Teaches pitchers to engage their back muscles through a full follow-through by holding a “superman” finish after every throw.
1. Have the pitcher throw the ball from the stretch, step toward the plate, and then hold at the end after the throw.
2. Make sure they are in a “superman” posture with back flat and parallel to the ground.
3. Have them hold the superman position at the end for 5 seconds.
4. Note that you don’t really need a ball for this — just have them throw and finish like superman.
5. Do enough reps that the brain-body connection happens. Do 10, do something else, and do 10 more. Keep 900 in your head as that’s often a documented number to change muscle memory.
6. The challenge is doing this stuff and making it FUN. Do superman a few times, then do something else, and come back to it.
**What to Watch For**
I just walked over to the field tonight to walk my dog and saw a bunch of pitchers not bending their back as they throw. The muscles in the back are huge, and if they are part of the throw then good things can happen. They can’t do anything if the back is not bent as you throw.
**Making Progress**
It’s hard to get 10 quality reps with young kids, and now you need to get 900. Maybe you get 10-20 a practice, do 10-20 practices, and you’re on your way. The kids that practice at home and do 10 a day can get there in 3-4 weeks when you tell them they need 900 good ones.
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