How To Drills for Fast Pitch Softball

Before the fast pitch softball season begins, many pitchers start preparing for the season.  I coached softball for four years and below are a list of fast pitch softball drills we used to get out pitchers ready.  Many of these drills I picked up from other coaches and various web sites.  One great site is Softball-Spot.com.

When looking for girls softball fast pitch drills, you want a set of drills that cements the fundamentals of pitching while pushing your pitcher to achieve a new standard of speed and precision.

1.  For the first girls pitching drill, have your pitchers stand in a line next to a wall or fence with their pitching arm in.  Their feet should be angled approximately 45 degrees from the wall, and they should be standing anywhere from 4 to 6 inches away from it.

Each girl is to go through all the motions of whichever pitch they prefer, the slingshot or the windmill, or they may practice both.  By practicing beside the wall I find my girls to be less likely to drop their shoulders and lapse into the swooping motion that can be damaging come game time.

2.  The pitcher starts with a bucket of balls at her side standing at her usual pitching spot.  She is to throw a ball with the goal of crossing the plate.  If she is successful, she moves back 5 feet (or one giant step) and throws another.  For every successful throw over the plate she moves back until she can no longer throw over the plate.  The best aspect of this drill is that pitchers will notice an improvement on their distance throwing skills after only a few short weeks of practice.

3.  The next drill is called short throw.  This drill starts with the pitcher about 25 feet away from the catcher.  They begin throwing their favorite way.  The idea is to work on speed release and control of the pitch.  This is similar to drill two.  However, they stay in one place without moving back.

4.  T-ball throw.  With this drill, the pitcher starts with a bucket of balls.  A batting T is placed on home plate with a ball on it.  The idea is for the pitcher to knock the ball off the T.  The drill works great, if you have a net behind home plate that shags the pitches.  We use to use a large fish net that was used for fishing.  We would string it over portable volleyball standards.

5.  Finally, have the pitcher on a set pitch count and have them throw without a  batter.  The coach or catcher charts balls and strikes by the pitcher.

These drills are excellent before the season gets under way.

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