| How long should my stride be? That is a question | | | | the ball the better. To the batter's eye the ball |
| that I get from many coaches, parents and | | | | appears to be going faster than it really is. So, |
| pitchers. Many experts give their opinion of how | | | | you are working with distance. Furthermore, when |
| long a stride should be; some say as long as you | | | | you throw inside, the batter has to react that |
| are tall, some say longer and some say 75% of | | | | much quicker to the pitch as well. In order for him |
| your height. The answer is as far as your body | | | | to hit the ball on the fat part of the bat, he has |
| will allow you to while maintaining proper pitching | | | | to react much quicker to get the bat around. |
| mechanics. You don't want to jump to foot strike | | | | Again, distance helps you as a pitcher. |
| (loosing balance and posture) just so you can add | | | | How do you get a longer stride? Maintaining a |
| a foot to your stride. You want to push off the | | | | proper strength and flexibility pitching workout is |
| ball of your pivot foot while maintaining a closed | | | | important. For example, if your hip flexors aren't |
| posture to foot strike. Don't jeopardize your | | | | conditioned to handle the demands of the |
| pitching mechanics at the expense of gaining | | | | workload pitching places on them, it will affect |
| distance. There is a way to do it right. | | | | your distance and you will be more prone to |
| Why is a long stride important? There are two | | | | injury. To add distance, try a delayed shoulder |
| reasons why you need a good stride. One is to | | | | rotation. Some pitchers gain an extra 6 inches to |
| gather enough momentum to foot strike so your | | | | a foot delaying their shoulder properly. Work on |
| fastball has pop. The most exciting reason is that | | | | releasing the baseball later; this will also help you |
| 1-foot = 3 mph perceived pitching velocity. The | | | | gain some pitching velocity. |
| closer you are to home plate when you release | | | | |