Techniques for softball pitching

All softball trainers will uniformly tell you to first learn and practice, and master good pitching mechanics first and not be unduly obsessed with throwing strikes when you are beginning to learn how to pitch. Learn to do pitching right and then you can eventually add speed and also concentrate on accuracy. Please understand that pitchers who do not take adequate time to properly learn the art of pitching mechanics but begin to throw the ball expose themselves to injuries and also invariably pitch slower and with less accurately.

Any softball player learning the game must regularly indulge in jogging to ease the muscles, a few stretching exercises, overhand throws from varying distances and underhand throws from varying distances and finally full distance, full speed pitching.

Next, we need to discuss how to properly approach the pitching rubber. Most softball leagues and trainers insist girl pitchers to approach the pitching rubber from behind to prepare for a pitch. So this is possibly the right time to practice and getting used to doing it. Learn to step up to the rubber from behind, and with the ball in one hand, the glove on the other. This is called the ‘presentation’ as it indicates to the batter that you ready to pitch.

Another important factor to know is stance. Take a stance on the pitching rubber that you find comfortable. The suggested stance is to stand erect, with your feet well spread out to remain in balance, hands at your side (as stated earlier ball in one and glove on the other), and your neck and upper body muscles feeling totally relaxed. The feet must obviously be placed where the league and softball sanctioning associations require them to be.

Most trainers recommend that every pitcher must start to learn pitching by using a 4-seam grip - in other words, one that will cause the pitched ball to rotate top-to-bottom with all four seams cutting the air. For the basic 4-seam grip, place the pads of your fingers on the seams on the side of the "U" (horseshoe). After the 'Presentation' stage as mentioned earlier, most softball leagues and associations state that the ball and the glove must at least momentarily touch one another before starting the pitching motion. Those beginning to learn pitching must start with hands low, keep the ball-glove touch below the waist, and then go right directly into your backswing. You can develop a lot of extra motion into the pre-pitch routine after you gain mastery over pitching.

As a matter of fact, the speed or height of your backswing are less important at this stage and it is recommended that you do what you feel most comfortable doing. The only time arm speed matter is when it is going forward, especially during the final downswing just before releasing the ball.

The release of the ball is of paramount importance. There are several techniques to simultaneously follow as the arm swings down toward the release point - keep the wrist back, keep your arm outstretched but not stiff, avoid snapping your wrist forward at this point, keep fingers behind the ball and stay tall at the time of release. Bring your shoulders back as your pitching arm starts its final downswing toward the release point, so you can be upright and tall at the finish.