“Contact me if you can’t get your Lower Body to fire your throwing arm!” – Coach Skip Fast, 27 Year Pitching Coach

searching for your ball to go with velocity directly to the catcher’s target?

What follows are the real-life analogies to get your lower body involved in your motion.

real-life analogies

Starting Position

Core. Imagine you’re a kid on a seesaw, launching a water balloon at a target that teaches you about “Balance”, “Pushing Off”, “Transferring Energy” and “Launching the Balloon”.
Feet. Imagine you’re trying to launch a toy rocket that teaches you about “Aim Disruption” and “Proper Aim”.
Arms. Imagine you’re using a slingshot to launch a pebble that teaches you about “Stress & Injury Risk”, “Coiled Energy”, “Increased Velocity”, and “Greater Precision”.
Glove Arm. Imagines you’re trying to launch a toy trebuchet that teaches you about “Imbalance”, “Coiled Energy Release”, “Stable Base”, and “Control & Accuracy”.
Shoulders. Imagine you’re trying to launch a toy catapult that teaches you about “Disrupted Mechanics” and “Stable Base”.
Front Knee. Imagine you’re a sculptor using a giant slingshot to hurl a massive chunk of clay at a spinning pottery wheel that teaches you about “Precise Aim”, “Off-Center Throw”, “Pulling & Releasing”, “Center Hits”, and “Control & Consistency”.
Shoulder Alignment. Imagine you’re trying to launch a model sailboat with a catapult that teaches you about “Disrupted Sequence”, “Pinpoint Accuracy”, and “Power Transfer”.

Separation

Glove Arm Position. Imagine you’re a batter using a bat to hit a baseball that teaches you about “Hunched Posture & Power Loss”, “Upright Posture & Core Engagement”, and “Power Transfer”.
Throwing Motion. Imagine you’re trying to use a slingshot to launch a pebble that teaches you about “Weaker Throw”, “Direct Line”, and “Pre-positioned Knee”.
Glove Hand Movement. Imagine you’re trying to launch a model airplane with a hand launcher that teaches you about “Inconsistent Throws” and a “Strong Base”.

Throwing Action

Glove Arm Initiates a Throwing Action. Imagine you try to get a tuning fork to emit a fine tune that teaches you about “Active Glove Arm”, “Passive Glove Arm”, “Specific Frequency”, “Tuning Fork”, and “Clear Note”.
Proper Lower Body Mechanics. Imagines you’re trying to use a seesaw to launch a stuffed animal that teaches you about “Loss of Power & Control”, “Stable Base”, “Core Engagement & Power Transfer”, and “Accuracy”.
A Stable Foot Strike. Imagine you’re trying to launch a model rocket with a compressed air launcher that teaches you about “Disrupted Launch”, “Solid Base”, “Redirecting Force” and “Controlled Launch”.
Throw with Your Glove Arm. Imagine you’re trying to launch a water balloon with a giant slingshot that teaches you about “Inconsistent Throw” and “Powerful & Accurate Launch”.
Throwing Hand Near Your Body. Imagine you’re trying to launch a model airplane with a giant slingshot that teaches you about “Direct Path”, “Inefficient Path”, “Longer Trajectory”, and “Awkward Launch”.

Entire Motion

Glove Arm Alignment, Core Rotation, and Stacked Posture. Imagine you’re a firefighter using a high-powered water cannon that teaches you about “Disrupted Flow & Inaccurate Stream”, “Straight Nozzle”, “Stable Base”, and “Predictable Trajectory”.
Foot position, Stable Base, Power Transfer, and Coiling Motion. Imagine you’re trying to launch a model rocket with a compressed air cannon that teaches you about “Stable Base”, “Coiling Motion”, “Power Transfer”, “Diminished Power Transfer”, and “Accurate Launch”.
Level Shoulders, Glove-Hand Position, and Throwing Accuracy. Imagine you’re a tightrope walker carrying a long pole for balance that teaches you about “Loss of Control”. “Balance”, “Guiding Direction”, “Building Momentum”, and “Controlled Movement”.
Front Knee Slightly in Front. Imagine you’re trying to use a slingshot to launch a pebble that teaches you about “Weaker Throw”, “Direct Line”, and “Pre-positioned Knee”.
Transfer Energy Efficiently. Imagines you’re using a slingshot to launch a pebble across a river that teaches you about “Pulling Back Slingshot”, “Releasing Slingshot”, “Straight Slingshot Path”, “Controlled Launch”, “Misdirected Launch”, “Stretching Slingshot”.

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Core

Imagine you’re a kid on a seesaw, launching a water balloon at a target.

• Balance: The seesaw is naturally balanced with two seats separated by a fulcrum. You can’t push off with your legs until your front foot lift is balanced. It’s like sitting on one end and something with a completely different weight sits on the other.

• Pushing Off: Think of your lower body as the legs of the person on the seesaw. Pushing off the ground with your legs is like the person on the seesaw pushing down with their legs, creating force (energy).

• Transferring Energy: Your core acts like the central fulcrum of the seesaw where all the forces meet. The downward push from your legs, the energy, is transferred through your core just like the force from the person’s legs travels through the seesaw’s fulcrum.

