Improving Your Baseball Throw

Improving Your Baseball Throw
By guest author: Nancy Kelsey Smith

Without a doubt, one of the most popular of American sports is the game of baseball. It is played by pee wees and little league players, some of whom are not even of school age yet. It is played in high schools and colleges and at the professional level. It is also a popular activity for city and county recreational teams.

Baseball is a game that requires skill, speed, coordination and accuracy. In order to become proficient at this sport (or any other), it is necessary to learn the correct techniques associated with this game and then to put in a sufficient amount of time practicing those techniques.

One of the most important elements of the game of baseball is the art of throwing a ball accurately and with sufficient speed. Nothing can adequately substitute for training and practice but it is helpful to understand the mechanics of good ball throwing. The hand placement is crucial is you want to throw a ball quickly and have it go where you intend it to go. Placing the ball in your dominant hand (your throwing arm) with the first and second fingers griping across the seams and your thumb on the underneath side for support but also griping across the seams on the bottom is the correct placement of the ball. This position may not seem natural at first but after some practice using this technique one can understand how this ball placement allows the ball to travel straighter and faster.

Keeping the ball on the fingertips where it will get the fastest release rather than settling toward the back of the hand will result in a superior throw. The optimum throw involves wrist action as well as hand and arm movement. When preparing to throw, cock the wrist backward so that it becomes a full arm effort when the ball is brought forward rather than just an arm movement only. This will also increase power and speed.

Correct body alignment calls for squaring your body toward the object you are aiming at and then lining up the rest of your body in like manner. As you progress into the throw, your throwing elbow should be at shoulder height and your knuckles pointing skyward. The ideal throw is more of a circular motion than a straight back and forth movement. Again, this may seem unfamiliar and odd if you are not used to throwing this way but with practice it will produce much better results than a simple back to front movement with the ball.

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