Front Foot Closure #
FF = Front Foot
This number is probably the MOST IMPORTANT of them all because it can effect all the other numbers.
Everything works from the ground up.
So if the FF Closure # is off, it will effect being in your legs, your hips and your Bend in Arm #! <these are both numbers you will learn in Part 2>
Front Foot Weight Distribution#
Extremely important to think of this number whenever your front foot is LANDING in any drill.
FF Weight Distribution and Ankle Knee Relationship go hand in hand.
Ankle to Knee Relationship #
Downloads
There are actually TWO Ankle-Knee Relationship #s
1. When your stride foot lands. (This happens around 3/4 Position
2. When you're releasing. (Release Position, shown in video)
The only video I made is for #2. :)
I want you to also find your Ankle-Knee Relationship #s for 3/4 Position. To do this, get to a 3/4 position, or T position.
With your throwing arm out with a slight bend, have someone push down on your arm (not HARD, just with resistance). The pitcher should attempt to keep the arm up against the resistance.
Go through the same 1-2-3-4-5 Ankle Knee Relationship Numbers in this video, and choose what number feels the strongest to you.
Earlier Stages Workout
Listen to the Audio in Downloads to hear the workout! There are two different versions of the Foundational #s Workout, and you can choose the one that best fits where you are in your pitching journey! Pro Tip: Listen more than once to hear ALL of the details of the workout!
Later Stages Workout
Listen to the Audio in Downloads to hear the workout!
This is a more advanced workout! Between the Early Stages and Later Stages, choose which one best fits where you are on your journey!
This workout deals with FF Closure #, FF Weight Distribution #, and Ankle to Knee Relationship from the 3/4 Position.
Pro Tip: Listen more than once to hear ALL of the details of the workout!
FOCUS: Form, Body Awareness, Challenge
About WHIP
Whip falls under the "technique" category of Foundation and is important for speed & movement!
Bend in Arm #
Make sure when you're finding this number that your throwing arm thumb is pointed up, like if someone was shaking hands with you.
Palm slightly up toward the sky is an acceptable position.
Palm pointed down toward the ground is NOT ACCEPTABLE and will cause injury.
Bend in Arm # is best friends with "Whip". Whip is what happens when our arm, elbow, hand, wrist and fingers snap through our release.
A bend in the elbow in the back of the circle helps create that whip.
HINT: The most you lean FORWARD on your stride foot, the straight your arm will get.
MAKE SURE: Your glove hand is up, too, while you are finding this number.
MAKE SURE: You are in your in your legs like you see in this video while finding this number
Towel Whip on Knee
Action: do 25 Towel Whips on your knee.
Towel Whip on Feet
Action: do 25 Towel Whips on your feet.
Loose Whip
To do this:
1) First...make sure your bottom half is in the proper position. Your In Your Legs #, FF Closure #, FF Weight Distribution #, and your back knee is driving in, heel is up, toes are in.
2) I would recommend doing this in front of a mirror so you can see yourself.
3) Upper body stays completely still.
4) There is a whip-through release AND a whip backward to get your arm back up.
5) Think about your elbow leading both ways.
This is something you can do in 30-second increments.
Try doing it every night for a week; do 5 sets.
Remember - there should be a huge focus on keeping your upper body still. Use your core!
See Downloads for a Whip Workout AND for an Audio Tip about an additional Workout Focus to get the MOST out of your reps!
Reminder: All of these workouts and every rep is scalable. I will give you the "bones" of the workout, and you can modify to whatever YOU feel YOU need that day.
If you want to do the Towel Whips on your Knee, do them on your knee! If you want to do the Towel Whips on your feet, do them on your feet! Please do whatever you can do BEST right now. I want you to do whichever you can create the best whip on!
So focus on feel, and focus on the sound of the whip to hear which one creates most energy! You can listen to the sound and be able to tell which one was most efficient and powerful.
MAIN FOCUSES: Feeling the Bend in Arm Number and getting to that spot every rep. Making sure your FF is landing at your FF Closure #. If you feel extra spicy, incorporate your Ankle to Knee Relationship Number.
