The drill below should be performed 2 – 3 days a week, for at least 3 – 4 months. The drill should also be performed after completing the “Flexibility Training” portion of the Fusion System which can be found in the Ace Pitcher Handbook. You can also find more drills in the handbook. Try to push each drill to muscle fatigue, if possible.What you will need to perform the drill is your glove and some resistance tubing. All of these products can be purchased at the Velocity Store.

The purpose of this drill is to enforce the “Chest Thrust” position. To perform this drill you need a resistance band or tubing. Connect the band to a fence or have someone hold the band behind you.

Instructions:

Start in the “Chest Thrust” position, with the band held with your throwing arm resting behind you. Your chest is up and your hips are under your chest. Both of your feet facing the target in a full stride.

When ready, drive your chest out over your front foot while continuing to relax your arm. All of your weight is now on your front foot.

Once your chest hits the wall, extend your elbow above your head and out in front of your body, finishing the pitch. DO NOT ALLOW YOUR FRONT KNEE TO MOVE.

* The goal of this drill is to shift your weight as fast as possible while relaxing your arm. Velocity is based on how fast you can shift your weight and then transfer that into the ball. This is why it is important to stabilize the front leg and not let it bend.

Purchase the Ace Pitcher Handbook for more drills and to learn the 6 Components of Pitching.

The best way to achieve separation is with your hips. You must understand that there is a delay from your hips to shoulders. This means your hips start first and your shoulders hold and when your hips stop, your shoulders commit. Just like the picture above, you must see the component “Separation” as a split perspective. Your lower half and then your upper half. Your lower half works first, then your upper half follows. Most young pitchers do this in reverse. This will cause arm problems and poor velocity. This happens because if the upper half starts first then the lower half is left behind and has no opportunity to be used.

I recommend you take a picture of yourself during the point of “Separation” and cover up first the upper half of your body in the picture. You want to see your hips completely open to the target like the picture above. Then cover your lower body and you want to see your shoulders in line with the target like the picture above. If you do not see good separation then you need to work on getting your hips moving faster while delaying your shoulders until just before front foot strike.

Notice the picture here of Mariano Riviera. The greatest closer in the game. His hips have started his delivery and are driving towards the plate while his shoulders stay back.  His arms are relaxed and waiting for his hips and legs to reach full stride, before the shoulders are ready to fire. The shoulders must fire after the back leg has triple extended and the back hip has completely committed to the target. This is the point of Separation.

This split perspective is essential to developing good separation. You must see this as a split second delay in your lower half to upper half and the hips leading the process. This is a challenge to learn and perform well but this component alone is what separates average pitching from above average pitching. Combining good “Separation” with a total body Olympic style strength and conditioning program, equals a Top level Pitcher.