The better you stretch and warm-up before a game (or practice), the better you will pitch.
Plan on a thirty minute warm-up for high school pitchers with a repertoire of three or more pitches. Younger pitchers with few advanced pitches can do a pre-practice preparation in twenty minutes or so.
- Warm-up with your regular catcher if at all possible. She needs to see what is working and what is not, and what pitches your are throwing accurately.
- Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect. Take your warm-up seriously. Don’t goof around, and don’t get sidetracked in other conversations that will make you loose your concentration.
- Start your warm-up right as close to practice or game time as possible. But don’t cut things too close. You don’t want to get warmed too soon, then cool down and lose your sharpness before the game. But you also don’t want to start warming-up too late and not have enough time to get everything loose and your pitches working.
Before You Start Throwing:
1. Jog, then Run – for at least 5 minutes…to loosen up before stretching
2. Stretch-out completely (especially arms, shoulders, trunk, and legs) – 5-10 minutes
* Take plenty of time to stretch right…this can affect your pitching speed & prevent injuries
Thirty Minute Pitching Warm-Up:
3. Overhand throwing – start easy at short distance, then gradually extend the
distance and work up to full speed4. Underhand throwing – start close and easy, then work to full distance, full speed
5. Accuracy – get your fast ball hitting the corners
6. Change-up – get your change to work deceptively and accurately
9. Accuracy – get your breaking pitch(es) (drop, curve, screwball, and rise ball) working
right and accurately10. Practice all of your pitches. Catcher: call them just as you would in a game.
If one doesn’t work or isn’t accurate, throw it again…until you get it right.