An integral part of a pitcher’s delivery is balance. You want to be balanced throughout your entire delivery, but especially during that little gathering over the rubber before you make your move towards home plate. This is called the balance point.

You don’t want to necessarily stop or lose momentum, but you do want to make sure that you are balanced, your head is positioned over the rubber and your body is in position to move in one direction towards home plate. There is a tendency for a lot of young pitchers to rush their motion towards the plate, so here is one drill to help combat that.

Start in your windup position and, as you bring your knee up to the balance point, your coach will flip you a ball. Balance with your knee up, catch the ball, regain your focus and then go through with the rest of the delivery. Repeat this multiple times until you get comfortable with reaching a balanced, strong gathering point before driving towards home plate.

Make sure to only do this drill in moderation. You don’t want to get too robotic, always stopping at the top of your delivery. If you tend to rush towards the plate a lot, this drill should help you find the feeling of balance and strength over the rubber before using your momentum towards the target.