THE BALANCE POINT by Alan Myszkowski

“Quite simply, balance is a pitcher’s ability to stabilize his center of gravity. You have to position your body to direct all your energy straight toward home plate. There’s no angular momentum, nothing to throw you off-course.” –Nolan Ryan and Tom House

The first and most vital phase within pitching mechanics is the balance point. A bad balance point can affect not only a pitcher’s velocity but most importantly his accuracy. As an instructor and coach I have found that the balance point for pitcher’s of all ages can be confusing and complicated. Within this blog I will give some important tips in how to establish a successful balance point through questions I am frequently asked.

First some important goals of the balance point:

A.)   Establish Balance

B.)    Create a Strong Center of Gravity

C.)    Positioning the Body to Deliver All Force Toward Home Plate

How should a pitcher use their legs? The first important tip of the balance point is how to use your lead leg. It is important that the pitcher does not kick their leg upward but to lift it upward using the lead knee not the foot.

The direction of the leg lift is to direct the lead knee to the back shoulder to establish a strong hip load. It is important to note that the height of the leg should be no lower than the belly button and can be as high as the pitcher’s shoulders. The height of the balance point is a direct dirivative of how much momentum the pitcher can gather to maximize their velocity.

For beginner’s it is important they start at the belly button so they don’t lose their balance with too high of a leg kick. Once the pitcher has accomplished the goal of a beginner he can begin to start raising his leg higher.

Should the front foot be relaxed or flexed? The front foot should be relaxed while reaching the apex of the leg lift. If the lead foot is flexed at the ankle the pitcher will naturally want to rotate their energy off the plate sending all their momentum to the opposite arm batting box upon their landing position considered as “opening up”.

For beginners it is important they understand the relaxed lead foot should be dangling directly under their knee. With the lead foot directly under the knee it will simplify the motion making it less complicated and provide with a limited margin of error letting the pitcher land consistently towards the plate.

Where should a pitcher’s hands be located? A pitcher’s hands should begin at the exact same point every time and should be located no lower than the middle of their chest. Any lower than the middle of their chest the momentum of the arm swing will be minimized resulting in their pitches being slowed down and not delivering their maximum speed. Also, hand position must start in the same position for each pitch to be able to maintain consistency in the break of the pitcher’s hands.

The answers to these questions should provide some additional information on the proper balance point. If you have further questions about the balance point or a suggestion of a topic or question regarding the next blog feel free to e-mail traindk@sbcglobal.net.

THE BALANCE POINT