The advanced part of this workout is the section With a Ball, where you bring together hitting locations with your fastball AND making sure you're getting to your Bend in Arm #, FF Closure #, and Ankle to Knee Relationship from 3/4 Position #.
If you want to modify and do the entire workout without a ball today and try it with a ball tomorrow, DO IT! Go for it.
YOU think about what YOU need and go with FULL FORCE forward and get the most out of it.
Downloads
Repeat Strength Workout 1 Part 1
Universal Warmup Plan: This is an AWESOME Universal Warm-up you can do at any time! You can do this before strength workouts or pitching workouts!I highly recommend doing this before the strength and pitching workouts in the course!
Walking Leg Swings
Walking Quad Stretch
Walking Hamstring Scoop
Squats
Mountain Climbers
World's Greatest Stretch
Jump Squats
In your Legs #
Make sure when finding this # that your FF Closure # is locked in!
Also, make sure your weight is BALANCED between both legs.
Look at my legs and see their position. Your legs should not be straight.
Hips Closure #
Hips Closure # is pretty much best friends with your FF Closure #. :)
They work together.
Example: If your FF Closure # is a 1, it's going to be nearly impossible to have a Hips Closure # at a 5.
You don't WANT THAT.
Your body should work TOGETHER.
And everything starts from the ground up.
Google Dallas Escobedo from Arizona State - she's a great example of a 1-2.
Google Danielle Lawrie from Washington - she's a great example of a 4-5.
This number is truly based on strength, flexibility and mechanics that you have already learned.
If this is a new concept for you, I would suggest doing 1-2-3 Drill and also 3/4 Drill with Drag and trying different hip angles.
Take this time to see which one feels most powerful and comfortable for you.
See what works best and feels best!
See what is most consistent!
If this is NOT a new concept for you, I would suggest being VERY precise and certain of your number. Moving forward, hold yourself accountable to be aware of this number every time you are pitching.
Can Foundational Numbers Change?
As you're taking this time to learn about your Foundation Numbers and how the body moves, play with these numbers a little to figure out body positioning and what feels best to you, then STICK WITH THEM.
They can change, YES, but mainly they MIGHT change over TIME. It's good to check in with them, because our bodies change.
Think about revisiting these numbers once a year.
You should feel REALLY GOOD about these numbers! This way, you're more likely to stick with them!
These numbers should all be positions that enhance how powerful YOU are and should make it easier for you to put your body in the same spot over and over again when you're pitching.
The more consistent you are with these numbers, the more you will start to throw more strikes and have confidence in your command, accuracy, and speed!
The goal is to be as consistent as you possibly can be with these numbers so that your body is consistently landing in the same spot over and over and over again!
If you're someone who is already pretty accurate, I still encourage you to be in tune with these numbers and find the best ones. Finding YOUR best numbers could not only increase your accuracy but it can also help to increase your velocity.
1-2-3 Drill
THE START POSITION OF THIS DRILL IS THE MOST MOST MOST IMPORTANT POSITION YOU CAN PRACTICE!!!
Pay close attention to this leg and remember to get in this position every single time you do a drill, especially when there is no stride.
Foundational Numbers to Use:
- FF Closure
- FF Weight Distribution
- Ankle to Knee Relationship at 3/4
- In Your Legs
- Hips #
- Bend in Arm
If you CAN, give focus to all 6 of them.
If you need to just choose two, pay attention to the ones above first! Then add one Foundational Number to focus on the next time you go out to do this drill!
3/4 Drill with Drag
Create a consistent release point while incorporating your drag and more moving parts!
NOTE:
The goal is still to start in a similar position as in the 1-2-3 Drill start position. The only difference is you are striding; your drag foot goes from being on the ball of your foot to toes dragging along the ground, shoelaces down.
Drag knee starts UNDER back hip. It stays under the hip as you move through release.
Foundational Numbers to Focus on:
- FF Closure #
- FF Weight Distribution #
- Ankle Knee Relationship #
- Bend in Arm #
- Hips Closure
- In Your Legs #
If you can focus and get to all 6 of your numbers, then keep on keeping on. If you need to just choose 3, I bolded the most important ones to focus on in this drill.
