The other day I was working with a girl named Emily who has been a student of mine for several years. She'd always had a bit of a problem with striding off the power line, but after taking a year off from fastpitch softball it had become more of an issue.

Essentially, while she was striding off-line, she was working hard to keep her arm circle on the line. As a result she was off-balance, which affected both her control and speed. I tried a couple of things to try to get her on-track but they only had a temporary effect. Then a new cue hit me.

I told Emily to keep her bellybutton on the power line. That seemed to do the trick. Suddenly she was striding forward far more consistently, and staying in balance much better.

Once she was doing that, everything else fell into place. Her speed picked up and her accuracy improved.

If you have a pitcher who is struggling with these issues, give the bellybutton cue a try. It might just be what she needs to stay on line.