Pitching Mechanical Faults: Stride Length

What is the main goal as a pitcher? To throw absolute fire, right?! We want to blaze it right past the hitter, don't even let him have a chance to get the bat off his back shoulder. If he does, the ball is already in the catcher's mitt. 

We also want to pain the corners. If for some reason the hitter can catch up to our velo, he won't be able to touch our placement.

What do all the greatest and hardest thrower's have in common? They are tremendously efficient as a pitcher. They have no wasted movement and they stack and transfer forces all the way from the ground, through their body, and out through the ball. Their pitching mechanics may not look the same as the next pitcher, BUT they have pitching mechanics that match their body type and movement. This helps with their performance, as well as avoiding injury.

The mechanics may look slightly different, BUT there is some faults that are consistent in pitching that identify if a pitcher could be a little more efficient, to help them pick up a tick or two in their velo. A pitcher's stride length is one of them.

What Is Stride Length?

Stride length is defined as the distance covered on the mound during the step you take during your pitch. You can measure it from your back foot to the first place on the mound that your lead foot heel touches at initial foot contact. 

It has been found that pitcher's need to have a stride length that is AT LEAST 80% of their height. The harder throwing pitchers are found to have a little more of a stride length than this. This correlates with how much force is being created from the backside to propel you towards home plate and really start to create that power we need to throw hard. 

Limitations in stride length can also have an effect on what the arm is doing. Think about it this way. With a short stride, there is less time for the arm to get into the proper position before it starts it's path towards home plate. You may see an arm that is lagging behind your body with limitations in stride length. If you have been spending a lot of time trying to speed up your arm to stop that lag, check your stride length, you may need to be working to improve that before you can fix your arm path.

Why Do I Have a Decreased Stride Length?

There are a few things that could be the cause of your stride length being too short. The first and easiest answer, is simply just a mechanical issue. You may simply not know you are not taking a long enough stride during your pitch. This is something that you and your pitching coach can work on to improve. Do some drill work, your stride length will improve pretty quickly.

The next thing that may be limiting your stride length is a performance deficiency. This would mean, that you may not be able to display enough power, elastic energy, or control your posture during a high intensity skill such as pitching. This could be identified by your strength and conditioning coach. It may take a little time to develop these qualities to be able to introduce them back into your pitching mechanics to get them to stick. 

The last reason that may be limiting your stride length, is a foundational movement limitation. You may just not have the full mobility to get a full stride length. One of the key mobility restrictions I see for someone that has limitations in stride length, is decreased Active Straight Leg Raise.

A passing Active Straight Leg Raise would be defined as being able to lift your leg up off the ground, so that your ankle bone passes the knee of the down (non-moving) leg. The down leg cannot move during this, or that would be the position where you would stop the test. 

You can see how this movement is easily seen in high level pitchers below.

If you cannot demonstrate that movement while laying on your back, it is going to be impossible to demonstrate that movement at the highest of speeds during a pitch!!

What Can I Do to Improve My Stride Length?

The first thing you have to do to improve your stride length is to identify what the issue is. Is it a mechanical problem? A performance problem? Or a mobility problem?

Once you identify the issue, work with the expert in that field to make the corrections. If it is a mechanical problem, work with your pitching coach. If it is a performance problem, work with your strength and conditioning coach. If it is a mobility problem, work with your physical therapist.

One of my favorite exercises to improve your Active Straight Leg Raise is bridging with one leg straight, pointed up to the ceiling:

This exercise is designed to create extension for the down leg and flexion for the up leg, mimicking what you are trying to do to increase stride length!

Give that a try and continue to monitor if you are improving any of your Active Straight Leg Raise. When you do, watch as your stride length continues to improve!

If you are having trouble with improving your hip mobility or stride length, shoot me an email. I would love to help you out!

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