill has been dusted off and put back into use.  Great for a change in pace, and  a little competition.  We place the CAPAY stick on the outside corner of the plate, knee high and challenge the pitchers to hit the ball off the top.  We give them 50 pitches, with some "not so good" balls and keep score.  1 point for hitting the CAPAY stick, 3 for hitting the ball, and 5 for hitting the ball and leaving the CAPAY stick standing.  It is harder than it looks, and is a great way to get a little more focus out of your pitcher.  You will not find a CAPAY ( our name we gave it) in the store, it was something we constructed on our own.  You can substitute a Tee or orange cone in place of a CAPAY.  Good luck and have some fun.

WHAT IS IN YOUR BAG?

 
Mr. Tim's Pitching Bag
 


Good Softballs with good seams



Stripe ball



Spinner



Weighted Softballs



Cannon Ball



Yellow Rope for Drop ball work



16 inch softball for wrist snap


Surgical tubing for wrist and leg training


Cones for stride and balance training.

I also have several other items that seem to come in handy for the pitcher that may not be prepared.  An extra pair of sunglasses, hat, fingernail clippers, small first aid kit, and a Frisbee.

J Spot Pitching  It seems that everyone has a different way to call pitch location.  Since Pitch a Fit instructs so many different players from various teams, a consistent way to call pitches was needed.  During our training we use the "J" to call and practice pitches.  The spots of the "J" focuses on the most demanding and challenging pitch locations that a pitcher will face.

J1 - High and tight (top of strike zone)
J2 - Inside waist (3-0 pitch)
J3 - Inside Knee
J4 - Over the plate low
J5 - Outside knee.  

Reverse for left-handed
We also call "out" pitches, like "J5 out"  where we will pitch just off the plate outside at the knees.