Just as you don’t want to throw every pitch outside, you don’t want to make every pitch to the inside of the plate either. You need to have a good variety of pitches both inside and outside, and you need to throw both fastballs and off-speed pitches to both corners.
For example, pitching inside makes the strike zone bigger, especially if you are hitting your spots. It changes the hitter’s perspective.
In today’s video blog post, I am sharing a timed set pitching drill that is great for young pitchers, especially pitchers who have trouble with short attention spans. It works pitches on the inside of the plate and pitches on the outside of the plate. At the younger levels, if you can hit your spot and work different sides of the plate, you can be just as effective as the older players with moving pitches.
The “Time-Set” Pitching Drill for Inside/Outside Pitches
In the Time Set pitching drill, the pitcher works Inside-Outside-Inside-Outside, really focusing on hitting balls on both sides of the plate.
The coach gives the Go command, and then the pitchers will throw for 3 minutes, alternating inside and outside.
Your catcher should be set up well on either the inside or outside of the the plate, giving a good low target, and your pitchers should throw a good fast ball to the knees of the catcher.
When you are telling your pitchers to throw inside or outside pitches, their power lines are going to set more to one side of the plate or the other, so you need to teach them to draw their target line in or out a little bit. The pitching mechanics stay the same, but the direction of the pitchers body is the only thing that changes.
The focus of this drill is to throw the perfect pitch. By working in the set, you get your pitchers focused on one specific task for a set amount of time, and then at the end of that set, they can release briefly before moving on to the next drill work.
Looking for more awesome softball pitching drill ideas? Then be sure to check out Championship Coach Sue Enquist’s other Softball Coaching Videos! Sue will share some great tips and softball pitching mechanics, hitting and much more! And don’t forget to Like Us on Facebook, where we share more great ideas and suggestions for your practice plan! You can also Follow Us on Twitter and Hangout with us at Google+!