how do i practice pitching by myself?

[SSJChar]

I'm just starting to play baseball abit for fun, but would like to get better, mainly pitching. i don't want to get super good since im pretty old and im sure i won't have a chance to make any impact on local or national baseball, but good enough to make people say "hey, hes pretty good" It's currenty winter, so once it gets warmer outside, i plan on starting to start pitching more often(that is, if it turns out my funny arm problem is just nothing). how do i go about training my pitching accuracy/speed/getting the motions down by myself? i was thinking of building a target from a suspended tarp and a wood frame, but Is that the best thing to do? im afraid the tarp will rip(i dont have too much experience with tarps and throwing balls at them, so i dont know how durable they are). maybe a foam bed mattress enclosed in a wood frame? is there any blueprints on the internet on how to build a setup? id like to build it for golf too, to practice my driving.

[XFactor]

I'm just starting to play baseball abit for fun, but would like to get better, mainly pitching. i don't want to get super good since im pretty old and im sure i won't have a chance to make any impact on local or national baseball, but good enough to make people say "hey, hes pretty good" It's currenty winter, so once it gets warmer outside, i plan on starting to start pitching more often(that is, if it turns out my funny arm problem is just nothing). how do i go about training my pitching accuracy/speed/getting the motions down by myself? i was thinking of building a target from a suspended tarp and a wood frame, but Is that the best thing to do? im afraid the tarp will rip(i dont have too much experience with tarps and throwing balls at them, so i dont know how durable they are). maybe a foam bed mattress enclosed in a wood frame? is there any blueprints on the internet on how to build a setup? id like to build it for golf too, to practice my driving.

Well, to build accuracy and speed, you have to throw with 100% intensity from the mound, but you'll want to have good mechanics so you don't hurt yourself. You could go to a good pitching instructor (and hopefully he'll know what he is talking about). Or, if you wanted my opinion, you could order Dick Mills program, look over his DVDs and teach yourself.

And I'd suggest doing a search on the net to find intructions or tips on how to build a pitching/golf target :P Or others could post and give tips... either way

You may wanna do some work outs to get your body in shape (if it already is, then never mind) but you could do plyos, med ball [for abs, like pick pockets], I think there is more in detailed stuff in "The Pitching Thread"

Hope dis helps

[Sultan_1895-1948]

I'm just starting to play baseball abit for fun, but would like to get better, mainly pitching. i don't want to get super good since im pretty old and im sure i won't have a chance to make any impact on local or national baseball, but good enough to make people say "hey, hes pretty good" It's currenty winter, so once it gets warmer outside, i plan on starting to start pitching more often(that is, if it turns out my funny arm problem is just nothing). how do i go about training my pitching accuracy/speed/getting the motions down by myself? i was thinking of building a target from a suspended tarp and a wood frame, but Is that the best thing to do? im afraid the tarp will rip(i dont have too much experience with tarps and throwing balls at them, so i dont know how durable they are). maybe a foam bed mattress enclosed in a wood frame? is there any blueprints on the internet on how to build a setup? id like to build it for golf too, to practice my driving.

somethin' like this would work fine for both pitching and golf practice

http://www.anacondasports.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10201&categoryId=50755&langId=-1&sportId=49301&productId=110217

[wogdoggy]

i dont think that would work, the neting is not tight enough to hold golf balls.

[SSJChar]

baseball isn't too common in this city. we don't even have actual highschool teams, so finding a reliable pitching coach is hard and theyre probably pretty rare too. i was planning on trying to find some videos on the internet of some top pitchers, to see proper arm angle and body travel, but i just found out that you can analyze pitches frame by frame at any angle and at any distance in mvp baseball 2005, which i have. i guess now i have a decent library of successful pitching styles. ill also read that pitching thread and probably take some notes on proper technique. as for strength, i work on my core and arm strength afew times a week, so it should be ok, though my legs really need to get into shape. i can only stand up from a complete squatting position using 1 leg 6 or so times. Ive heard leg strength is very important, but i actually dont know how it helps. does it improve control?

that net looks pretty good, and i think ill try to mimick the design of it if i can find a suitable net/tarp. i plan on building one because i can get tons of wood from my scenic building class because most of the wood is thrown away after. ill probably make it smaller though. now that i think about it, id need a pretty big net for driving practice, so ill just use it for chipping practice and pitching.

[XFactor]

Well, general body strength helps, what helps control is the pitching mechanics.

In pitching you want to put as many muscles on stretch as fast as you can, and jfyi, arm strength (like curling dumbells and such) will not help in gaining velocity, once you land there is nothing you can do to increase your velocity, your arm is just along for the ride. It's the kinetic energy that you build up and travels up and delivers your arm is what makes the velocity. So if you have any weak chain (ie. weak legs, weak core, weak arm) there will be a decrease in velocity and more importantly a greater chance of injury.

I just want to stress to you that while doing work outs for your arms, it won't increase your velocity, it'll just help so that there isn't a weak chain there (less chance of injury) as long as your doing your work outs correctly.

[Riverdog]

You can do alot of practicing without throwing a ball. I also recommend you don't throw from a mound on a regular basis - that's the kind of thing that breaks down the shoulder muscles.
Practice mechanics in front of a mirror or even a window that reflects your image. Practice balance positions and stride. Mark a starting point and put a mark about the same length as your body away from that. This last point is where you should land. I agree with the video tape idea. There's lots of good ones but the parts to focus on are the simple basic steps. You need to get consistent at that before you can go further. Keep in mind that all pitchers have different mechanics and you will have your own as well. If you can start from a balanced position at all times and stride directly towards your target, you're way ahead of most. Use your reflection to make sure that your head only goes directly towards the target and not side to side.
Your core is the only strength training you need. The majority of that is gained from running. For strength you run up hills and walk down. For speed you walk up hills and run down. The steeper the better for both.
Good luck. Remember, desire goes a long ways.

[SSJChar]

thanks for the tips guys.
i think my legs are really short or something, because my pitching stride probably comes, on average, 8 inches short of my height. also, how high should i bring my forward leg up for my preaction for the pitch? naturally, i only get the thigh parallel to the ground, maybe 2 or 3 degrees higher. would i get more power if i bring my leg higher?
also, i have to have my back leg still on the rubber when i release the ball right? or am i allowed to lift it afew ms sooner?

[XFactor]

Well you want your stride length to be 83-90% of your height
Bring your leg up as high as your comfortable with, power doesn't come from how high you lift your leg, you use that as a timeing tool
And you want your back foot to be in touch with the ground during ball release, otherwise it's like throwing to a moving target