What's Holding Back Your Movement Pitches?

What's Holding Back Your Movement Pitches?

Making the ball move is one thing, but making it move with late break is a whole separate animal. “Late break” means that your pitch travels straight and then changes direction very close to the hitter. About ten feet is about the standard for excellence.

You need to be able to know the truth. Was that lake break? Or was it gradually moving to one side? You don’t want to wait to find out in a game. If you haven’t seen too many pitches that actually break before, you might be judging incorrectly. You need feedback.

If your breaking balls gradually move from one side to the other, rather than late break, it is because one of the following problems:

1. Not enough rotation on your ball
2. Incorrect axis - the ball is not rotating on the correct plane
3. Incorrect body position/release point - your arm trajectory is going the opposite way of the intended ball movement.

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New Take-aways from College Coaches at the NFCA Convention

New Take-aways from College Coaches at the NFCA Convention

One take-away I got from her presentation explained the importance of the grip. Did you ever notice that when you throw a curve ball it slides out of your hand and goes straight? I know, it happens all the time!  You need to slide your thumb up on the ball and put extra pressure on your fingertips and thumb equally. Voila!

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