Fault: The inverted L/W is an often-coached pitching technique where the pitcher’s elbows are raised above the level of the shoulders, creating an “inverted W” shape with the arms during the arm-cocking phase.

Impact: The inverted W position can cause the lead foot to land early, requiring the pitcher to speed up the arm to catch up with the lower body. This mismatch in timing increases the stress on the arm, particularly the shoulder and elbow, which can lead to overuse injuries.

Solution: “Part-whole” training where phase-by-phase mechanics drills are used to reinforce proper positioning and sequencing. Glove breaks at the wall will prevent the elbow immediately driving up and behind. Wall angel exercises will reinforce the more-efficient early-to-late cocking positions.

Fault: The hyperabducted pitching technique involves the pitcher’s arm moving excessively away from the body during the arm-cocking phase, resulting in a high degree of shoulder abduction. This technique can significantly impact the pitcher’s biomechanics and injury risk.

Impact: Hyperabduction leads to greater relative external rotation of the shoulder, placing additional stress on the shoulder joint and surrounding musculature. This increased stress can contribute to shoulder impingement, rotator cuff injuries, and labral tears. Further, it can also disrupt the natural kinematic chain of pitching, leading to inefficient energy transfer from the lower body through the torso to the arm. This inefficiency can decrease pitch velocity and control.

Solution: Glove breaks against the wall to resist increased abduction. Ensure proper lower-half dissociation and trunk positioning.

Fault: “Flying open” refers to the pitching fault where the pitcher’s front side, including the shoulder and hip, rotates too early in the pitching delivery. This premature rotation disrupts the natural sequencing of the pitching motion.

Impact: Opening the front side too early disrupts the timing of the pitching delivery. Proper timing is crucial for effective energy transfer from the lower body through the torso to the arm. Premature rotation can cause the arm to lag behind, leading to inefficient mechanics. To compensate for the disrupted timing and reduced energy transfer, pitchers often put additional strain on their arm to achieve the desired pitch velocity. The premature rotation also affects the pitcher’s ability to maintain a consistent release point, resulting in pitches that miss their intended target.

Solution: Ensure proper core/hip strength, weakness in these areas can manifest in early opening. “Part-whole” training with an added emphasis on hip-shoulder dissociation and hip turns should be used. Also check front-side LE ROM, especially hip IR/ER as limitations here can limit optimal mechanics.

Fault: A “disconnected backside” in pitching refers to a situation where the pitcher’s lower body and upper body are not working together efficiently during the pitching motion. This can be evident right at (or before ball release) wherein the back foot is no longer in contact with the ground.

Impact: Once the back foot leaves the ground, all power transfer is complete and the pitcher can no longer utilize this potential kinetic energy. When the lower body and upper body are not synchronized, the pitcher often compensates by using more arm strength to generate velocity. This additional arm effort can increase stress on the shoulder and elbow, leading to a higher risk of injuries such as SLAP tears and ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) injuries.

Solution: Utilize drills that encourage a rear toe-drag during the throwing motion with a good feel of pushing off with the backside hip/leg. Lateral plyometric drills can help with push-off strength. Overstride/figure 8 drills with isolated hip rotation can train hip-shoulder separation with the rear-foot still in contact with the ground.

Fault: Stride foot lands too “open” or “closed” (ideal angle of 10-15° closed).

Impact: This causes an uncoupling of the kinetic chain, especially if too “open” when the stride foot lands at 0°+ like the photo on the right. Doing so will cause the arm to drag, placing undue strain along the UCL and anterior shoulder. If too closed, then the pitcher will be forced to throw “across” their body, losing a lot of the force generation from the lower half.

Solution: Utilize visual cues (tape lines, paint marks, etc.) to allow for instant feedback after the throw. Use repetitive training with shadow/towel throws followed immediately by throwing with a self-check to reinforce the pattern. Figure 8 drills can help pattern the movement.

Fault: Ideal stride length is approximately 80-100% of body height.

Impact: Overstriding will generally cause the pitcher to lose balance and disrupt timing of the throw. The “goldilocks” zone of 80-100% height seems to allow for optimal timing of the lower half, torso, and arm to produce the greatest efficiency. Understriding will completely eliminate the potential energy generated from the ground through the legs, forcing the arm to work that much harder to generate the same velocity.

Solution: Encourage full strides even with shorter throws to really ingrain the habit. Use visual cues (tape lines, marks in the dirt) to give a feedback mechanism on stride length. A crossover-step when throwing 60’+ will usually keep the lower half active and encourage appropriate stride length.

Fault: Front-side/stride leg lands in overly-flexed position (>30-40°).

Impact: This causes a loss of pelvic rotation potential, reducing contributions from the lower half. The quad and glute should be engaging in synergy to produce a powerful “backwards” rotation of the front-side pelvis.

Solution: Strengthen quads/glutes. Split lunges, split squats, dead lifts, plyometrics should be utilized to maximize power and strength of the lower half. Encourage hip/trunk dissociation during throwing.