Throwing Arm - From the Break to the Cocked Position

After the hands break, the throwing arm should take a down, back and up path until arriving at the cocked position. Young pitchers should focus on the throwing hand. The ball should be pulled out of the bottom of the glove when the hands are breaking. The hand should stay on top of the ball (palm down) when taking the ball down and back. The action here is circular. As the arm comes up, the ball and palm of the hand turn outward (toward the short stop for a right-hander). When the elbow of the throwing arm reaches the height of the shoulder and the hand is over the biceps, the pitcher is in the "cocked" position. The palm should still be facing outward. At this point, the front leg should be planted and the non-throwing shoulder should still be pointed toward the target.

When taking the ball back, some pitchers extend too far and are not able to get the ball in the cocked position soon enough. Their front leg is planted, their body is ready to turn for the throw, but the ball is too far behind them. Throwing the ball from this position greatly reduces velocity and, more importantly, puts a great deal of stress on the shoulder. Another problem occurs when the palm turns toward the target while bringing the ball up to the cocked position. This also puts too much stress on the arm during the early acceleration of the hand.