Photo: Thomas Schönenborn|
The first part of the series dealt with the leg lift and the hip load. Part two deals with the stride.
The striding phase overlaps with the loading and rotation phase.
It is characterized by
- Stride power - the distance and speed of the stride
- Alignment - the placement of the foot in contact with the ground
Sufficient rope length ensures a good angle for power transmission during the lead leg block and creates time for hip rotation and for the arm. You should always aim for a long rope length.
The length of the stride depends primarily on the flexion of the back leg and how well the player can move. This is why it is often not helpful to coach them using cues with an internal focus, such as "do a longer stride". This can quickly lead to negative effects in the sequencing. A short stride with good timing is better than a long stride with bad timing.
A better approach is to improve the pitcher's athleticism (especially mobility, coordination of lunges in all variations and stride jumps) and then improve the specific movement patterns via regression exercises such as roll-ins, step-backs and walking windups. Also, an improved lead leg block can allow an athlete to do a bigger stride.
The same applies to the stride speed. This correlates with higher ball speed, but can disrupt the timing of the sequencing if it is too fast for the player. It can also be improved through better athleticism and throwing regression.
The stride direction depends very much on the previous components of the delivery, with hip flexion in particular playing a major role. In addition, if the rear foot has too little contact with the ground and anatomical restrictions can influence the direction of the stride.
It often helps to instruct the athlete to move their head along a line to home plate instead of telling them where their foot should land. If this doesn't work either, it may be due to strength, mobility or other limitations that need to be addressed.
Good exercises that improve your stride are roll-ins and walking wind-ups.
Part 3 continues with the rotation phase and the role of the hips.