Breathing and mental mindsets are just a couple of the softball pitching mental techniques to work on when your pitchers are at the mound. You also want to make sure that they are conscious of how they take their approach to the mound.
Softball Pitching: Mental Techniques and Approaching the Mound
A pitcher should never take the mound until they are 100% ready to take that pitch. Many young pitchers have trouble focusing or get nervous. Teach your pitchers to take the mound with authority, having complete control of themselves on the mound. Complete control includes their body as well as knowing what pitch they are going to throw. They should also be nice and relaxed.
You also want to teach your pitchers to wait to take the mound until they see that the hitter is in the box. So they are going to wait behind the mound, see the hitter get into the box, look the hitter in the eyes, step onto the mound, take their signal and go into their pitch. If the hitter pulls out of the box, then the pitcher wants to pull out of the mound.
**This is a good way to get a mental edge over the hitter by letting them know that you will start throwing when YOU are ready.
You also want to pay attention to when your pitchers are breathing and taking a breath. Pitchers should take a breath as they get set, exhale as they present, and then take another breath into their pitch. The exhale comes at the end, often times in the form of a grunt — which is OK!
A Softball Pitching Mechanics Tip!
Another thing I want to talk about is the wrist bend at the beginning of the pitch. As they are set, and going back into their pitching motion, make sure there is a little bit of a bend in the wrist that bends inwards. As they come out, they should look like they are shaking hands with their catcher, with a little bit of a bend at the top of their rotation into the full open snap at the bottom. Be sure to watch your pitchers for a little bit of a bend at those key points.
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