How to do the drill
- 1
Stand sideways an arm's length from a wall, glove-side hip toward it. Put your glove hand on the wall, arm straight.
- 2
Lift your front knee and slide your front hip toward the wall, chest still sideways. Come back up.
- 3
Do 10 slow reps. Then step away, hands together at your chest, and do 10 more.
- 4
Make 10 easy throws from the stretch: lift, let your hip lead, stride and throw.
- 5
Count every rep where your hip led and your chest stayed sideways, out of 30.
Coaching cues
- Hip first, then stride.
- Stay sideways.
- Land with level shoulders.
What good looks like
The front hip moves toward the target before the foot, and the chest stays sideways until the foot lands.
Safety
Hold on to the fence or wall so you don't slip. The 10 throws count toward the day's pitches. Pitch Smart (MLB and USA Baseball) says players 7–14 need no rest day after 1–20 pitches. Skip the throws the day after pitching in a game, and stop if the arm hurts.
Why this drill
Many young pitchers fall toward the plate head-first and land with the throwing shoulder low, which drops the arm angle and sprays pitches. Leading with the hip keeps the weight back and the shoulders level, which helps both command and velocity.
Next pitching drillStrike Zone Challenge →
