How NOT to Pitch Like Monica Abbot

I admit - it was a bit of an attention-grabber headline. Even so, there is truth to why I would never teach a pitcher to throw like Monica.

When you watch the Olympics, and if you paid attention in class, you’ll be able to see what the pitcher is doing well. Is she doing her 5 fundamentals ? Is she executing her take away, plug, stride, arm circle and banana? If not, how is it possible this pitcher could still get to the Olympics? Should I do it that way too?

Monica Abbott does something I’d consider “mechanically incorrect.” Can you pick it out from this video? We teach players not to do this particular thing. Compare her motion with her teammate Cat Osterman.

Monica strides onto her heel, instead of stepping flatfooted or onto the ball of her foot. She even does the splits in the air! It enables her to gain a huge amount of momentum (over 70mph worth!) and deliver her pitch closer to the batter. But a less athletic or experienced pitcher would not be able to pull this off. Here’s why.

Resistance on the stride leg (pushing back against the momentum of the drive leg) is tough to do. Notice in Monica’s pitch what happens at the instant of her release point. Her stride leg pushes back against the ground her knee locks out for a moment. That’s resistance!

A less athletic pitcher who does the splits in the air tends to stride onto her heel. She will usually collapse into her stride knee, in effect making it bend. It ruins resistance and causes her to lean forward at delivery, reducing speed.

We teach pitchers to stride low and fast with a flexed but firm knee. Her push off leg drags with her. She only gets as close to the plate as her initial push off allows her. No doing the splits!

Monica is able to do the splits - I can only dream. Because of this huge stride she must land on her heel. Here's the impressive part - she's still able to resist on her front leg in spite of doing the splits. Don’t try this at home. I wonder if she had always done it that way or if she developed it over time to add stride length.

I’ll have to ask her the next time I see her at the NFCA conference.