Loose Whippy Arm
Downloads
I go into a deeper explanation about the finish of the pitch over in the Downloads in an Audio!
Hello Elbow vs Forearm Fire - What do I teach? What do I think?
This may be one to listen with your parents AND listen to a couple of times to take in the information!
ACTION: Get into your legs position with you In Your Legs #, Hips Closure #, and back heel up, knee in!
For 30 seconds, like I show in the video, bring a loose arm back and forth from 3/4 through your release!
As you do this, keep head still and upper body still! Stay in your legs. Try to be as still as you possibly can be with the exception of your arm moving!
DO 4 sets of 30 seconds. Take 30-60 seconds in between sets!
About your Whip Video Submission
This video is about what to insert in your next video submission. It's all about WHIP.
1) In your own words, your own explanation about Whip & Release Point. Explain to me as if I am someone who knows nothing about Whip! How would you teach me? What would you tell me?
2) 50%, 100%, & Slow Mo reps *from 3/4 drill* with no ball. Make sure you are thinking about ALL of YOUR Foundational Numbers.
3) Show me 3 Towel Whip Exercises. (They can be standing up or be from knee)
WHIP Video Submission
Make sure you watch the video prior to this about what to submit inside the video!
See Downloads for a Workout.
*Please note there is an Audio message to listen to that is more geared toward pitchers in Later Stages, but anyone may listen to it.
MAIN FOCUS: Making sure you are feeling whip, consistent release point, and making sure you are consistently getting into your foundational numbers.
If, for whatever reason, you need to do a workout without a ball, that is totally fine. Increase your focus and still commit to FEELING like a ball is in your hand.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS YOU ARE FEELING TRUE WHIP AND HITTING YOUR FOUNDATIONAL NUMBERS.
If you are doing reps without a ball and not hitting your Foundational Numbers at least every other time, you need to put the ball down and finish the workout in perfect form without a ball.
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Unless otherwise stated, if it's a rep without a ball, it does not count unless you hit your Foundational Numbers.
The great part about pitching is that there is never a one-size-fits-all approach.
I want you to modify as YOU see fit for where you are right now. Keeping the workout's focus on the whip/release point is most important!
If you are a beginner, then you can definitely stick to the 1-2-3 Drill and 3/4 Drill for the right side of the workout PDF..
Downloads
Knee Drill from K
Downloads
* Be sure to check out the Audio Message under downloads!
It doesn't matter what age you are or how long you've been pitching for, one of the BEST drills to feel your Whip and Release Point is this drill right here!
I want you to pay extra attention to the FOLLOW THROUGH of this and shoot to not only have a great Whip, but great Follow Through.
A Follow Through is what happens after you snap.
Take what you have learned about Whip into this drill, hitting the same release point over and over again and really feeling the ball come out of your hand.
I challenge you to stick your finish and your follow-through to Self-Check where your follow-through is finished at!
About Stability
Stability is a part of Body Awareness.
You can scale Stability on a scale of 1-10.
10 being the MOST Stable - head and eyes stay still, abs are engaged, chin stays over belly button.
1 being NOT Stable - head and eyes move a lot, lots of movement at release, lots of swaying in the middle of the pitch.
Whether you are doing Knee Drills, 3/4 Drill, Full Pitch, or ANY Drill, it's so important to teach your body to be stable by giving attention to how much body is moving around.
Stability is a number that will be used OFTEN moving forward.
By aiming to feel Stable, you will engage muscles throughout your pitch that you NEED to become a stronger pitcher. By being more Stable more often, your core and lower back will get stronger.
Stability helps with consistency, power, and whip!
Quality of Whip also falls under Body Awareness.
You need to be able to FEEL what was a good whip, and what wasn't.
When we can FEEL, then we can CHANGE.
We scale Quality of Whip 1-10.