• Launching the Balloon: Your throwing arm is like the person on the other end of the seesaw who rises into the air. As the energy from your legs travels through your core, it propels your throwing arm upwards (similar to throwing), allowing you to launch the water balloon (the ball) toward the target.

The Pro Pitching Institute’s Teaching Guide tells you how to easily throw with power, accuracy, and deception.

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Feet

Imagine you’re trying to launch a toy rocket.

• Aim Disruption: If your feet are too far apart, it’s like launching your rocket from an uneven, wobbly surface. Your front knee might end up behind your hip, disrupting your aim (like the rocket wobbling before launch). Your motion makes it harder to transfer all your leg power into the throw, resulting in a weaker and less accurate launch (like the rocket going off-course).

• Proper Aim: Setting your feet closer together is like having a stable launch pad. You wind up your arm (like aiming the rocket) and transfer all the power from your legs (like stomping on the launch pad) into the throw (like launching the rocket).  Like a stable launch pad helps the rocket go higher and straighter, proper foot distance allows for maximum power transfer and a more accurate throw.

The Pro Pitching Institute’s Teaching Guide tells you how easily a proper foot position allows you to throw with power, accuracy, and deception.

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The Glove Arm Initiates a Throwing Motion

Imagine you try to get a tuning fork to emit a fine tune.

Active Glove Arm: Just like striking a tuning fork, actively pulling down with your glove arm initiates the sequence of movements in your throwing motion. Your initial action sets the “tone” for the rest of the throw.

Passive Glove Arm: In contrast, a passive glove arm is like not striking the tuning fork cleanly. If your glove arm just passively follows your lower body, the timing and direction of the pull can be inconsistent. Your lack of a clear “initial vibration” disrupts the entire sequence, similar to striking the tuning fork at an awkward angle. As a result, the throwing motion becomes less controlled and accurate. It’s like the tuning fork vibrating erratically, producing an unclear or dissonant sound.

• Specific Frequency: As you describe, your initial pull from the glove arm triggers a specific sequence of body movements, including hip and torso rotation. These rotations act like the specific frequency resonating throughout the tuning fork, ensuring a smooth and efficient energy transfer.

• Tuning Fork: Your entire body, from your legs to your core and throwing arm, participates in the throwing motion and vibrates the tuning fork.

• Clear Note: When initiated by your active glove arm, the result of a well-coordinated throwing motion,  is a precise and accurate throw and is analogous to the clear and consistent “note” produced by a properly struck tuning fork.

The Pro Pitching Institute’s Teaching Guide tells you how easily your proper glove-hand action allows you to throw with power, accuracy, and deception.

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Glove Arm Alignment, Core Rotation, and Stacked Posture

Imagine you’re a firefighter using a high-powered water cannon:

Just like a well-aligned and stable water cannon allows for a powerful and predictable water stream, proper throwing mechanics allow you to transfer power efficiently and deliver the ball to your target with uncanny regularity.

• Disrupted Flow & Inaccurate Stream: If your glove arm is passive and your upper body hunches like the water cannon’s nozzle is misaligned or the hose is being kinked. The flow of water (power transfer) from the pump and the core rotation, which generates power like the pump in the cannon, is disrupted. The result is inconsistent release points (like the water stream spraying erratically) and inaccurate throws.

• Straight Nozzle: Think of your glove arm as the handle and nozzle of the water cannon. When you keep your glove arm aligned with your core, it’s like keeping the nozzle of the cannon straight. You get an optimal water flow (power transfer) from the powerful pump (your lower body) through the hose (your core) and out the nozzle (your throwing arm).

• Stable Base: A stacked posture, where your body is in a vertical line, has a stable base for the water cannon. Just like a wide stance can make it harder to aim the cannon precisely, a hunched posture makes it difficult to maintain a consistent throwing plane. A stacked posture provides a strong foundation for aiming the throw accurately.

• Predictable Trajectory: With a stacked posture and a straight nozzle (aligned glove arm), you have a clearer sense of where the water stream will go (similar to a clearer sense of where the ball will end up).

The Pro Pitching Institute’s Teaching Guide tells you how easily your glove-hand alignment, core rotation, and posture allow you to throw with power, accuracy, and deception.

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Proper Lower Body Mechanics

Imagine you’re trying to use a seesaw to launch a stuffed animal:

• Loss of Power & Control: When your heels are too wide, your front knee tracks behind your front hip.

  • Imagine the seesaw fulcrum being very wide. Your fulcrum makes it harder to control the movement of the seesaw’s ends, similar to how a wide stance with heels far apart makes it harder to control your lower body rotation. The loss of leverage and control disrupts power transfer from your legs to your throwing arm, resulting in a weak and less controlled delivery, just like a weak push on a wide seesaw wouldn’t launch the stuffed animal very far.

• Stable Base: Think of your feet as the seesaw’s fulcrum (the point where it pivots). When you keep your feet closer together, you have a narrower fulcrum on the seesaw. Your narrow base helps ensure your front knee stays in front of your front hip, similar to how a narrower fulcrum allows for a more controlled movement of the seesaw’s ends. This positioning allows for better leverage and rotation in your lower body, just like a well-positioned seesaw allows for a powerful push.

