Teaching Correct Pitching Mechanics

Coaches Dave Rosene and Andy Pohl explain the correct pitching mechanics including pivoting (not pushing off) the rubber, producing power from the back side, not opening up early, hiding the ball, striding, pivoting, and landing on the ball of the foot (not the heel).
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[@dnasportsonline]

With that said SharkAttackProd, congratulations on pegging me to a tee. 30 years ago when I started coaching at the high school level, I read one book. That one book enabled me to win 5 Coach of the Year Award Honors, winning numerous Conference, Regional, and Sectional Titles, in addition to sending hundreds of kids on to play collegiate baseball. Half of my coaching experience was done in an urban, public school setting with more challenges than you can imagine. That was a hell of a book!

[@EdRePlowGole1]

i know so much about this game, i just watch videos like this to see how much the coach really knows!! this coach seems like he knows what hes doing

[@jamescoleman4935]

Great video I am a 12 year old pitcher and I wanted some tips on mechanic and you have helped me so much

[@dnasportsonline]

The back is important as you indicate. We want our pitchers to follow through, back almost parallel to the ground, head up. This gives them the drive angle you are speaking of. I believe we highlight this in other videos.

[@dnasportsonline]

I've seen your videos (if you are speaking of the videos you have done in your hallway) While I had difficulty following you at times, I think we agree on a lot of concepts. With that said, we do not teach pushing off the rubber but pivoting off the rubber instead, for the same reasons hitting coaches teach pivoting the rear foot and/or turning the back hip, and not dragging the back foot/hip through the zone, or pushing the back foot/hip through the zone.

[@dnasportsonline]

You're absolutely correct TJ - many high velocity guys do not practice the mechanics that we advocate. But this particular clinic was for youth coaches, and we are high school coaches. It's very shortsighted to think that you can ask a youth or HS player to copy the mechanics and movements of a MLB player with a mature, strong, and athletic body and expect great results. It's also very shortsighted to think that there is one size fits all approach to pitching and hitting. Recently read a great article, analyzing the mechanics of Miguel Cabrera. In particular, the article highlighted the high elbow in his load. It's not that this is wrong, but I just wouldn't teach that approach to a youth or HS Player, unless he was unusually strong for his age. Feel free to disagree if you must, but I think our record as HS Coaches shows we know what we are doing.

[@dnasportsonline]

Thanks for your comments Pete. While I never heard the term "ringing the bell", I like our pitchers to take the ball out of their glove, thumbs down of course, and implement more of a circular approach - down, back, and then up. I have seen pitching coaches teach that 'flamingo' approach where the hand immediately goes straight back, and I think this rushes the delivery - no flow.

[@nayeem234]

Thank you!!!!!! I actually learned a lot more then i did with my previous instructor!!!!!! Amazing stuff :D

[@dnasportsonline]

Again, this is what we teach, and we have had great success with it. We teach a backside rotational approach to pitching, not a front side, push off the rubber approach. As indicated, I'm not going to tell people they are wrong for teaching something different. It's just not what we believe in

[@dnasportsonline]

Yes, some (not all) MLB pitchers throw with the front foot pointed at the hitter. We don't teach that approach, for the same reason that as hitting coaches we would not teach striding with the front foot open either. While the foot is closed in the video here, this is more of an exaggeration. In practice, the front foot lands between 30 and 45 degrees, enabling the back side to rotate around a solid front side, maintain spinal integrity, and preventing the rear shoulder from rotating too soon

[@dnasportsonline]

You will see a lot of pro guys do as you indicate - lead with the front toe pointed at home. Most high school pitchers struggle with this move because when they land with toe pointed out, either their shoulder and/or hip flies out too early. Think of hitting - when you hit, you stride with the foot at around 45 degrees. This keeps the weight back and shoulder in before rotation. The same applies in pitching. We like to focus on the similarities between pitching and hitting.

[@lexlenny9290]

Hip/shoulder separation starts before the front foot hits (flat footed or heel first, not on the toe). The back foot should begin rotating before the front foot hits the ground. This is where the separation begins. If the hips wait until the foot touches the ground, and the arm is ready to fire (as you mentioned in the video by saying his hand needs to be "up here") then both will rotate at the same time leading to no separation. And why wouldn't we want to use MLB pitchers as models?

[@dnasportsonline]

Many coaches teach landing the front foot at '12 o'clock" as you indicated. We don't. Recognizing the similarities between hitting and pitching, we don't teach landing the front foot with the toe pointed straight ahead for the same reasons no hitting coach on the planet would teach a hitter to stride with the front toe pointed towards the pitcher.