10 is YOUR best Whip ever. If it were a towel pop, it would have an extra big "swoosh" sound. If you're throwing a ball, it feels like the ball came out absolutely perfectly. A 10 feels like everything is right on the money, and it's your perfect Whip/Release you can have.
1- is very stiff/tight, arm is straight in the back of the circle, there is hardly any feeling at all. If you were throwing a ball, the ball is likely to have little velocity and spin.
Your Quality of Whip can fall anywhere on the range of 1-10 on any drill you do and any full pitch you throw.
PRO TIP: The more locked in your Foundational Numbers are, the better your Whip will feel. The more locked in your Foundational Numbers are with consistency, will also feel better Whip more consistently.
About the Quality of Whip
Quality of Whip & Stability Competition
Downloads
COMMUNITY COMPETITION TIME!
Listen to the Audio in the Downloads to hear the competition!
You are playing to 500 Points.
You are doing this from Knee Drill from K Position only.
Every pitch, you rate your Stability and Quality of Whip on a Scale of 1-10. Your rating is how you accumulate points.
So on one pitch, your Stability could be an 8, and your Quality of Whip could be a 7. That would be a total of 15 points for that one pitch. You're trying to get to 500.
It's also your job to track how many pitches it takes you to get to or through 500.
If you get to 498 or 499, you must throw another pitch to get THROUGH 500 points.
Make sure you count how many pitches you have thrown so you don't have to start over.
You're aiming for the least amount of pitches!
You need someone with you that you trust to rate you and keep you honest with your Quality of Whip & Stability ratings! If no one is with you, have them watch you through Zoom or FaceTime or SOMETHING, but you need someone with you!
If you both don't agree on the number, take the lower rating.
Make sure you listen to the Audio clip so you hear what I have to say about rating yourself a 10. Do I like 10's or NOT like 10's? You'll have to listen to find out!
Knee Drill w/ Release Stop (Glove Up)
But I wanted to show you two different versions of the Knee Drill that is more advanced and focus on release point, whip, and stability even more!
With this version, the glove hand is up and pulls down. There is another video after this one that keeps the glove on the knee.
You will like one more than the other!
Action:
After the Competition, do this Knee Drill with Release Stop [glove up] for 15 pitches.
Focus on the strength of your shoulder and your core, keeping your release point close to your body and controlled.
MORE ADVANCED: This is a great drill to feel extra spin! (I always liked using this drill with baseballs or smaller balls.) It provides body awareness to your wrist and finger tips. You have release point control with both of the options of these Knee Drills!
Knee Drill w/ Release Stop (Glove Down)
But I wanted to show you two different versions of the Knee Drill that is more advanced and focus on release point, whip, and stability even more!
With this version, the glove hand stays on the knee. There is more of a focus on stability, core, whip, and snap when you can't use your glove hand!
You will like one more than the other! But to me, they're still two different drills because they feel different.
Action:
After the Competition, do this Knee Drill with Release Stop [glove down] for 15 pitches.
Focus on the strength of your shoulder and your core, keeping your release point close to your body and controlled.
MORE ADVANCED: This is a great drill to feel extra spin, too! (I always liked using this drill with baseballs or smaller balls. It provides MAJOR body awareness to your wrist and finger tips. It's definitely more challenging to do a knee drill this way, but you truly can feel the power of your whip through your finger tips!
Repeat Strength Workout 1 Part 2
Universal Warmup Plan: This is an AWESOME Universal Warm-up you can do at any time! You can do this before strength workouts or pitching workouts!I highly recommend doing this before the strength and pitching workouts in the course!
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Tempo Squats
Regressed Drop Squat
Plank
Tempo Split Squat Pt1
Tempo Split Squat Pt2
Negative Pushup
Half Neutral Grip Press
Up/Downs
Health and Nutrition - Carbohydrates
Why Carbohydrates
Downloads
Strength Workout 2
1 Tempo Bent Over Row
Part B
2 Farmer's Carry
3 Supine
Part A
1 Stick RDL
2 Glute Bridge Tempo March
3 Single Leg Drop
1 Tempo Squats
Part C
2 Single Leg V Up
