In many areas of the country, it's impossible for baseball teams to practice outside in February, March and early April. As a result, coaches have to hold their baseball practices indoors. Through improvisation, teams learn how to do fielding, base running and hitting indoors. However, to practice pitching, you have to use an indoor mound. If you don't take proper precautions, your pitchers may be at risk to unnecessary injuries.
Level Mound
Most indoor pitching mounds consist of two pieces. It is important to make sure the mound is completely level and the two pieces of the mound hook together correctly. It is important that you check to make sure the height of the practice mound matches up perfectly with the height of the landing area before any pitcher steps on the mound.
Turf Shoes
Your players must wear the proper shoes when practicing pitching on an indoor mound. Your players cannot wear spiked shoes. They must have flat or rippled soles. Pitchers who step on an indoor mound made of artificial turf and foam risk injury, and will likely tear up the mound when they pitch from it. Flat-bottomed shoes will help players pitch more comfortably and get more out of the practice session.
Landing Area
A proper indoor pitching mounds will have a long landing area that will accommodate the stride and follow through of a tall pitcher. The average indoor mound is 102 inches long. This allows for a stride that is slightly longer than 8 feet. A pitcher who is 6-foot-4 or longer may need a longer than average landing area. Asking a taller pitcher to pitch on an indoor mound that does not have a sufficient landing area is a major injury risk.
Proper Storage
If your mound is in storage for an offseason and it is kept in an area that is too hot or too cold, your mound may lose its shape. Make sure that the mound is kept in an area with proper ventilation. When players start practicing outdoors and are no longer using the indoor mound, you may throw the mound in storage and not pay a bit of attention to it for six months or longer. However, if it is kept in a damp and dark area, it could bet infested by rodents who will burrow into the foam.
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