• Core Engagement & Power Transfer: With the front knee properly positioned in front of your hip, your core muscles can engage more effectively.

  • Imagine the person sitting on the seesaw as your core muscles. A well-positioned front knee allows them to push down on the seesaw with greater leverage translating to your core muscles transferring more power to the ball.

• Accuracy: Your base plays a significant role in setting you up for accurate throws. Your base is like the starting position of the person on the seesaw. A narrower stance with feet closer together allows for more control over the seesaw’s movement, similar to how your base helps you control the ball with uncanny regularity.

The Pro Pitching Institute’s Teaching Guide tells you how easily your lower body mechanics allow you to throw with power, accuracy, and deception.

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Shoulder Alignment

Imagine you’re trying to launch a model sailboat with a catapult:

• Disrupted Sequence: Think of your shoulders as the catapult’s frame. The catapult’s frame is crooked when your shoulders are misaligned. Your crooked frame throws off the entire launching sequence. Your glove hand, like the throwing arm of the catapult, can’t get into the right position ahead of your front foot (the base of the catapult). The rotational sequence, where the catapult arm swings back and then releases, gets disrupted leading to decreased velocity, similar to a weak launch for the sailboat.

• Pinpoint Accuracy: When your shoulders are in line with your target, it’s like having a perfectly aligned catapult frame. Your perfectly aligned catapult frame allows your glove hand, acting like the throwing arm, to move smoothly ahead of your front foot (the base). You achieve pinpoint pitching accuracy with a consistent release point, similar to the catapult arm releasing the sailboat at the right moment.

• Power Transfer: Proper shoulder alignment also ensures that your front foot “fires” your lower body power efficiently.

  • Imagine the base of the catapult being sturdy and providing a strong push. Proper alignment allows this push to transfer smoothly from your front foot through your core and up to your throwing arm.  You maximize your power transfer from your legs to your upper body, just like a strong push from the catapult base propels the sailboat with force.

Overall, this analogy highlights how shoulder alignment is crucial for proper sequence, release point, and power transfer in throwing. Just like a well-aligned catapult launches a sailboat efficiently,

The Pro Pitching Institute’s Teaching Guide tells you how easily your proper shoulder alignment allows you to throw with power, accuracy, and deception.

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Front Knee

Imagine you’re a sculptor using a giant slingshot to hurl a massive chunk of clay at a spinning pottery wheel.

• Precise Aim: Think of keeping your front knee in front of your front hip as maintaining a perfect stance for using the slingshot. Your stable stance allows you to aim precisely at the spinning pottery wheel and proper knee position allows for accurate throwing.
• Off-Center Throw: Any variation where your front knee goes behind your front hip is like having an unbalanced stance while using the slingshot. Your aim makes it difficult to hit the center of the spinning wheel and, like a bad knee position disrupts your mechanics, leading to off-center throws.
• Pulling & Releasing: Your glove work acts like the initial action of pulling back the pouch of the slingshot and preparing for the throw. Then, your lower body firing initiates the power transfer, like the sculptor pulling back with their entire body to build tension in the slingshot.
• Center Hits: Your throwing arm acts like the release of the slingshot pouch. You launch the clay chunk (the ball) toward the target (the spinning pottery wheel) to hit the center of the wheel for perfect shaping of the clay, like throwing a strike in pitching.
• Control & Consistency: Your front knee staying in front of your front hip keeps your body in balance and allows you to control the entire throwing motion like the sculptor controlling the pull and release of the slingshot. From this balanced position, your throwing motion becomes more automatic and consistent, like a skilled sculptor repeatedly hitting the center of the wheel.

The Pro Pitching Institute’s Teaching Guide tells you how easily your front knee alignment allows you to throw with power, accuracy, and deception.

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Arms

Imagine you’re using a slingshot to launch a pebble:

• Stress & Injury Risk: Starting with your arms away from your body is like trying to launch a pebble with the slingshot held way back. Your arms away from your body puts undue stress on your shoulder joint and increases the stress on the throwing motion overall.

  • Imagine the slingshot frame potentially breaking. Similarly, starting with your arms away from your body increases your risk of injury.

• Coiled Energy: Think of your throwing arm close to your chest as the slingshot’s pouch holding the pebble. Starting in this position allows your core muscles to coil, similar to how pulling back the slingshot stretches the elastic bands and stores potential energy. Your “pre-loaded” position ensures your core is engaged and ready to transfer power efficiently.

• Increased Velocity: As you unwind during the throw, your core muscles contract, releasing the stored energy and propelling your throwing arm forward. Your core muscles are similar to releasing the slingshot, where the stored energy in the stretched bands propels the pebble forward with velocity. The efficient energy transfer from your core to your throwing arm translates to a faster throw.

• Greater Precision: Keeping your pre-loaded throwing arm close to your chest allows for a shorter arc, think of the arc made by the slingshot pouch as it launches the pebble. A shorter arc makes for greater control over the throw, similar to how a shorter arc in the slingshot launch makes for a more precise trajectory for the pebble and translates to greater accuracy.

