Mountain View-Los Altos Girls Softball Softball League

Pitching Resources

There are many resources available for understanding the fundamentals of fastpitch pitchers.

Recommended Books

If you prefer information in book form, perhaps the best book is Fastpitch Softball : The Windmill Pitcher by Barry Sammons. It can be purchased for less than $20. It is available through Amazon.com for less than $12.50.

Recommended CD

If you are interested in a CD on the basics of pitching, perhaps the best is the Ernie Parker CD entitled "The Ultimate Interactive Fastpitch Pitching Clinic"

Free demos of this CD can be downloaded at: http://www.mavenvideo.com/demos/demoframe.zip --- for Windows or http://www.mavenvideo.com/demos/MacFrameDemo.hqx -- for a Mac.

Recommended Videos

In a DVD or VHS format, different videos are available at http://www.mavenvideo.com/pitching.htm

Downloading Movie Clips

In addition to the CD demo above, here are some helpful clips:

Clip 1 - Teaching walking into a pitch delivery as a preparation tool

Clip 2 - Increasing the weight of a practice ball

Clip 3 - Teaching a pitcher to use her legs to a greater degree

Clip 4 - ADVANCED -- A drill to teach the riseball

Fastball Pitching Concepts

Fastball Rotation

A properly thrown fastball will have "twelve-to-six rotation." This is a reference to the 12:00 and 6:00 positions on a clock. Ideally, only after a player is able to consistently achieve this rotation should she be taught a "spin pitch" (such as a curve ball). A twelve-to-six rotation is shown by the rotating ball below:

Home Plate Pitcher

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Fastball Grip

Most pitching coaches teach that the fastball grip should be one that takes advantage of the fact that the two strongest fingers are the index and middle fingers. Two views of a fastball grip are shown below:

The grip has been described as follows:

1) Find the “C” on the ball. This means rotate the ball until you find the spot where the seams form the letter “C.”

2) Place 2 or 3 fingers across the “C” and place the thumb opposite the middle finger. More fingers allow for more control while fewer fingers allow for more speed.

3) The ball should NOT be jammed back in the palm of the hand, but held loosely in the fingers.

A common mistake by young pitchers when told this statement is to hold the ball in their fingertips. The pads of the fingers should be touching the seams while the rest of the fingers fall loosely against the ball. There should be a visible space between the thumb and forefinger.

Fastball Arm Path

Control For purposes of control, it is important that the pitcher's arm follows a "perfect circle" that is aligned with the target (the catcher). Thus, the pitching arm travels in a 360 degree circle in line with the intended direction of the pitch, allowing the shoulder to rotate fully and the arm to move straight up in front and straight down in back. As a result, the upper arm almost brushes the ear at the top of the "perfect" arm circle. For a young pitcher, it helps to remind her to "brush her hair" with the imaginary brush taped to her arm.

Fastball Release

The arm must be loose and relaxed during this entire movement. Instruct the pitcher to keep the ball out in the fingers. The ball is released at the bottom of a perfect circle with an extended arm somewhere between the hip and thigh area. The arm may brush the hip/thigh area at the bottom of the perfect circle for a good indicator of the pitcher's release area and prepares the forearm, wrist and fingers for the follow through.

Other Pitches

Because of the range of "spin pitches" and the alternatives to throwing each such pitch, an explanation of the different pitches is beyond the scope of this page. Please consider the resources recommended above, if your pitcher has reached the stage for learning spin pitches.

If you are interested in the different grips, they can be viewed at: http://www.ernieparkervideos.com/images/grips2.html and http://www.ernieparkervideos.com/images/grips3.html