When someone purchases the Xelerator, their expectations run between correcting ongoing mistakes and actually learning how to pitch. Regardless of the initial goal, the process of changing or creating is the same:
You need to spin like you want to pitch.
Let me just throw in two comments that should be paramount in your thinking as you spin. Number one, balance. At the release of your pitch, you want to find yourself in a balanced position. You don’t want to be leaning forward or to the side; the weight should be centered between the legs whether you are standing still spinning or live pitching. So when you spin practice, you want to assume the posture that represents that balanced position.
This isn’t the most difficult of issues, however I very often see the pitchers leaning forward even when in the stationary position. We can discuss more about this in another post at another time. What I am most interested in for this entry is the linear part of the pitching plane. More specifically, I want to address the spinning circle in terms of the lift — or said in another way, the front portion of the spin.
I would guess after creating the Xelerator years ago, that something in the neighborhood of over 90% of my new or newer students do not lift or line up the spinning circle at the correct location. The DVD that comes with each Xelerator clearly shows that the spin circle needs to start at a specific spot and then should maintain a perpendicular course from the ground to the top of the spin circle. If you are a right handed pitcher, the circle lines up with the Catcher’s left knee. For most pitchers the left foot should slide as much as 6 inches away from the center line that you should use as a reference point. Usually I see the spin circle drift out toward the third baseline.
In the training DVD, you can see the best way to fix this problem. It shows the parent coach or assistant coming in from the side and requesting the spinning person to spin the Xelerator between their hands. This spinning issue does not usually go away immediately. Do not assume that once it is fixed on any particular day that it will stay that way as this issue tends to recur until it is locked into good muscle memory.
If you have constructive comments or suggestions you can e-mail me at krsoftballoregon@aol.com.