by Liam Reed

Created on: February 01, 2007   Last Updated: May 07, 2007

To be a successful pitcher, you must have two things. Something that may come as a surprise to most people is that talent is not among these things. The two key elements for being a successful pitcher are confidence and mechanics.

Many people talk about a pitcher having "good mechanics" but nobody really seems to know what makes mechanics "good" or "bad". Here are the things that every pitcher must have in order to have good mechanics.

1. Balance
Each pitcher must be able to control their own body. Balance must be maintained at all times during a pitching motion. A pitcher's balance is exceptionally important during the leg kick, and again at front foot strike. Weight should be evenly distributed on the ball of the foot at front foot strike. There are very few pitchers that have been successful without balance.

2. Posture
This is one thing that many people do not think about when pitching or teaching pitchers. The posture of a pitcher in itself is not important, but it is imperative that the pitcher maintain this posture throughout their delivery. If a pitcher arches their back or leans forward during delivery, the pitch will miss location, and results will be very inconsistent. The key when learning to pitch is to choose a posture that the pitcher can keep throughout delivery.

Now, on to the second necessary part for pitcher success.

Confidence is something that is hard to quantify, and is even harder to obtain. The key to confidence is preparation. If a pitcher knows that he or she has prepared well for an appearance, they will feel confident in their abilities on the mound. Also, confidence is bred by success. The fact is, you need confidence to have success, but success makes you confident. Positive feedback (or results on the mound) will inspire a pitcher to work harder, and will give them more confidence for their next outing.

To be successful, a pitcher needs to have good mechanics to provide consistency and avoid injury, and also to prepare well for each outing to inspire confidence.

Good Luck!

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