A fast pitch softball pitcher is similar to a baseball pitcher. Technique is vitally important, and if a pitcher's "mechanics," or fundamental techniques, are off, it promises to be a tough day on the mound. There are a lot of moving parts involved in a pitchers windup and throw, and they have to be synchronized correctly. While there is no "right" way to pitch--USA Softball star pitchers Jenny Finch, Lisa Hernandez and Cat Osterman have their individual styles--they all are fundamentally sound in terms of technique.
Beginners
The All About Softball Pitching website, written by long time fast pitch coaches, councils young pitchers to focus on mechanics first, instead of worrying about speed or control. The website outlines 24 techniques and fundamentals that must be mastered to be a top-flight pitcher. For example, your stance should be comfortable. You should stand tall, feet apart for balance, with your neck and upper body totally relaxed. Other techniques and fundamentals cover everything from pre-practice routine, which should include overhead throws, to your head position, which should not move sideways when you thrown a pitch, to your stride, which should be 90 percent to 120 percent of your height.
1st and 2nd Year
After you have learned the basic pitching techniques and fundamentals, you can work on your speed. A good drill, especially in the off-season, is to pitch from a pitching rubber with a heavy rug or tarp hung 10 to 12 feet in front of you. Throw as hard as you can, without worrying about control. Do this three or four times per week, throwing about 75 pitches each session. This drill should increase your fastball speed. A change-up should become a key part of your arsenal of pitches. Throw it with the same motion and tempo and arm speed as you throw a fastball, but take velocity off the pitch by flipping up your arm and wrist before they reach your hip. Picture a rope waist high in front of you and try to throw the ball under the rope.
Advanced
At an more advanced level, you want to refine your breaking pitches, the curve, drop ball and screwball, sometimes called an in-shoot. A good breaking pitch has three components that must be correctly combined: the direction of the pitch, speed of the spin and velocity of the pitch. If your pitches don't break much or break late, they will be ineffective. To correct the situation, you must increase the amount of spin by slightly decreasing the speed of the pitch--the slower your hand goes through the release point, the easier it is to impart a tight spin. Ideally, you should develop a speed of about 58 mph on your fastball, 43 mph on your drop ball and 34 mph on your change-up. The differing speeds will baffle many batters.
Considerations
You can review the techniques of USA Softball star pitchers on videos at the All About Softball Pitching and Fast Pitch websites. The pitcher's position is the toughest in fast pitch to master, so if you don't love it, you might want to find another position to play that is not so technically demanding. However, it you are good at it, master the mechanics and thrive on the pressure, you should enjoy being the central figure in the game.
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