5 Tips for Proper Throwing Mechanics
Proper throwing mechanics are important to have as a growing softball player to be not only effective but stay injury-free. It’s also hard to defeat teams and make outs if you can’t successfully field and throw the ball accurately. Defense is a crucial aspect of helping out your team get up to bat faster, prevent runs, and back up your pitcher after she works hard on the mound to do her job. We are going to look at some ways that could help you achieve a strong softball throw with good mechanics.
Collect
This is the transition point from fielding to throwing. After properly fielding the ball with it comfortably in your glove, you should be in the process of bringing your hands to the middle of your chest to start your throwing. Your “lead” shoulder on your glove side should be pointed directly at your target, feet shoulder width apart, with a slight bend in the knee. This is where it is important to be balanced so you can have an accurate throw and have the proper grip on the ball. Depending on how big your hands are, two or three should go across the wide part of the seams with your thumb supporting the ball underneath.
T-bow
This next step is also referred to as “scarecrow” or just the “T” position. With the proper grip on the ball explained in the previous step, start separating your arms directly outward until you have a T shaped look to your upper body. This helps gain momentum for a more powerful throw and make your whole throw a lot smoother. Your arms should be slightly bent with your glove hand on the way to point directly at the target.
Flex
With your glove arm and shoulder pointing straight at the desired target, your throwing hand should be at a 90-degree angle as if you are flexing. This part is a good point to check yourself because if you look straight back at your flexing arm, you should see the back of your hand and NOT the ball. If the ball is facing you then this could lead to inconsistent throws in the future. For your bottom half, knees should still have a slight bend but now most of your weight should transfer to your back foot.
Palm to the Sky
With your throwing hand starting to make a forward motion, your eyes and glove hand should be pointed at the target. Keeping that throwing hand at a 90-degree angle, stop as your hand becomes aligned with your ear. The palm of your hand should be facing upward toward the sky with the ball doing the same. If your glove hand pulls before releasing the ball, you could experience a less accurate throw. On the lower half, your weight should be in the process of shifting from the back to the front leg with your hips turning to be squared up with your target.
Flick of the Wrist
The last step of properly throwing a softball accurately and with power all comes down to the snap and follow-through of your throw. Taking your throwing hand from your ear, the forward motion continues, and your palm is left facing down after snapping your wrist and releasing the ball. The follow-through is just as important making sure you don’t stop yourself to receive the most power out of your throw as possible. Keeping eye contact with your target the entire time is a big aspect of throwing accurately.