[@dnasportsonline]

As any orthopedist would claim, musculoskeletal composition, core strength, preparation and training, stretching routines, overall conditioning and physical fitness, and nutrition (to name a few) are also key factors to sports-related injuries.

[@petewilliams532]

Great Vid. Coach. Question, I am a pitching coach myself and have worked with various pros in D1 college and throughout high school. To my question, I was wondering why "ringing the bell" (reaching the glove towards second base to promote staying linear) wasn't mentioned. Do you deem it unnecessary and if so I was wondering why so I can take that into account. Also, I see very little back incorporated, doesn't seem like much of a drive angle and I was also wondering why that is. Thanks Coach!

[@macgyver1075]

Just watching some of the Little League baseball (Mid West) on ESPN this past week and I noticed some of the pitchers have developed a Curve ball. Just wanted your opinion on what aged should/could start teaching those pitches?

[@simplyg100]

You definitely push off the rubber (if you want to throw hard). I have a video that teaches how to do it properly. If you have any questions let me know.

[@dnasportsonline]

We remove comments that are spam, originated by trollers who have no interest in baseball but are just trying to rile up a conversation, or comments that are disrespectful, such as yours regarding 'fixing and overbite', which has nothing to do with baseball, nor is an appropriate and mature response. But I will keep yours up so everyone can see your classless comment. Nobody is forcing you to listen to us or watch our videos. If you don't like what we teach or disagree, than don't watch.

[@joshhoekstra3042]

Lots of good points. Tough to follow along with how he was explaining it though. What does he mean by not pushing off the rubber? I know that your not supposed to be on the rubber when your pushing off but what does he mean by that?

[@dnasportsonline]

Thanks for the question Josh. Instead of pushing off the rubber, we advocate pivoting the back hip off the rubber. Rotate if you will, similar to hitting. Backside rotates first, opening up the front side. We want pitchers to achieve maximum power, which is accomplished through a more rotational movement, rather than a linear move as pushing off the rubber.

[@bris7214]

In what way are pitching and hitting the "same" way? Doesn't a pitcher throw a ball - does a hitter throw the bat? I'm confused????

[@dnasportsonline]

You're confused because you are focusing only on outcome (throwing a ball or hitting a ball) and not on the process (biomechanical movements that lead to the outcome). There are many movements within the same sports and across different sports that are extremely similar and comparable but have very different athletic outcomes.

[@dnasportsonline]

Thanks for the feedback James. Feel free to send us film.

[@coachs267]

I love the videos. I do have a couple questions/comments. What is your opinion on these guys that are putting up all this high velocity stuff (3x and baseball rebellion). I have kids watching them and are asking about them. I find some things I like but a lot seems to focus more on throwing hard while giving up command. Also, is there anything you can suggest to try to help pitchers get their lower bodies more active? We've picked up a few little drills here and there but the guys still feel like they are throwing with all arm?

[@dnasportsonline]

When kids try to throw that hard this early that they tend to overgrip, chicken wing and use an inverted W while neglecting the lower half which will lead to burnout and injury. The exercises we use are med balls throws, JBands, lower body work with power bands. We also work on the the 'flip the hip' drill which will teach kids not to drag and learn not to push off the rubber. We also do the Tim Lincecum hip flexor drills, laying on your stomach and having the hips go as fast as they can for one minute without crossing the feet and then one minute crossing the feet. All our HS players have been doing 200 of each. Hope this helps.

[@coachs267]

DNA Sports Thanks. Another thing I've recently had to battle is a kid who was watching, I believe Brent Porcieau video or another one of those guys, who tells pitchers to break their hands later.

[@dnasportsonline]

coach s I'm not familiar with this instructor or theory. Why do they want the hands to break later? What is the theory and desired outcomes behind this teaching?

[@dnasportsonline]

The bottom line is over-hand throwing is a biomechanically unnatural movement that is inherently detrimental to the elbow and shoulder. Naturally, pitching increases the risk tenfold. While mechanics are a major factor with regards to pitching related injuries, it is one of many factors that can cause injury.