The Pro Pitching Institute’s Teaching Guide tells you how easily starting your motion close to your chest allows you to throw with power, accuracy, and deception.

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Foot position, Stable Base, Power Transfer, and Coiling Motion

Imagine you’re trying to launch a model rocket with a compressed air cannon:

• Stable Base: Think of your feet as the cannon’s base. Keeping your feet closer together creates a more stable base, similar to a wide and sturdy base for the cannon. Stability is crucial for efficiently transferring power from your lower body to your upper body during the throw.

• Coiling Motion: By leading with your glove hand as your front foot lands, you create a “coiling” motion with your upper body.

  • Imagine the coiling motion as the air compresses inside the cannon. Your glove hand’s movement acts like the piston that compresses the air, storing elastic energy (similar to a spring) that will be released for the throw.

• Power Transfer: The key difference between proper and improper technique lies in the timing of the front foot landing and glove hand movement. With heels close together, a stable base allows for a smooth power transfer from your lower body to your core as your front foot lands. Your power then gets “coiled” by your glove hand movement, maximizing the energy stored for the throw.

• Diminished Power Transfer: However, when your heels are too far apart, your front foot lands open before your glove hand.

  • Imagine the compressed air escaping the cannon before the launch mechanism is ready. This disruption hurts the power transfer and release, leading to poor throwing results.

• Accurate Launch: With proper heel position, stable base, and coiling motion initiated by the glove hand, you effectively transfer power and store energy for a powerful and accurate throw, similar to the compressed air cannon launching the model rocket with precision.

The Pro Pitching Institute’s Teaching Guide tells you how easily foot position, stable base, power transfer, and coiling motion allow you to throw with power, accuracy, and deception.

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Level Shoulders, Glove-Hand Position, and Throwing Accuracy

Imagine you’re a tightrope walker carrying a long pole for balance.

• Loss of Control: With tilted shoulders, your hands’ separation disrupts the carefully coordinated throwing motions sequence. The pole tilts to one side as you walk the tightrope and the loss of balance makes it harder to control your throw, just like a tilted pole makes it difficult to stay on the tightrope.

• Balance: Think of your level shoulders as keeping the pole perfectly balanced on your fingertips as you walk the tightrope. Maintaining level shoulders throughout the throwing motion allows your glove hand to retain its leading position, similar to how a balanced pole helps you stay centered on the tightrope.

• Guiding Direction: Your glove hand leading the front foot is like using the pole to guide your direction on the tightrope. The leading hand ensures you stay on the correct path and reach your destination (the target) safely.

• Building Momentum: As you wind up for the throw, your torso coiling is like twisting your body slightly to gain momentum as you walk the tightrope. Your coiling adds power to your throw, similar to how the twist helps you propel yourself forward on the tightrope.

• Controlled Movement: By focusing on maintaining level shoulders and your glove hand leading the front foot, you master the timing and sequence of the throwing motion or the controlled movements needed to walk the tightrope precisely. Your result is pinpoint accuracy in your throws, similar to reaching the other side of the tightrope without losing balance.

The Pro Pitching Institute’s Teaching Guide tells you how easily your level shoulder, glove-hand position, and throwing action work together to allow you to throw with power, accuracy, and deception.

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A Stable Foot Strike

Imagine you’re trying to launch a model rocket with a compressed air launcher:

• Disrupted Launch: If your foot strike is sloppy or unbalanced, your foot strike disrupts the energy transfer.

  • Imagine a wobbly launch platform for the rocket. The compressed air might leak or not be directed properly. Your leakage disrupts the launch, similar to how a sloppy foot strike disrupts the energy flow in your throwing motion. The result is a loss of control over the throw, just like an uncontrolled rocket launch that goes off course.

• Solid Base: Think of your front foot landing as the launch platform for the rocket. A firm landing creates a stable base, just like a secure launch platform is essential for a successful launch. Your stability allows the force generated from your wind-up (like the compressed air) to be efficiently transferred upwards through your core and into your throwing arm.

• Redirecting Force: Your foot strike is like a springboard. As your front foot lands, your front foot absorbs some of the force from your lower body and then redirects it upwards. This is similar to how a compressed air launcher uses compressed air to propel the rocket upwards.

• Controlled Launch: Your stable foot strike and springboard action create a solid base for energy transfer, ensuring an accurate release point for the ball, like the launch platform providing a stable base for the rocket to take off in a straight line. With a controlled launch, your rocket (or in this case, your ball) reaches its target with accuracy.

The Pro Pitching Institute’s Teaching Guide tells you how easily your foot strike allows you to throw with power, accuracy, and deception.

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Glove-Hand Position

Imagine you’re a batter using a bat to hit a baseball:

• Hunched Posture & Power Loss: With your palm facing the plate, your glove arm tends to pull you forward, putting most of your weight on your back leg. Your glove-hand palm position is similar to a batter leaning forward with poor posture. Such a hunched posture makes it difficult to rotate your hips and core effectively, hindering power transfer.

  • Imagine a batter swinging the bat with their weight on their back leg – they wouldn’t be able to generate much power. Similarly, this throwing disruption transfers power and makes it harder to hit your target consistently.

