WebBall.com - Lesson 5: Footwork for Leg Lift

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Footwork is one area of pitching mechanics made more complex than it needs to be. This lesson will attempt to dispel some myths, focus on what really matters, and then put it aside as we deal with greater concerns like hips, shoulders, arm slots, etc.

The lessons for the stride foot break down into four topics - the starting point, the lift, the stride, and landing.

Starting Positions

Here is fairly new but somewhat conventional thinking...

Load back side - keep your body back (chin over toes).
On full wind up - a shorter rocker step keeps your head over the rubber. (The purpose of this is simply to establish your rhythm so distance doesn't matter.) And step straight back, not to the side - you want to keep all motion in line with the pitch even if you'll be applying lots of torque.
On pitching from the stretch - keep the knee in tight.
Either delivery - keep landing leg loose below the knee - almost dead throughout the up-down-forward-footstrike sequence.

What the above deals with mostly is external, observable events. So re-read lesson 4, then proceed to...

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