Baseball Pitching Drills: Pause and Balance

Not having balance in your pitching windup can lead to problems on the mound. Stand tall and deliver a powerful strike this season by incorporating this training drill into your next baseball practice.

Pitchers know that there’s more to pitching than just pulling their arms back and letting it fly without any care or thought. There’s quite a lot of balance and precision that goes into a well-crafted pitch. So, having your body in sync with itself and being able to stand tall in your windup can be very influential on your pitch’s speed and location, as well as your durability through those long innings.

“We want to really get our pitchers into the mind frame that balance is key and getting your whole body on the same page and going in the same direction is going to help you deliver a lot better of a pitch,” Champion Youth Baseball Coach Branndon Pezzelle says.

Indoor training sessions are the perfect environment for pitchers to practice their balance by using the Pause and Balance Drill. Because you aren’t wasting precious daylight, you can isolate your thoughts onto your balance and staying in sync with your body. Training this aspect of your windup is simple indoors because this drill requires little space and can be done repetitively to perfection with little outside effort.

To begin, get into your first position by taking a step away from the rubber with your front foot as if you’re looking for the catcher’s called pitch prior to becoming set.

Next, get set in your stretch for your second position.

Start your windup by bringing your knee up for your load and hold for the third position to pause and balance. You want to keep your knee high and your body locked, balancing in this crane-like position for five seconds.

Once your five seconds is up, Pezzelle says, “We’re going to get our whole body going forward, glove side up and we’re going to deliver a good pitch, and after doing that you’re going to have a much more controlled pitcher that has a lot better balance and can throw a lot longer during the game.”

Give yourself a leg up and keep your balance through your indoor baseball training sessions this year. Train with the Pause and Balance Drill to help keep a structured and strong windup all season long.

And don’t forget to practice pitcher fielding, too. Discover this Pitcher’s Fielding Drill to help improve your game even more.