Pitching Mound and Proper Stride | Talk Pitching | TopVelocity Baseball Forum

Here’s an early question for you. I’m building a pitching
mound/ramp for my son to work on at home. Obviously, I’ll use the exact and
proper dimensions. Based on various articles I’ve read, it appears the proper
length of stride should be equal to the heights of the pitcher (e.g. a
6’3″ pitcher should be landing with the front foot 6’3″ inches from
the rubber). So here’s the question: I was thinking about drawing a landing
spot (maybe even the shape and size of his shoe) on the mound as a target for
his front foot. My thought was that this would help him “feel” and
get use to the proper stride. Good idea or bad idea?

 

Danny

 

Good question. A good stride is 80-90% of your body height. Setting a mark on a portable pitching mound that is 90% of your body height will only help the pitcher if he understands what a good stride is mechanicaly. This means he must build his stride with his hips leading his shoulders and head and not the other way around. If your mechanics are total body and the kinetic chain of momentum is moving from the toes to the finger tips then by letting the head stride out with the front foot would make a stride that is 80-90% of your body height useless.