• Upright Posture & Core Engagement: Think of your glove hand as the knob at the end of the baseball bat. When you start with your palm under your chin, it helps you maintain an upright posture. Your glove-hand position is similar to how holding the bat upright with a good grip allows for better leverage and power when you swing. The position under your chin encourages core engagement, similar to how a batter tightens its core muscles for a powerful swing.

• Power Transfer: A strong core rotation, facilitated by proper weight distribution, is crucial for transferring power from your lower body to your throwing arm.

  • Imagine the core rotation as the coiling motion of your torso just before swinging the bat. Proper weight distribution, where your weight shifts from your back leg to your front leg, is like the batter shifting their weight for a powerful swing. Both core rotation and weight distribution work together to maximize power transfer, just like a good swing transfers power from the batter’s legs to the bat.

The Pro Pitching Institute’s Teaching Guide tells you how easily your glove-hand palm position allows you to throw with power, accuracy, and deception.

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Front Knee Slightly in Front

Imagine you’re trying to use a slingshot to launch a pebble:

• Weaker Throw: If your glove hand starts with your front knee behind your hip, your glove hand misaligns trying to launch a pebble with the slingshot pouches. Because the alignment is off, similar to how a misaligned slingshot reduces the power transfer, your core rotation can’t fully engage your lower body. Your core disrupts the throwing mechanics, making it difficult to aim the ball precisely (like aiming the slingshot at an angle). The result is weaker and lacks a controlled throw, just like a weak and unpredictable launch from a misaligned slingshot.

• Direct Line: Think of your glove arm as the first pouch of the slingshot. When you initiate the throw by pulling down with your glove arm, your glove hand positions the first pouch of the slingshot. Your glove arm action also influences the position of your front knee, similar to how the position of the first pouch affects the alignment of the second pouch (your knee) in the slingshot. Starting with your glove arm prompting the knee slightly forward creates a more direct line for the core rotation to connect with your lower body, just like a straight line between the two pouches in the slingshot allows maximum power transfer.

• Pre-positioned Knee: Having your front knee slightly pre-positioned in front allows for a smoother and more consistent arm swing. Your front knee is similar to how a well-aligned slingshot with the pouches in the right positions allows for a smooth launch trajectory. The consistent arm swing translates to better control over the direction and accuracy of the throw, just like a smooth launch path in the slingshot allows for a predictable path for the pebble.

The Pro Pitching Institute’s Teaching Guide tells you how easily your front knee position allows you to throw with power, accuracy, and deception.

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Glove Arm

Imagine you’re trying to launch a toy trebuchet:

• Imbalance: If your throwing hand fires after your front foot lands, it’s like trying to launch the trebuchet before the counterweight is in place. You skip the powerful rotation of your hips and torso, the main source of launching power. The throw becomes unbalanced (like an unbalanced trebuchet launching its projectile off-course) and lacks control and accuracy.

• Coiled Energy Release: Think of your glove arm as the long-throwing arm of the trebuchet. Moving your glove arm first initiates the sequence and is similar to pulling back the trebuchet’s throwing arm. Your glove arm moving winds up your torso and hips, storing potential energy like a coiled spring (significant power when your hips and torso finally rotate).

• Stable Base: Your front foot acts like the counterweight at the back of the trebuchet. A firmly planted foot creates a stable base and, like the counterweight keeps the trebuchet balanced, making the stability that allows for a smooth transfer of all that coiled energy from your torso and hips.

• Control & Accuracy: Finally, your throwing arm acts like the sling holding the projectile on the trebuchet. When you throw, your delivery is like releasing the sling, propelling the ball forward built up by your entire body (your hips turn to get your core through to your target and into your throwing hand). The stable base from your planted foot allows for good control and accuracy, just like a balanced trebuchet launches its projectile in a predictable path.

The Pro Pitching Institute’s Teaching Guide tells you how easily your glove arm first allows you to throw with power, accuracy, and deception.

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Shoulders

Imagine you’re trying to launch a toy catapult.

• Disrupted Mechanics: Your tilted shoulders are like having a lopsided catapult platform and throwing off the entire launching mechanism. Transferring power from your legs becomes less efficient (like the catapult pulling unevenly), and you might have less control over the throw (like the projectile launching at an unpredictable angle). The uneven stress on the catapult parts (your joints and muscles) also increases the risk of injury.
• Stable Base: Think of your shoulders as the platform of the catapult. When your shoulders are level, your shoulders are like having a stable, balanced platform for the throwing arm to work from. Your stability allows you to transfer power from your legs (like pulling back the throwing arm of the catapult) efficiently into the throw (like releasing the arm to launch the projectile). Additionally, a balanced platform reduces stress on the parts of the catapult (your joints and muscles), preventing potential injury.

The Pro Pitching Institute’s Teaching Guide tells you how easily your level shoulders allow you to throw with power, accuracy, and deception.

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Throw with Your Glove Arm

Imagine you’re trying to launch a water balloon with a giant slingshot:

• Inconsistent Throw: If your foot strikes before your glove arm initiates the throw, your foot strike is like trying to launch the water balloon by stomping on the launch platform first. The slingshot wobbles (inconsistent throw), and you haven’t built any tension in the elastic bands (lack of lower body engagement). When you finally pull back with your glove arm (throwing arm), your powerful launch isn’t there The water balloon might dribble off the slingshot weakly and in an unpredictable direction.

• Powerful & Accurate Launch: Think of your glove arm as one arm of the slingshot. Initiating the throw with your glove arm pulling down is like pulling back that arm of the slingshot first (powerful lower-body engagement). Your glove arm builds tension and stores energy in the stretched elastic bands (like your core and legs). As your front foot plants (like stepping on a platform to stabilize yourself), your front foot acts like a secure base for the launch. Then, when you whip your throwing arm forward (like releasing the slingshot arm), all that stored energy gets released smoothly, propelling the water balloon with great accuracy and velocity (“uncanny regularity”).

The Pro Pitching Institute’s Teaching Guide tells you how easily your glove-arm movement allows you to throw with power, accuracy, and deception.

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Use Your Glove Arm for a Precise Throwing Action

Imagine you try to get a tuning fork to emit a fine tune.

Active Glove Arm: Just like striking a tuning fork, actively pulling down with your glove arm initiates the sequence of movements in your throwing motion. Your initial action sets the “tone” for the rest of the throw.

Passive Glove Arm: In contrast, a passive glove arm is like not striking the tuning fork cleanly. If your glove arm just passively follows your lower body, the timing and direction of the pull can be inconsistent. Your lack of a clear “initial vibration” disrupts the entire sequence, similar to striking the tuning fork at an awkward angle. As a result, the throwing motion becomes less controlled and accurate. It’s like the tuning fork vibrating erratically, producing an unclear or dissonant sound.

• Specific Frequency: As you describe, your initial pull from the glove arm triggers a specific sequence of body movements, including hip and torso rotation. These rotations act like the specific frequency resonating throughout the tuning fork, ensuring a smooth and efficient energy transfer.

• Tuning Fork: Your entire body, from your legs to your core and throwing arm, participates in the throwing motion and vibrates the tuning fork.

• Clear Note: When initiated by your active glove arm, the result of a well-coordinated throwing motion,  is a precise and accurate throw and is analogous to the clear and consistent “note” produced by a properly struck tuning fork.

The Pro Pitching Institute’s Teaching Guide tells you how easily your proper glove-hand action allows you to throw with power, accuracy, and deception.

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Glove Arm Alignment, Core Rotation, and Stacked Posture

Imagine you’re a firefighter using a high-powered water cannon:

Just like a well-aligned and stable water cannon allows for a powerful and predictable water stream, proper throwing mechanics allow you to transfer power efficiently and deliver the ball to your target with uncanny regularity.

• Disrupted Flow & Inaccurate Stream: If your glove arm is passive and your upper body hunches like the water cannon’s nozzle is misaligned or the hose is being kinked. The flow of water (power transfer) from the pump and the core rotation, which generates power like the pump in the cannon, is disrupted. The result is inconsistent release points (like the water stream spraying erratically) and inaccurate throws.

• Straight Nozzle: Think of your glove arm as the handle and nozzle of the water cannon. When you keep your glove arm aligned with your core, it’s like keeping the nozzle of the cannon straight. You get an optimal water flow (power transfer) from the powerful pump (your lower body) through the hose (your core) and out the nozzle (your throwing arm).

• Stable Base: A stacked posture, where your body is in a vertical line, has a stable base for the water cannon. Just like a wide stance can make it harder to aim the cannon precisely, a hunched posture makes it difficult to maintain a consistent throwing plane. A stacked posture provides a strong foundation for aiming the throw accurately.

• Predictable Trajectory: With a stacked posture and a straight nozzle (aligned glove arm), you have a clearer sense of where the water stream will go (similar to a clearer sense of where the ball will end up).

The Pro Pitching Institute’s Teaching Guide tells you how easily your glove-hand alignment, core rotation, and posture allow you to throw with power, accuracy, and deception.

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Shoulder Alignment Gets Your Glove Hand Ahead of Your Front Foot

Imagine you’re trying to launch a model sailboat with a catapult:

• Disrupted Sequence: Think of your shoulders as the catapult’s frame. The catapult’s frame is crooked when your shoulders are misaligned. Your crooked frame throws off the entire launching sequence. Your glove hand, like the throwing arm of the catapult, can’t get into the right position ahead of your front foot (the base of the catapult). The rotational sequence, where the catapult arm swings back and then releases, gets disrupted leading to decreased velocity, similar to a weak launch for the sailboat.

• Pinpoint Accuracy: When your shoulders are in line with your target, it’s like having a perfectly aligned catapult frame. Your perfectly aligned catapult frame allows your glove hand, acting like the throwing arm, to move smoothly ahead of your front foot (the base). You achieve pinpoint pitching accuracy with a consistent release point, similar to the catapult arm releasing the sailboat at the right moment.

• Power Transfer: Proper shoulder alignment also ensures that your front foot “fires” your lower body power efficiently.

