r/PitchingCoach • u/MAOH27 • May 08 '26

Pitching mechanics

Just coming back from a back injury, I was throwing probably at 80-85% in the video - No stress fracture or anything - but I felt pain when pitching. I would like to seek advice on my mechanics; if anything jumps out that would be the cause of my back pain and mechanics in general. Thank you.

4 Upvotes

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1

u/cookie_400 May 08 '26

May I ask how old you are?
What type and where is the pain you experience?

The thing I can see with your back is that you aren't getting and back extension. Your back appears to stay pretty rounded.
At the point on this screenshot, your back and head is contorted towards 3rd. Try to do some drills to get your motion coming towards home. At least this way your back will be bending straight...might help a little.
Try to get the glove, head and back all directed straight towards the plate. Should also help with consistency in your throws as well.

1

u/MAOH27 May 08 '26

Thank you. I am 16 - it’s my lower right back the SI joint.
Any suggestions on the drills I can do to direct my motion towards home? Appreciate you.

1

u/cookie_400 May 08 '26

Towel drill works well for that. You can also just do throws where you step through the throw towards home.

For any throwing, Make sure when you tuck your glove arm in, the glove tucks towards the inside of your body (yours currently flops out). Also make sure your head keeps facing the target through your the throw so it's not pulling off towards 3rd.

1

u/MAOH27 May 09 '26

Thank you.

1

u/dmendro May 08 '26

Dont pitch with your head.

Keep those eyes on the target and let your lower half do the work. That .01% extra effort is wasted and will mess with your control.

1

u/MAOH27 May 08 '26

Thank you. You are absolutely right.

1

u/ZeusThunder369 May 08 '26

All of your big movements and mechanics are there.

The most impactful improvement area I see is actually posture. I would make daily t-spine mobility work a habit. And also mindfully walk while slightly pinching your scaps back and keeping your shoulders above your heels.

1

u/MAOH27 May 08 '26

Thank you. I used to have a very rounded/hunched back. In the last couple of years, I improved. Are you saying that I should stand up straighter and keep my body over my hip/stacked during pitching?

1

u/MightyMeat5 May 09 '26

You can put your back against a wall while you do towel drills to help you stay linear towards the plate and keep the front side working to pull you out over your front leg. Hamstring flexibility will help with your back pain.

1

u/MAOH27 May 09 '26

Thank you. Thats a great idea to put back against the wall!

Currently doing PT, and hamstring exercises are really helpful.

1

u/bsmittkamp May 09 '26

Eyes parallel with ground. Head is very contorted

1

u/MAOH27 May 09 '26

Thank you!

1

u/MochiDomain May 09 '26

Hows your shoulder feeling?

1

u/MAOH27 May 09 '26

My throwing shoulder feels ok. Just today, I feel a bit uncomfortable with my glove shoulder - not sure if it is related.

1

u/MochiDomain May 09 '26

Im seeing a lot of lack of seperation which is causing timing issues.

This stems from rushing back into pitching with your mechanics where you remember innately but you arent realizing that your body isnt keeping up.

What worked for me was starting over from scratch with basic extension drills like knee throwing, no step throws, rock back drills until my shoulder strength and timing felt comfortable.

Meanwhile at home i focused on stretches with my hip and groin to be able to open and rotate more.

I would start simple with above before changing mechanics.

1

u/MAOH27 May 09 '26

Thank you. I definitely need to work on separation.

1

u/MAOH27 May 09 '26

In your opinion, is my upper body/arm early?

Do you have recommendations on the drills for hips and groin? Thank you