7-DROPBALL

First and foremost, it is very important that everyone understands what it is we want the ball to do. Basically, we want the ball to drop. How it does so is what separates superior drops from average and mediocre ones. A strong drop ball pitcher can throw a drop on a trajectory that will send it thigh high to a batter to within 8 feet of the plate, at which point it will leave it's flat plain and curve sharply toward the ground. At this incoming height , the drop should be able to break as low as the batter's mid shins , as it passes the batter. Throw it knee high and it should break to an even lower point and throw it a little lower and the catcher will surely need to drop and dig. This is the drop. These are the drop options and anything less effective gets hit.

Shared basics with all forms of drop balls: CF girls learn one or more of the following- Peel Drop, Peel up Drop, Snap over Drop, Pull Back Drop. In all cases there are common body mechanics. First the pitcher should land over the stride foot with the entire body fairly straight , but in a forward leaning posture. Do not bend at the waste before the ball is gone. The pitcher should feel as though they could stand on the stride leg only , with the push foot and leg slightly behind. To do this one should take an explosive stride that is a little shorter than the fastball stride. How much shorter will actually depend on the pitcher. The landing should be on or near the power line. Concentrate on throwing about knee high in the beginning and learning more about your pitch as you go along.

Sanpover Drop: Grip like your fastball. To throw this pitch you should precup the hand during the circle so that at release the fingers are underneath the ball and pointed away for your body. To release the ball, snap the fingers over the ball loosely and rapidly, while keeping the fingers away from you. This action generates tremendous top spin and a pitch that can buckle a batter ,once perfected. This drop should not be taught to pitchers until they have secure mechanics and well developed pitching arms.

Peel Drop: The peel can be gripped like your fastball and actually thrown like a fastball, except that your body will need to set in the described drop posture and you will concentrate on a quick snap and short follow through. Make sure you drag lightly on the back toe with a high heel. This is a fast drop, although h=not as big and explosive as the snap over. It is easy to learn if the fastball mechanics are strong.

The Peel Up Drop is the same as the peel except that you concentrate on pealing the hand straight up at release. Do this so that the palm face the catcher throughout the release phase and the fingers stay pointed downward. It is usually slower than the peel but easier to learn.

The pull back drop is just like the peel again, with one big exception. You concentrate on a quick snap but also on pulling the hand back at release. This will put the palm down and the fingers toe=ward second base.

I usually teach the Snap over and the peel. We employ the Peel up and Pull back only when a girl is struggling to lean a drop.