Common Mechanical Fault Reduces Velocity And Adds Stress To The Arm - Poor Weight Shift

by Dick Mills on January 18, 2010

The are many faults within a pitcher's mechanics that reduce velocity and add stress to the arm.  Poor lower body mechanics is how most force production is reduced by most Little League, high school and college pitchers.  When the lower body is not used efficiently then the pitcher's arm must do more of the work in delivering the ball. This increases the risk of arm injuries.

One of the most important aspects of producing more velocity is how the pitcher shifts his weight or how he moves his hips in the direction of the target.  This most important aspect of lower body pitching mechanics is called weight shift and may reduce pitching performance and force production as much as any single pitching fault...since it is the first action that helps produce force.

The question is often asked - how do I shift my weight.

Here is a question I got on our Member's Forums just today regarding weight shift.  

Dear Dick,

I am having trouble with the issue of moving the hip out first. It just doesn't seem natural to me, so I have trouble teaching it to my boy. I know about pushing the hip forward to make the process happen, but to do this alone is it essentially an action of rolling one's body weight more onto the inside of the post foot in order to get the hip going out?
God bless,

Jim

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Jim,

Remember that the unnatural feeling is just a product of doing something different, not something unnatural. Just something new.

Brenen

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Jim,

If you stand with your feet shoulder width apart and then shift your head back over your support leg (right leg for RH pitcher) and then are told to step directly and aggressively out to the side as far as possible onto a bent leg...what moves to the side first and what continues to move you sideways as far as possible?

When you do this what do you feel? Get in touch with the feeling.

No...you do not put the weight to the inside of the foot initially. That kills weight shift and occurs much, much later.

The whole foot pushing into the ground helps create a ground reaction force. This pushing the foot into the ground forces the back hip to do its work by contracting and pushing the hips forward while the front hip contracts to pull the leg out.

So the muscles on both sides of the hips are working.

Those who have out conditioning program should now understand why there are so many exercises that focus on sideways movement whether it's side lunges, skater lunges or side lunges up and over the box. You want both strong hips, glutes and core to do the work and to allow the body to go through a full range of motion with maximum but normal flexibility.

You have to train muscles so they get the signal when needed to automatically go to work and do their job whether it's pushing or pulling.

You need to be able to feel this action as this is critical to any throwing action.

Dick Mills

Remember..."pitchers are made in the off-season."   What are you doing right now to improve your pitching skills?

These are some of the important aspects I have been focusing on in our Explosively Pitching DVD program since 2004.  We teach parents how to help their sons use their bodies to pitch instead of just their arms. Not only does this improve velocity but reduces the risk of arm injuries.  We teach them proper conditioning.

See our Off-season discounts on our instructional DVD's:  http://www.pitching.com/products/

"I had spent several hundred dollars on a pitching coach who was leading my son down the path to ruin. He embraced every failed philosophy and technique you've identified - long toss, towel drills and more drills ad nauseum. My son's skills were deteriorating. When I found your website and read your report, I sense intuitively your words had merit and deserved further study."                                Mark Smith, Downers Grove,IL