help with throwing

[softballchik7]

I may have to play shortstop for a really good team this year and...... my fielding is pretty good but when it comes to throwing sometimes they are not very good and i want to be able to make an accurate throw whenever i want. My ball has bad rotation, i can throw it pretty hard but because of the rotation it sometimes goes low, too high, or too far to the side and i try to throw over the top but i just dont understand how to make good rotation.

Please help?

thanks for your time,

 

[Coach Lia]

Check your grip on the ball and your release point. Make sure you grip ball with your fingers and don't let the ball rest on your palm. The position prior to throwing the ball when you have the ball at the back and away from your body make sure your middle finger is on top of the ball and not on the side of the ball (like you're holding a glass). Throw in front of your face and follow through

 

[druer]

One thing you can do is exactly what pitchers do when they get started ... wrap a piece of electrical tape around the ball in a straight line where it crosses all 4 seams. Hold the ball with your middle finger when throwing. With the tape on the ball you will see exactly how the ball is spinning and you want to see the tape stay in a straight line. You don't want to see it making all kinds of pretty patterns as it travels.

One thing that I learned recently at a clinic, although it felt very unfortable to me since I had never done it before, was to hold the ball with your thumb and middle finger in a line on the tape and then release the ball so that your thumb stayed in that line with your middle finger. I've got to say for a coach who throws so seldom, the ball traveled straight every single time, it was just awkward/uncomfortable for me. But it felt like I would have been able to throw much further and much faster once I get comfortable with it. So if you have a friend you can just play catch with it might be something you could try out and see how it feels for you.