  • Imagine the base of the catapult being sturdy and providing a strong push. Proper alignment allows this push to transfer smoothly from your front foot through your core and up to your throwing arm.  You maximize your power transfer from your legs to your upper body, just like a strong push from the catapult base propels the sailboat with force.

Overall, this analogy highlights how shoulder alignment is crucial for proper sequence, release point, and power transfer in throwing. Just like a well-aligned catapult launches a sailboat efficiently,

The Pro Pitching Institute’s Teaching Guide tells you how easily your proper shoulder alignment allows you to throw with power, accuracy, and deception.

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Throwing Arm Near Your Body

Imagine you’re trying to launch a model airplane with a giant slingshot:

• Direct Path: When your throwing arm is close to your chest, your throwing arm is like setting up the slingshot with a straight path from the back pouch (your core) to the launch pouch (your throwing hand). Your throwing arm path allows you to channel energy from your hips through your core and straight to your throwing arm, maximizing power transfer.

• Inefficient Path: Starting with your arm too far from your body is like setting up the slingshot with a kinked path.

  • Imagine the back pouch of the slingshot being way behind the launch pouch. Your back pouch creates an inefficient path for the energy to travel, similar to how starting with your arm behind your body disrupts the energy flow from your core. Some energy gets wasted in overcoming this awkward setup, reducing overall power.

• Longer Trajectory: With your arm away from your body, your arm travels a longer distance during the throwing motion. The launch pouch of the slingshot needs to travel a much longer distance before releasing the airplane. The longer travel distance makes it harder to time the release point precisely, leading to a delayed throw and difficulty in aiming which translates to inaccuracies in your throws, similar to the airplane potentially launching off-course.

• Awkward Launch: Overthrows often happen with throws initiated from behind the body because the mechanics are awkward.

  • Imagine the slingshot launching the airplane at a strange angle because of the kinked setup. The kinked setup is awkward because it strains on your shoulder, similar to how an overhand throw from behind the body stresses the shoulder joint. Just like the slingshot frame might break under the strain, this increases your risk of injuries.

The Pro Pitching Institute’s Teaching Guide tells you how easily your throwing arm beginning close to your chest allows you to throw with power, accuracy, and deception.

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Stable Base, Power Transfer, and Coiling Motion

Imagine you’re trying to launch a model rocket with a compressed air cannon:

• Stable Base: Think of your feet as the cannon’s base. Keeping your feet closer together creates a more stable base, similar to a wide and sturdy base for the cannon. Stability is crucial for efficiently transferring power from your lower body to your upper body during the throw.

• Coiling Motion: By leading with your glove hand as your front foot lands, you create a “coiling” motion with your upper body.

  • Imagine the coiling motion as the air compresses inside the cannon. Your glove hand’s movement acts like the piston that compresses the air, storing elastic energy (similar to a spring) that will be released for the throw.

• Power Transfer: The key difference between proper and improper technique lies in the timing of the front foot landing and glove hand movement. With heels close together, a stable base allows for a smooth power transfer from your lower body to your core as your front foot lands. Your power then gets “coiled” by your glove hand movement, maximizing the energy stored for the throw.

• Diminished Power Transfer: However, when your heels are too far apart, your front foot lands open before your glove hand.

  • Imagine the compressed air escaping the cannon before the launch mechanism is ready. This disruption hurts the power transfer and release, leading to poor throwing results.

• Accurate Launch: With proper heel position, stable base, and coiling motion initiated by the glove hand, you effectively transfer power and store energy for a powerful and accurate throw, similar to the compressed air cannon launching the model rocket with precision.

The Pro Pitching Institute’s Teaching Guide tells you how easily foot position, stable base, power transfer, and coiling motion allow you to throw with power, accuracy, and deception.

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Level Shoulders, Glove-Hand Position, and Throwing Accuracy

Imagine you’re a tightrope walker carrying a long pole for balance.

• Loss of Control: With tilted shoulders, your hands’ separation disrupts the carefully coordinated throwing motions sequence. The pole tilts to one side as you walk the tightrope and the loss of balance makes it harder to control your throw, just like a tilted pole makes it difficult to stay on the tightrope.

• Balance: Think of your level shoulders as keeping the pole perfectly balanced on your fingertips as you walk the tightrope. Maintaining level shoulders throughout the throwing motion allows your glove hand to retain its leading position, similar to how a balanced pole helps you stay centered on the tightrope.

• Guiding Direction: Your glove hand leading the front foot is like using the pole to guide your direction on the tightrope. The leading hand ensures you stay on the correct path and reach your destination (the target) safely.

• Building Momentum: As you wind up for the throw, your torso coiling is like twisting your body slightly to gain momentum as you walk the tightrope. Your coiling adds power to your throw, similar to how the twist helps you propel yourself forward on the tightrope.

• Controlled Movement: By focusing on maintaining level shoulders and your glove hand leading the front foot, you master the timing and sequence of the throwing motion or the controlled movements needed to walk the tightrope precisely. Your result is pinpoint accuracy in your throws, similar to reaching the other side of the tightrope without losing balance.

