Accomplished pitchers have pinpoint control of at least three different pitches that often include a fastball and changeup along with one of the following: drop, rise, screw, or curve. They may have a couple of others to throw now and then to keep the batters off stride, but these are the majority of pitches called. To make the transition to being a successful high school pitcher you must master throwing your fastball for strikes and then develop your off-speed pitches.
Why Riseballs are effecitve:
Using a pitch that is changing planes as it approaches the hitter is one of the most effective ways to create ground balls, fly balls and strikeouts. As coaches, we teach our hitters to stay balanced. Having a rise ball will keep opposing hitters off-balance.
Longtime softball coach Joe Catalano teaches one movement pitch at a time. He makes sure a pitcher has mastered and understands the previous one before teaching a new pitch. Most importantly, that means successfully throwing the pitch for strikes in a game situation. “The rise ball is one of the hardest pitches to master and the main reason why a lot of coaches save this pitch for last in her learning progression,” Catalano said.
A lot of pitchers get confused when throwing this pitch because they want to call a high fastball a rise ball. The difference between the two is that a high fastball stays on the same upward plane from release to catcher’s glove. The rise ball breaks sharply upward approximately 8-10 feet in front of the plate.
“The two best rise ball pitchers I have ever worked with were Lindsay Garbacz-Morris, a standout at Canisius College, and Michelle Krier, still the all-time strikeout leader at Kenmore West High School,” Catalano said. “What they both had in common was the ability to put tremendous backspin on the ball and the ability to get that late break needed to make the pitch extremely effective. They both tried to get the ball to look inviting to the hitter and then rise just out of the strike zone.”
The best rise balls go up and over the strike zone and lead to many strikeouts or pop ups.
Tips for Learning the Rise
1) Learn the spin first. On all pitches, the ball must spin in the direction you want the ball to go. With the rise ball, the spin should be backwards or up. It is a very simple law of physics (Bernoulli’s Principle). Unless the ball is spinning up, it will not rise. Young pitchers think they have a rise ball, but in fact it is only a high thrown fast ball. The ball must have backwards spin to jump. The axis of the ball (or the “eye” of the ball) must be parallel to the ground and to the pitcher. If you can see any part of the axis, it is not a perfect spin. You can find or make different pitching tools to help you learn and understand the correct spin but I have found that the most effective tool is the “Spin Right Spinner.” It is important to be able to identify the spin on the ball. Learning to identify the spin on pitches can make a pitcher her best pitching coach. Players need to learn the understanding of what is meant by HOW to pitch.
2) Grip. There are several different ways to grip the rise ball. The most common ways are (1) Index and middle fingers parallel to the seams with the middle finger on the seam. (2) Fingers parallel with the seams with the index finger knuckled up to permit the finger tip t dig into the seam. (3) Create a “C” with the thumb and index finger. The index finger, thumb, and middle finger on a seam. The pitcher can experiment with a few grips based on the size of her hand. The “C” grip or the 4-seam fastball grip may work best. Pitching coaches find it effective to have the pitcher place her thumb along the side of one seam and her middle finger along the side of another with a seam separating the thumb and middle finger.
3) Stride: The stride should be longer than normal, and this is because it will help the pitcher get lower than normal at release point. Ideally, the pitcher should think of “dragging her knuckles” at the under portion of the release point.
4) Release: At the release, the pitcher should focus on having her hand/fingers facing third base (for right-handed pitchers) and first base (for LHP) over the ball or on top of the ball. She then aggressively turns her hand under the ball trying to get perfect backspin on the ball. The phrase here is to tell the pitcher to “get over then under the ball” at release point.
5) Posture: For all movement pitches, the pitcher should be reminded of the rule for correct posture: Where the head goes is where the body goes, and where the body goes is where the ball usually goes. Therefore, when throwing the rise ball the pitcher should try to tilt her head and shoulders backward as she is releasing the ball.
- Follow through: After releasing the ball, the pitcher should finish high with her throwing hand and point her index finger to the sky.
6) Body Positioning. The body must be behind and underneath the ball to allow for the correct spin. The elbow should be in and throwing shoulder lower than catching shoulder and there cannot be a bend in the back leg. The weight CANNOT be on the pitcher’s front foot. The weight must be shifted back. Try to correct a crow hop early on. A crow hopper’s weight is automatically thrown forward during the pitch. Then there must be a change in the momentum and direction of the body to get in the correct position. Save some energy and stay back!
4) Release. Right before the release, the wrist is cocked with the palm facing out and your fingers starting with the palm facing out and your fingers starting the rotation from on top of the ball to the bottom of the ball (thumb starting on the bottom and rotating to the top). At the actual release, the fingers should be under the ball with the back of the hand brushing the side of the hip or thigh. At all times the palm should be facing out. The emphasis at release should be on the wrist snap. Avoid over-bodying the pitch in an attempt to throw it high. This will bring the throwing shoulder up out of the correct release position resulting in incorrect spin, inconsistent location, or lazy movement.