[@raysullins5179]

I love the fact that people criticize something they don't really know. After doing a great deal of research myself, I can find very few things that these guys at DNA advocate that are "wrong". There are so many theories out there on mechanics and baseball, I think saying someone is wrong is probably a stretch. I'm a big fan of Tom House myself. It is a huge mistake for anyone in my opinion to try to copy a "pro" baseball player. Pro guys have talents and genetics that the majority of youth and high school kids will never have. All of that being said I do totally agree with pivoting off the rubber instead of pushing off although I do have some issue with landing with the front foot closed, our pitchers don't seem to get their rotation. I know a lot of these posts are older but you should always teach a balance point to younger pitchers. Balance is a must and even pitchers that don't seem to stop always reach their balance point before their hips start forward. Here are some numbers. Only 6.8% of kids who play ball at some point in high school will become an ncaa athlete. Only 2.0% of kids who become an ncaa athlete will be drafted. Only about 9% of college seniors will be drafted. Only 0.50% of high school players are drafted into MLB. Considering these guys have had so many college athletes, and lets be real, that is way more realistic than training a bunch of mlb players, I think they are doing something right.

[@dnasportsonline]

Thanks for your comment Ray. The criticisms doesn't really bother me that much - our record as coaches speak for themselves, and it comes with the territory when you put your information out to the public. What does frustrate me however is the inability for detractors to communicate in a collegial and respectful manner. I'm not sure why this "I'm right, you're wrong" culture exists among baseball coaches, but it is really setting the sport back. Instead of recognizing that there are many different approaches and philosophies, we spend our times bashing others. Perhaps this started with Mike Epstein, who based a lot of his philosophy on trying to prove others wrong. I'm not sure. But it is pervasive within baseball coaching circles, more so than other sports. It is also frustrating when coaches try to apply major league mechanics to youth league players. In a lot of respects, we are comparing apples to oranges. When was the last time you heard of a youth basketball coach trying to get his 10 year old to match the jump shot release point of a NBA player? Yet we do this with baseball, which again I think sets the sport back.

[@dnasportsonline]

Google Dr. James Andrews, ASMI, as well as the American Academy of Pediatrics, who, like Andrews and the ASMI, also do not recommend curve balls to be thrown until age 14.

[@dnasportsonline]

And don't listen to this because some guy named TJ knows better. Forget that Coach Rosene happens to be one of the most respected and decorated coaches in Illinois and he has developed hundreds of collegiate pitchers, past and present.

[@dnasportsonline]

We are providing free instruction for coaches & players. While we never profess to know anything about baseball, we are also highly decorated professional coaches with proven results. If coaches want to engage in professional dialogue with us, then we are more than open to that. However, when people make comments that lack credibility and research, it is more than appropriate for us to respond. If you want to disagree - fine, but all we ask is that it is done respectfully and intelligently.

[@dnasportsonline]

The effect curve balls has on the arm is a highly debated topic in the coaching & medical community.I would rather defer to the medical experts when it comes to this subject, rather than the so called "coaching experts." In the most recent study conducted by the ASMI (American Sports Medicine Institute), existing research doesn't support a correlation between throwing curve balls at a young age & subsequent injury.However,Dr. Andrews still does not recommend any curve balls thrown until age 14

[@brookejohnston422]

you got the front foot wrong. suppose to be at 12 o clock when you land

[@dnasportsonline]

rem0rsele55 - send us a video of you pitching showing several different angles of your windup and we would be happy to analyze it for you.

[@JF2it]

Hey coach, does this offer still stand?

[@dnasportsonline]

We certainly don't profess to know everything about baseball, and we believe that there is not a one size fits all approach to teaching baseball. With that said, we welcome disagreements, but those who don't do it respectfully, as you did, doesn't say a whole lot about you as a person or a coach.

[@teejay3698]

I disagree for one reason pitching is not hitting pitching is a linear explosive movement, you have the right idea with staying closed but with keeping hips closed there is no torque created also develop kids physically if they aren't,this could expand your organization if you applied a strength and conditioning program that was based on science not conventional wisdom like extreme long toss or weighted balls develop your youth kids physically then take baby steps to giving them good high velocity mechanics don't get them into bad habits by teaching them to only use the arm pitching is science f x m=a if you build your kids physically teach them how to apply force to the ball by using body you will in time accelerate ball speeds thank you please respond

[@italiancapo7]

Use punctuation. Your thought is not as clear bc you wrote one giant run on sentence.

[@dnasportsonline]

To say someone's teachings is wrong is also saying that your teachings and beliefs are right. I find that to be a rather arrogant approach. The longer I coach, the more I realize that in many instances there is not really a right or wrong way, but rather different approaches that all have merit for different reasons. For starters, we are talking youth baseball players, not MLB guys with tremendous physical gifts.

[@RHP2024]

Tom House disagrees with you about curveballs

[@dnasportsonline]

We don't teach landing on the heal for the same reasons you wouldn't teach any athletic movement to use the heal of the foot as a base. Unless we are working with pitchers that posses a major league body, then we don't believe in using MLB pitchers as a model. The overwhelming majority of MLB pitchers are born, not made. They can throw any way they want (and often time they do), and still get great velocity and command. Your avg. youth player cannot copy this.

[@dnasportsonline]

Sorry SharkAttack, but your response only furthers my point about your short-sightedness. There is not a pitching coach on the planet who can say that that have an injury-free record with their pupils. Even Tom House and NPA, with their advisory board of MLB Pitchers and orthopedists, cannot make that claim. Remember Mark Pryor - need I say more? How about Cole Hamels, who also went under the knife with elbow problems?

[@TSmiff1971]

Almost everything that this guy says is wrong!!!! You will never see a power pitcher pitch like this. By Landing with the front foot close,that will block your back hip or make your front/landing knee continue to move and not Brace -up like it's supposed to! If you are or want to be a Power Pitcher, then you don't fall/pivot off the rubber, you Explode/push off of it! Slow mo most power pitchers in the MLB and watch the back leg drive!!!

[@teejay3698]

WOW

[@younevakno]

you do indeed push off the rubber and do not pivot

[@dnasportsonline]

While your passion to help young pitchers is commendable, I would advise you stay out of affairs you know little about. More specifically, you have no injury data with regards to the pitchers I have worked with over the past 30 years to make any claims about anything I teach. Furthermore, what makes any teaching and philosophy ‘outdated’ as you indicate - because someone else says so?

[@dannylau8010]

I am a junior in high school. I have put on about 20 mph since my freshman year all through improving my mechanics. A few of the things this guy was talking about were correct. He is right by saying hips first and shoulders second because that generates torque in the body. However, closing off your front foot strike at landing is completely wrong. When you land with a closed front foot, that stops your hips from rotating. If you watch all the guys in the big leagues who throw 95 and up, I can guarantee they all "blow open their hips" very soon after they jump off the mound. I bet that kid in the video can throw at least 5 mph harder just my improving his lower body mechanics because this guy doesn't know what he is talking about.

[@dnasportsonline]

16-17 year olds who think they know all the answers usually don't make it very far. We have been in the business a lot longer than you have been alive. I'm sure you are receiving some great coaching, and congratulations on your improved velocity. There are many different philosophies out there. It's not that one is right and one is wrong. That type of attitude is incredibly hindering. If you are lucky enough to continue playing through high school, college, and perhaps beyond, you will encounter different coaches who will tell you many different things. Those who enjoy a prolonged career do so by listening and learning as much as possible, even if it conflicts with what they think they know. Those who are too arrogant to open their mind to something different don't move on - either they get hurt or they hit a wall with their development.

[@Martensite1]

DNA Sports danny is totally right and what's funny is if you slow the video down or pause it when he does a full windup, the kid's front foot is open at foot strike. DNA you guys are correct when you say keep the hips closed, but once the foot is a few inches from foot strike the upper body must go into thoracic extension and this will blow the hips open causing heel to heel alignment with an open front foot. This had to occur for the hips to rotate later in the motion.

[@jy006m]

yep watch 7:19 he lands open

[@dnasportsonline]

Send us film of your son - we would like to take a look.

[@teejay3698]

to teach these mechanics and say they are correct is crazy why dont you look at some high velocity guys none of them do any of this

[@dnasportsonline]

I think it is extremely immature and short-sighted to criticize other coaches for what they teach. By doing this, you are saying that you are the expert and the supreme source of knowledge, which seems really arrogant to me. The longer I am around this game, the more I realize that there is no such thing as a guru, and at DNA Sports we try to learn from everyone.

[@nolbertorivas3327]

Too bad !!!!

[@dnasportsonline]

While I understand the pain you went through, it’s really immature to make generalizations based on your personal story. Take your crusade elsewhere.

[@dnasportsonline]

TJ - correct your spelling: it's "ridiculous", not "rediculous" Your immaturity is clearly evident, in more ways than one.

[@19MarkDavid]

Coach, your videos always have great pointers for me to teach my young pitcher, a freshman now. I am a bit confused about the position of the lead foot. I have watched the pitching mechanics with D Baird, A Chapman, S Strausberg, T Lincecum et al. All seem to have a great stride extension and all seem to have lead foot strike with the tow pointing straight to home. I want to teach this accurately so could you advise me as to why you have your pitchers tow strike facing more to first than home?