Casey Bass: Today on club house gas, we're going to be joining by softball instructor sports psychologist Crissy Rapp. Now she has played all over the world and she is even coached at collegiate level. Today, she is going to work with me on how to become a fast pitch - pitcher, it's the very basics; I've never done it before. So if you've got a little girl and she wants to become a pitcher, these are a couple of things mom and dad that you can work with them on to help them to develop the tools that they'll need to be a successful pitcher in fast pitch softball. It's going to be pretty interesting and I am guaranteed to make a fool out of my self so stay tuned to club house gas.
We're lucky enough to be joined again by our softball guru Crissy Rapp. You're going to teach me today how to pitch.
Crissy Rapp: That's right.
Casey Bass: I have absolutely no knowledge of this topic so good luck to you.
Crissy Rapp: Okay.
Casey Bass: So where do we start?
Crissy Rapp: We are going to start simple. First thing with beginner pitchers is working on the motion and hand placement for the appropriate snap. Your fast ball is your pitch that you really need to start with obviously, so until we get that fast ball mastered and that's not mastered, only they are coming move to other pitches. When we talk about hand placement, what we want to see is a backward see in the ball and you want to tell your athlete to put four if their hands are smaller or three fingers on those seams. And you want a little bit of a gap between the palm and the ball in order to allow that snap action. All we want to do to start is work on cocking the wrist back and snapping it and letting the ball roll right off the fingers, and we want to get as many rotations as we can with all four seams spinning seam over seam. So we don't want to see it spinning sideways, which means that we're kind of swinging it or turning it to the side. So we really want -- and I call it standing behind the ball. So you keep your hand right behind that ball and it's not shooting of the side. So it's the first skill to really master is that snap , snapping the ball up getting it to spin as much as possible and stand behind the ball, which Casey is going to work it on.
Casey Bass: Now is most of that done with the fingers or the wrist?
Crissy Rapp: Most of it's done with the wrist. Most of it's done with wrist and it just really rolls off the finger tips, so you want the pads of your fingers right on those seams. Lot of pitchers like the ball with the bigger seams because they get that better grip and they can really feel the seams under their fingers and they can get that good spin action of rolling it off the fingers. So each time, I want you to really cock the wrist back and then snap it up, cock it back, snap it up. And you see, we're putting a black mark on the ball. We do that for beginner pitchers, you can put a marker on, you can put electrical tape around it, we want to see that line spinning over and over verses side to side, so I know that Casey's hand is staying right behind the ball. That's perfect good spin, so snap it up, get it to spin, that's it, cock the wrist every time back and up and if you have a couple of beginner pitchers, you can do this back and forth as many drips as possible. You can do this drill enough if you a beginner pitcher, because no matter how fast your arms spinning, no matter how strong your legs are, if your wrist isn't snapping the ball then your fast ball isn't going to be very fast.
Casey Bass: Very fast.
Crissy Rapp: Exactly. So that's one drill that we covered.
Casey Bass: Oh, it's easy.
Crissy Rapp: For a beginner pitching, so that's the snap. From there, we can take this drill and a drill that players can do on their own is to do the same concept to go under the knee so they're working on snapping it up. So again, each time don't rush, make sure that they are getting nice grip, they don't scrub it and snap it. We want to see that seam fingers on it come under, cock that wrist, snap it straight up. Ultimately you want that wrist to get strong enough so they can snap it higher and higher if you want a -- you can have a partner standing in front of them as they start with this and then they'll just get used to that action of snapping it up, getting the four seam spinning, and strengthening their wrist for the snap. You're going to give a shot?
Casey Bass: I think I am going to go under this leg though.
Crissy Rapp: Okay.
Casey Bass: Because I think my shoulders are too wide to reach across. We'll try to hit myself in the mouth, of course you guys will like that.
Crissy Rapp: I said, cock the wrist, snap it up, hey don't you spin.
Casey Bass: I am a man.
Crissy Rapp: I want that ball rotating as much as possible.
Casey Bass: Surely think I can.
Crissy Rapp: The four seams also helps that. The ball is going to have a natural drop if you're throwing hard enough your four seams cutting through the air, which is always helpful to have a little bite on it at the end of the pitch. And always encourage your beginners, keep it up, you're doing good.
Casey Bass: Thanks. That's reinforcement, I like it.
Crissy Rapp: Perfect.
Casey Bass: I am a man.
Crissy Rapp: Okay, so that's the snap, couple of simple drills for the snap. From there, the next thing that's very important for you beginner pitcher is to realize the arm circle and the path that the ball has to travel before the snap. I tell the athletes, the young pitchers to imagine a hula ho right here by their side. And that ball has to travel up the front of hula ho, all the way to the top, down the back and then snap it at your hip. So the ball is traveling up to your ear and right down the back to your hip. You'll see a lot of beginners that haven't bending their elbow and they don't get that full extension and you'll also see a lot of athletes bending over when they are pitching. So I will tell them be as tall as you can be, you see Jennie Finch, she's got that natural leverage advanced, she's getting that ball up real high which is aiding her velocity.
Casey Bass: It's all like a 11th, basic -- physics.
Crissy Rapp: Right, so we want to push forward, to beginning of the player who reach all the way up to the top and it's going to take a stand to our snap. So we just do a couple of walking.
Casey Bass: Where do you like going that?
Crissy Rapp: Right up to hip, yeah, that's your release point. Again, that's
just a lot of muscle membranes for that snap action happening at the hip.
Casey Bass: So up and back, when do I start my step?
Crissy Rapp: So we are going to start with the ball right on your leg if your top of your hand facing the catcher and we're going to push, both hands are going to travel toward the catcher initially. Then they separately open up and it comes right down the back, that's it. Then you would snap right here.
Casey Bass: You launch your hips; you go through with your hips?
Crissy Rapp: Well, we're going to open here at the top and then as we come down we snap the ball and then our hip snap. So our hip is closed right after the ball crosses there. And when we get to the point of devolving, right at the top, it's going to be pointed toward that shortstop so that's when the cocking action is going to come in to -- as you push forward you're going to naturally pop that wrist right toward the shortstop coming down, yeah, right back to your snap that we worked on.
Casey Bass: Alright.
Crissy Rapp: There you go.
Casey Bass: I am so happy I didn't hit the camera, I am ready to quit.
Crissy Rapp: Now the one thing that I saw is like Casey's shoulders came forward.
Casey Bass: Like this?
Crissy Rapp: Yeah. And if you have the slow pitch pitchers that are making the transition, this is something that you often see. Slow pitchers is getting weeded out but still we have some players who will come from slow pitch and then they want to lean forward, so I'll just grab the back of their shoe, so in case they start, if their shoulders come forward.
Casey Bass: And that will got up.
Crissy Rapp: Think it's a feeling for staying tall and keeping your shoulders back. So again we want to remind, both arms move all the way to the top of head, then all the way down the back.
Casey Bass: If you have the knees big as me to drag you around.
Crissy Rapp: That is true.
Casey Bass: Alright, so there's three quick drills.
Crissy Rapp: Three quick drills.
Casey Bass: I am sure I can strike anybody out right now, rather they are still I am sure they one day we will pitch too as we can do it for the day. We'll see you right back here tomorrow on Clubhouse Gas.
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