5) Progression. Pitchers have a tendency to throw only from full distance. That could be the demise of the rise ball. Starting at shorter distances from the catcher, maybe three to five feet and progressing back a little at a time is probably the best way to learn. I would suggest mastering the spin at the distance the pitcher is at first before progressing to a longer distance.
6) Pitch Location. The rise should be thrown at the top of the strike zone and jump out of the zone, or at the knees and jump into the mid-thigh region. The pitch should never break into the hitters mid-section.
7) During what situations should the rise ball be thrown? A rise ball can be used in all kinds of situations. We can take into consideration the weather, fences, game situations, your defense, your pitcher, and the hitters. Coaches should have a general idea what the opposing hitters can and cannot hit by their swings either in the on-deck circle or previous swings or at bats.
Here are some examples:
Hitter’s Stance:
- Up in front of the box–rise in or out.
- Closed stance–rise inside
- Crouches over the plate–rise in or out
- Close to the plate–rise inside
- Tilted head–rise inside
- No weight shift–rise inside
- Stride towards the plate–rise inside
- Stride away from the plate–rise outside
- Long stride–rise in or out.
Hands/Swing
- Hitch–rise in or out
- Lunges–rise in or out
- Hands low–rise in or out
- Hands away from the body–rise inside
- Loopy swing–rise in or out
- Choppy swing–rise in or out
- Parallel bat–rise in or out
- Slow bat–rise inside
- Inside-out swing–low rise inside
- Swings up–rise in or out.
High humidity and low altitude is more desirable for a rise ball than low humidity and high altitude. Generally, rise balls should not be the pitch of choice with short fences. Consider the game situation. Any time a fly ball is needed the rise ball is and excellent pitch to throw. It is one of the most common pitches that pitchers throw for strikeouts, bunt situations and if your defense has a weaker infield. You also need to know your pitcher. Is it her bread and butter? Is she tired? If a pitcher is tired, a rise ball has a tendency to flatten out. These are just a few suggestions for good or bad situations to throw the rise ball.
8) When should the pitcher learn the rise ball? Not everyone is the same, but the most common order of learning pitches is the fast ball, change up, drop ball, then the rise ball. Too much at once may hinder the progression of a pitcher’s skills so I would recommend learning one pitch at a time.
As usual, the mechanics of a pitch should be learned first. Eventually work on speed and then ultimately control and locations.
A pitcher must gear her thoughts toward success goals, not failures. As it is a coach’s job to facilitate the positive atmosphere, it is ultimately up to the pitcher to make the improvement happen. Pitchers must learn to improve as pitchers and not just throwers.
Teaching the Rise Ball
1. Start with teaching the correct spin on the ball.
• Have the pitcher start in the open position, setting the ball in her hand at the release point and then simply have her turn her hand over the ball, flipping it over her back shoulder. The pitcher gets immediate feedback on the release and correct spin.
• Have the pitcher kneel on her front knee with her back knee up about 20-25 feet from the catcher (similar to the knee drill only the back knee is up for this drill). The pitcher starts with the ball in front of her knee and takes a full arm circle. When her hand reaches her back knee she uses the over/under technique at release and snaps the ball up at the catcher. The pitcher should slam her wrist into the knee allowing the ball to spin backward to the catcher. The catcher should be standing with her glove chest high. The goal is for the pitcher to get tremendous backspin on the ball and get the ball to go up.
- Move the pitcher to the mound and start by going over one principle at a time. Stay with that one principle until the pitcher has mastered that technique before going on to the next one. The goal is to work on fundamentals, not control. Practice correct spin (seams must rotate backward), stride length (longer than normal), release point (hand over ball and snapping hand under ball while dragging her knuckles), followed by posture (lean back with head and shoulders), and follow through (point index finger to sky).
Rules of the Rise Ball
There are many technique adjustments that the pitcher should make as opposed to throwing her fastball. Remember that learning to throw the riseball along with any other breaking pitch takes time, commitment, patience, and practice. This pitch will not be mastered overnight.
When you’re satisfied with the progress your pitcher is making, add speed of spin. The more spin = more break.
Drills to Practice the Rise ballThe Rope Drill: The coach sets up a rope 8 feet in front of the plate and anywhere from 3-4 feet off the ground, based on the height of the pitcher. Set up a second rope set up just at the back of home plate 4-6 inches higher than the first rope. The coach can use metal rods or broom poles to attach the ropes. The object of the drill is for the pitcher to get the ball to go under the rope in front of home plate and above the second rope.
This is an extremely difficult drill, so the coach may adjust the ropes to help the pitcher. The pitcher gets immediate feedback as to whether the ball is rising or not. She will understand how vital it is to get tremendous backspin on the ball and as much speed of spin as possible. It will also teach her what it means to drag her knuckles at release point.
The Long Toss Drill: The pitcher works her way back to a distance twice the normal distance and throws her rise ball. The main purpose of this drill is that it helps the pitcher with posture (leaning back with head and shoulders), staying low at release and lengthening her stride.
Wrapping Up the Pitching Progression
The rise ball requires an inordinate amount of repetitions and patience. The sooner the pitcher can throw this pitch in games, the better.
Riseball Videos: