One of the most common problems with the screwball (once it begins to move) is that it starts too far inside and the breaks off the plate. This is usually caused by an arm circle that stays outside of the throwing hand hip instead of getting across the body more.

Still, you can talk about it all you want, but it’s often difficult for the pitcher to understand exactly what this means. Here’s a way to help make the point.

Have the pitcher stand over the plate, with her pivot foot aligned with the center of the plate and the stride foot slightly offset as Meaghan is showing here. Then have her hang her arm straight down, outside of her hip. From here she can see why the ball is starting so far inside.


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The ball is starting on the inside of the plate,
and has nowhere to go but further inside.

Now look at the second picture. Meaghan has her elbow inside of her hip, and the ball is over the center of the plate. This position will allow her to start the ball down the middle, where it can break over the inside corner.


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The ball is now over the center (more or less).

One last point. In order to get it to this position, it helps to offset the arm circle so it moves from pitching hand side toward the glove side, much as you would do for an outside fastball. If you align the circle straight down center it is difficult to reach this position, and thus difficult to throw this pitch for a strike.

One of the challenges teaching pitching to younger girls is getting them the idea of moving quickly when delivering the pitch.

I recently ran into that challenge and found a new way to explain what I was looking for. I asked each pitcher if she had ever played the game of “hot potato.” They all had, so I explained it this way. From the time you begin moving forward, you are playing hot potato. You need to get rid of the ball as fast as you can or else risk getting stuck and being eliminated from the game.

It seemed to work, as each of them picked up the pace after we discussed it.

(By the way, for those few who aren’t familiar with the game, you have the participants sit in a circle and hand a potato to one of them. You start the music, or a timer, and the player with the potato tosses or passes it to someone else in the circle. You keep going until the music stops. The person holding the potato is then eliminated. You keep doing this until there is a winner. The game definitely encourages everyone to move quickly, and get rid of the ball as fast as you can.

Mike Hanscom was looking for a way to exchange drills, so I have started a series of posts in various areas (which should make them more searchable down the line).

If you have a favorite pitch drill you’d like to share, please leave a comment. Thanks!

This post is somewhat of an excerpt from my latest Softball Magazine column. I say somewhat because while the general information is the same it’s a rewrite for this format.

One of the keys to learning how to throw the backhand change is making sure the ball/hand hits a stopping point before the ball comes out. That momentary hesitation in the ball’s forward progress allows you to maintain arm speed throughout the motion, yet still get a roughly 15 mph drop in speed.

Consider it this way. Suppose I tie a 30 foot rope around your waist and tell you to start running as fast as you can. If I let go after you’ve run 10 feet nothing will happen. You’ll keep running. But if I hold it until you reach 30 feet, let it tighten momentarily, then let go, you will stumble forward slowly.

In order to achieve that momentary hesitation the arm has to reach an end point. That means keeping your front shoulder in until after release, because if the shoulder flies out the hand will keep moving as you release and you won’t take off enough speed. Getting the feel of it can be tough, though, so here’s a drill to learn to get the feel.

Have a partner stand facing you. Stick your glove arm out toward him/her and have the partner grab your wrist. Then bring your arm down and throw underneath your glove arm with a normal motion. Having the partner hold your wrist will keep the front shoulder in, helping you achieve the stop of the hand’s forward progress.

As the next step you can do the drill without the partner, just holding your arm out yourself. It won’t be long until you get the feel and can throw a great change from the regular pitching position.

Editor’s note: The drill is still valid, but this is a really old picture. Both of the kids are in their mid-to-late 20s now. Kind of fun to bring it back.

Bill Hillhouse has a great article up on his Web site about pitchers and pitching coaches. One of the important points he makes is that there are players who want to say they go to “so-and-so” pitching coach, but they never put in the work to learn how to actually learn how to pitch.

While it’s important to go to a good, knowledgeable coach, it’s not enough. You have to be willing to put in the work and do what the coach tells you, because you’re the one who will be in the circle when the pressure is on. In other words, it doesn’t matter how much the coach knows. It only matters if you follow what he/she says. Even the best pitching coaches can’t do it for you.

Parents have a part in this too. If you’re paying good money for a pitching coach, make sure you get the value out of it. Listen to what he/she says and make sure your player is following that advice and working at the right things. Otherwise you’re just throwing your money and time away.