The Pro Pitching Institute’s Teaching Guide tells you how easily your level shoulder, glove-hand position, and throwing action work together to allow you to throw with power, accuracy, and deception.

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Your Glove Arm Position

Imagine you’re a batter using a bat to hit a baseball:

• Hunched Posture & Power Loss: With your palm positioned anywhere but under your chin, your glove arm tends to pull you forward, putting most of your weight on your back leg. Your glove-hand palm position is similar to a batter leaning forward with poor posture. Such a hunched posture makes it difficult to rotate your hips and core effectively, hindering power transfer.

  • Imagine a batter swinging the bat with their weight on their back leg – they wouldn’t be able to generate much power. Similarly, this throwing disruption transfers power and makes it harder to hit your target consistently.

• Upright Posture & Core Engagement: Think of your glove hand as the knob at the end of the baseball bat. When you start with your palm under your chin, it helps you maintain an upright posture. Your glove-hand position is similar to how holding the bat upright with a good grip allows for better leverage and power when you swing. The position under your chin encourages core engagement, similar to how a batter tightens its core muscles for a powerful swing.

• Power Transfer: A strong core rotation, facilitated by proper weight distribution, is crucial for transferring power from your lower body to your throwing arm.

  • Imagine the core rotation as the coiling motion of your torso just before swinging the bat. Proper weight distribution, where your weight shifts from your back leg to your front leg, is like the batter shifting their weight for a powerful swing. Both core rotation and weight distribution work together to maximize power transfer, just like a good swing transfers power from the batter’s legs to the bat.

The Pro Pitching Institute’s Teaching Guide tells you how easily your glove-hand palm position allows you to throw with power, accuracy, and deception.

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Throwing Motion

Imagine you’re trying to use a slingshot to launch a pebble:

• Weaker Throw: If your glove hand starts with your front knee behind your hip, your glove hand misaligns trying to launch a pebble with the slingshot pouches. Because the alignment is off, similar to how a misaligned slingshot reduces the power transfer, your core rotation can’t fully engage your lower body. Your core disrupts the throwing mechanics, making it difficult to aim the ball precisely (like aiming the slingshot at an angle). The result is weaker and lacks a controlled throw, just like a weak and unpredictable launch from a misaligned slingshot.

• Direct Line: Think of your glove arm as the first pouch of the slingshot. When you initiate the throw by pulling down with your glove arm, your glove hand positions the first pouch of the slingshot. Your glove arm action also influences the position of your front knee, similar to how the position of the first pouch affects the alignment of the second pouch (your knee) in the slingshot. Starting with your glove arm prompting the knee slightly forward creates a more direct line for the core rotation to connect with your lower body, just like a straight line between the two pouches in the slingshot allows maximum power transfer.

• Pre-positioned Knee: Having your front knee slightly pre-positioned in front allows for a smoother and more consistent arm swing. Your front knee is similar to how a well-aligned slingshot with the pouches in the right positions allows for a smooth launch trajectory. The consistent arm swing translates to better control over the direction and accuracy of the throw, just like a smooth launch path in the slingshot allows for a predictable path for the pebble.

The Pro Pitching Institute’s Teaching Guide tells you how easily your front knee position allows you to throw with power, accuracy, and deception.

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Level Shoulders in Throwing

Imagine you’re trying to launch a toy catapult.

• Disrupted Mechanics: Your tilted shoulders are like having a lopsided catapult platform and throwing off the entire launching mechanism. Transferring power from your legs becomes less efficient (like the catapult pulling unevenly), and you might have less control over the throw (like the projectile launching at an unpredictable angle). The uneven stress on the catapult parts (your joints and muscles) also increases the risk of injury.
• Stable Base: Think of your shoulders as the platform of the catapult. When your shoulders are level, your shoulders are like having a stable, balanced platform for the throwing arm to work from. Your stability allows you to transfer power from your legs (like pulling back the throwing arm of the catapult) efficiently into the throw (like releasing the arm to launch the projectile). Additionally, a balanced platform reduces stress on the parts of the catapult (your joints and muscles), preventing potential injury.

The Pro Pitching Institute’s Teaching Guide tells you how easily your level shoulders allow you to throw with power, accuracy, and deception.

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Glove Hand Movement

Imagine you’re trying to launch a model airplane with a hand launcher.

• Inconsistent Throws: If your foot strike initiates the throw, your foot strike is like trying to launch the airplane by slamming the launcher down with your foot first. The launcher might bounce around (unstable base), and you wouldn’t have a good grip on it (lack of core engagement). The push on the airplane would be jerky and uneven (inconsistent throws). The model airplane wouldn’t go very far or in a straight line.
• Strong Base: Think of your glove hand as the back end of the launcher, the part that rests against your shoulder. When your glove hand movement pulls down first, it’s like setting the launcher firmly on your shoulder (strong base). Your shoulder creates a stable platform for your arm to work from. As you bring your throwing arm forward (like pushing the model airplane down the launcher), the energy transfers smoothly from your core and legs (like pushing down on the ground) for a powerful launch.

The Pro Pitching Institute’s Teaching Guide tells you how easily your glove-hand movement allows you to throw with power, accuracy, and deception.

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Transfer Energy Efficiently